Gotabaya should be prosecuted for Genocide, war crimes – Prof. Boyle

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 03 February 2009, 22:47 GMT]
Commenting on the interview to the BBC and to the Sky TV by Sri Lanka’s Defence Secretary, Professor Francis Boyle, professor of international law at the University of Illinois College of Law, told TamilNet that “the deliberate targeting of Hospitals and Civilians by the Government of Sri Lanka (GOSL) violates the Geneva Conventions and is thus a war crime,” and that “as a United States Citizen, Defense Secretary Rajapakse, should be prosecuted by the United States government for violating the US Genocide Convention Implementation Act and the US War Crimes Act.”

Full text of the comment by Prof Boyle follows:

“The deliberate targeting of Hospitals and Civilians by the Government of Sri Lanka (GOSL) violates the Geneva Conventions and is thus a war crime.

“The GOSL Defense Secretary Rajapakse has publicly admitted that they have turned the Tamil North of the country into a so-called free-fire zone, which is clearly illegal and criminal under International Humanitarian Law.

“It is the culmination of the long-standing GOSL policy to inflict genocide upon the Tamils in violation of the 1948 Genocide Convention, to which Sri Lanka is a contracting party. As a United States Citizen Defense Secretary Rajapakse should be prosecuted by the United States government for violating the US Genocide Convention Implementation Act and the US War Crimes Act.”

As an internationally recognized expert, Professor Boyle serves as counsel to Bosnia and Herzegovina. He also represents two associations of citizens within Bosnia and has been instrumental in developing the indictment against Slobodan Milosevic for committing genocide, crimes against humanity, and war crimes in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

A scholar in the areas of international law and human rights, Professor Boyle received a J.D. degree, and A.M. and Ph.D. degrees in political science from Harvard University. Prior to joining the faculty at the College of Law, he was a teaching fellow at Harvard and an associate at its Center for International Affairs.

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