Why is this Man not being Charged with Crimes Against Humanity? Col. Kurana in England
May 13th 2008 23:51
Why is this Man not being Charged with Crimes Against Humanity? Col. Kurana in England
If we want any evidence that the War on Terror has all priorities wrong then need look no further than in England. In the last week an illegal migrant called Kurana was moved prison and sent to a migration detention centre. He was originally arrested back in November 2007 upon entry to England on a false diplomatic passport. Finally after a few months of legal jostling the crown prosecution said that there was “insufficient evidence to provide a realistic prospect of conviction for any offences in the case of… Col Karuna.”
However Human Rights Groups are up in arms about the prospect of this man may going free. Many want to bring to trial for crimes against humanity.
Col. Kurana was one of the highest level officers in the LTTE (Liberation Tamil Tiger of Eelam) terrorist organization until there was a split over what looked to be a power struggle. For some time his unit of soldiers formed an alliance with the Sri Lankan Army against the LTTE. However even in that period of time his group has been accused of torture, executing civilians and conscripting child soldiers. The US based Human Rights Watch has documented many of the violations.
Really Long Link
This HRW statement comes from February 2008.
The LTTE and the Karuna group continue to use children to fight their battles in clear violation of international law and Security Council resolutions. The Security Council should punish their brazen violations with concrete action.
Jo Becker, children’s rights advocate at Human Rights Watch
Col. Kurana is that he not just a terrorist but an elite head of a terrorist unit that is more dangerous than almost anyone held at Guantanamo Bay. There is little question of the seriousness of the crimes that he has been accused of. Yet despite England having the power to charge him with crimes against humanity, they have thus far failed to do so.
The reluctance may have to do with several factors including the cost of conducting such a trial, the possible request from Sri Lanka to return Kurana and a looming deportation that would rid them of this problematic person. The matter becomes more complicated when there is an indication that the Sri Lankan government may have turned a blind eye to Kurana’s activities so long as he was working for them.
“Human Rights Watch also criticized the Sri Lankan government for failing to thoroughly investigate cases of abduction and complicity of security forces in child abduction by the Karuna group. Reports by the secretary-general, the Special Advisor to the Special Representative to the Secretary-General on children and armed conflict Allan Rock, and Human Rights Watch have all found complicity by Sri Lankan security forces in the abduction of children by the Karuna group”
Brad Adams, Asia Director at Human Rights Watch said. “If he escapes prosecution, it will be a tragedy both for his many victims and for international justice.”
And
“Amnesty International has expressed disappointment over the British Government’s failure to file criminal charges against the former Tamil Tiger leader for grave human rights abuses in Sri Lanka as a tragic missed opportunity to bring a notorious rights abuser to justice”
The British authorities are planning to deport Karuna.
Editorial Comment:
Terrorists who recruit children to do their killing have nothing to fear so long as no one ever charges them.
This not the sort of person you shake hands with and deport to another country for them to worry about. He should be charged and brought to trial.
If we want any evidence that the War on Terror has all priorities wrong then need look no further than in England. In the last week an illegal migrant called Kurana was moved prison and sent to a migration detention centre. He was originally arrested back in November 2007 upon entry to England on a false diplomatic passport. Finally after a few months of legal jostling the crown prosecution said that there was “insufficient evidence to provide a realistic prospect of conviction for any offences in the case of… Col Karuna.”
However Human Rights Groups are up in arms about the prospect of this man may going free. Many want to bring to trial for crimes against humanity.
Col. Kurana was one of the highest level officers in the LTTE (Liberation Tamil Tiger of Eelam) terrorist organization until there was a split over what looked to be a power struggle. For some time his unit of soldiers formed an alliance with the Sri Lankan Army against the LTTE. However even in that period of time his group has been accused of torture, executing civilians and conscripting child soldiers. The US based Human Rights Watch has documented many of the violations.
Really Long Link
This HRW statement comes from February 2008.
The LTTE and the Karuna group continue to use children to fight their battles in clear violation of international law and Security Council resolutions. The Security Council should punish their brazen violations with concrete action.
Jo Becker, children’s rights advocate at Human Rights Watch
HRW and AI accuse him of war crimes: Conscrpting child soldiers, torture and murder. Mass murder would be more accurate.
Col. Kurana is that he not just a terrorist but an elite head of a terrorist unit that is more dangerous than almost anyone held at Guantanamo Bay. There is little question of the seriousness of the crimes that he has been accused of. Yet despite England having the power to charge him with crimes against humanity, they have thus far failed to do so.
The reluctance may have to do with several factors including the cost of conducting such a trial, the possible request from Sri Lanka to return Kurana and a looming deportation that would rid them of this problematic person. The matter becomes more complicated when there is an indication that the Sri Lankan government may have turned a blind eye to Kurana’s activities so long as he was working for them.
“Human Rights Watch also criticized the Sri Lankan government for failing to thoroughly investigate cases of abduction and complicity of security forces in child abduction by the Karuna group. Reports by the secretary-general, the Special Advisor to the Special Representative to the Secretary-General on children and armed conflict Allan Rock, and Human Rights Watch have all found complicity by Sri Lankan security forces in the abduction of children by the Karuna group”
Brad Adams, Asia Director at Human Rights Watch said. “If he escapes prosecution, it will be a tragedy both for his many victims and for international justice.”
And
“Amnesty International has expressed disappointment over the British Government’s failure to file criminal charges against the former Tamil Tiger leader for grave human rights abuses in Sri Lanka as a tragic missed opportunity to bring a notorious rights abuser to justice”
The British authorities are planning to deport Karuna.
Editorial Comment:
Terrorists who recruit children to do their killing have nothing to fear so long as no one ever charges them.
This not the sort of person you shake hands with and deport to another country for them to worry about. He should be charged and brought to trial.
Child Soldiers have a future of fanatical hate without understanding why.
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Comment by S.L. Bradish
Comment by Damo
For the Sake of Argument
My Apologetics
Thanks for your comments.
I am careful not to get in the position of comparing acts of evil in a civil war situation. Yet I can write about specific cases like Kurana where I do have some knowledge.
Yes propaganda involving children is terrible and those that recruit children as soldiers I think deserve a special place in whatever hell they go to.
The difference here is that Kurana is already in custody in a British Migrant detention centre. Kurana is no mere foot soldier was one of the top soldiers in a terrorist organization that is listed by your own FBI as the worst in the world(even above al Q and Bin Laden). Kurana has been active in the LTTE and presided over where areas suicide cadres and village massacres have taken place. Yet nothing is ever simple.
My concern is that Kurana may be shipped back to Sri Lanka to help the government forces as he did once before. Last time there was credible evidence that he was let carry on with human rights abuses as long as he supported the government.
Another possibility is that he is arrested in Sri Lanka and never heard of again, that way any evidence of collusion by the government officers would just disappear.
The best scenario is to charge him with crimes against humanity and watch him dob in all those that allowed him to act in such a manner.
Charging him in England, works for me.