Foreign Minister Mangala Samaraweera said that Sri Lanka extects to set up a domestic mechanism to investigate the alleged war crimes during the country's civil war by January next year.
{module lolc}Speaking at a press conference at the Foreign Ministry, Samaraweera said that the government was confident of obtaining international support for a domestic inquiry. He also hoped that the process could be completed in 18 months.
Samaraweera said that international experts could play a role in technical and advisory capacities in this domestic mechanism.
The Foreign Minister blamed the previous government of Mahinda Rajapaksa for tarnishing the credibility of the judiciary.
The Office of the High Commission of Human Rights Investigation on Sri Lanka (OISL) report, which was released yesterday in Geneva, recommended a hybrid mechanism, involving domestic and international participation.
However, the United States, which had pushed for the March 2014 resolution at the UNHRC against Sri Lanka, recently said that it was supportive of a domestic mechanism.
