Set up standard war-crime probe: US to Lanka

The United States asked Sri Lanka to carry out credible probe on violations of human rights during the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam war, as it warned it of more international pressure on the issue.

If Sri Lanka wants to take the responsibility to solve the issues related to the war crime victims then they need to do it quickly or else there would be an increasing international pressure on the Mahinda Rajapaksa regime, the US State Department said.

"We want to see the Sri Lankans do this themselves in a way that meets international standards. So what I would say to Sri Lankan critics is, take your responsibility and mount an investigation that meets international standards," she said.

"If Sri Lankans want to take the responsibility to solve these issues themselves, then they need to do it, and they need to do it quickly," State Department spokesperson, Victoria Nuland, told newsmen at a daily news conference.

Nuland said the United States has said repeatedly for a long time that it supports a full and credible and independent investigation of alleged violations of international human rights and law and international humanitarian law in Sri Lanka.

"We continue to urge the government of Sri Lanka to do just that and to do it quickly. And we hope Sri Lankans will do this themselves. But if they do not, there's going to be growing pressure from the international community for exactly the kind of international action that Sri Lankans say they don't want," Nuland said in response to a question.