[xtypo_dropcap]A[/xtypo_dropcap]n effigy of United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon was torched in the Sri Lankan capital amid protests over a war crimes investigation.
Hundreds gathered outside the U.N. offices in Colombo on Tuesday to protest a three-member U.N. investigation into alleged war crimes by the army during the last days of the country’s civil war.
Some 7,000 civilians died in the government crackdown on the rebel Tamil Tiger group, said Housing Minister Wimal Weerawansa, who led the protests. Weerawansa told the BBC that until the probe was withdrawn, protesters would “stage continuous demonstrations and this hunger strike in front of the U.N. office in Colombo,” the BBC reported.
However, detained ex-army chief Sarath Fonseka, told the country’s Daily Mirror newspaper he was not afraid of facing the investigation.
“As the then army commander I can candidly say the war was waged in line with international covenants and conventions,” he said.
The U.N. has strongly objected to the demonstrations.
“While respecting the right of citizens to demonstrate peacefully, preventing access to U.N. offices hinders the vital work being carried out by the United Nations each day to help the people of Sri Lanka,” U.N. spokesperson Farhan Haq told reporters in New York.
