By Ben Doherty | WA Today
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The submission, from the International Commission of Jurists' Australian section, has compiled what a source has told the Herald is direct and credible evidence of war crimes and crimes against humanity by the Sri Lanka Navy.
There are witnesses - Sri Lankans now living in Australia - who can attest to the alleged crimes, the source said.
The then Admiral Samarasinghe was commander of the navy's eastern and then northern areas, as well as naval chief of staff, in the final years of the bloody civil war against the separatist terrorist group, the Tamil Tigers.
In the final months of fighting in 2009, according to the United Nations, up to 40,000 civilians caught in the north and east were killed when government forces moved against the insurgents.
Separate and independent allegations have been made, to the ICJ and other investigators, that naval ships fired on unarmed civilians as they fled the conflict.
There has been no evidence Mr Samarasinghe was involved in shelling, or gave direct orders to that effect, but the submission before federal police states military superiors hold ''a command responsibility'' for the actions of subordinates.
Mr Samarasinghe said all of his - and the navy's - actions were legal. "There is no truth whatsoever of allegations of misconduct or illegal behaviour,'' he said.
"The Sri Lanka Navy did not fire at civilians during any stage and all action was taken to save the lives [of] civilians from clutches of terrorists."
The Australian section's submission has also been sent to the Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions, as well as to the offices of the Prime Minister and Foreign Minister. It calls for investigations into Mr Samarasinghe and other military and political figures, including President Mahinda Rajapaksa, who is commander-in-chief of Sri Lanka's armed forces, with a view to issuing arrest warrants.
The president of the Australian section is the former NSW Supreme Court justice and attorney-general John Dowd. He declined to comment.
But independent of the dossier, another member of Sri Lanka's diplomatic corps with links to Australia is already under investigation by federal police for his alleged role in possible war crimes.
In May the Herald detailed allegations against a dual Australian-Sri Lankan citizen, Palitha Kohona.
Dr Kohona, who was an Australian diplomat in the 1980s and is now Sri Lanka's representative to the UN, is accused of sending, via intermediaries, text messages to defeated Tamil Tigers and civilians, telling them they could surrender, unarmed and under a white flag, to troops.
About 20 followed the instructions. Witnesses report they were loaded into army trucks. They were later found, shot dead, nearby.
Federal police have confirmed they were evaluating the allegations against Dr Kohona "with a view to determining any potential breaches of Australian law".
Dr Kohona has denied the allegations, admitting he sent the messages, but saying they were never a guarantee of safety, only advice on how best to surrender. "I never had the authority to issue orders to troops or to discuss surrender terms of any terrorists, either directly or indirectly," he said.
Mr Samarasinghe enjoyed a distinguished 37-year-career in the navy. In May 2009, the final month of the war, he was made chief of staff, before being promoted, two months later, to navy commander.
He resigned his commission in January to take up his diplomatic post in Canberra.
Foreign Affairs officials reportedly saw his nomination as "problematic", in light of his command role in a military accused of serious human rights violations. But his appointment was not opposed.
Since the end of the war, allegations the navy fired on civilians have been raised inside Sri Lanka and out. The country's reconciliation tribunal heard from a woman that in May 2009, she tried to escape the war zone in a boat.
"We held two white flags and on seeing the navy we called them 'Aiya, aiya' ['Sir, sir']. There was sudden shelling and eight died on the spot … navy hit; navy attacked and many people died."
Part of the ICJ submission is further testimony from ethnic Tamils now living in Australia that shelling came from the sea in the final weeks of fighting.
Mr Samarasinghe said last week: "All conduct of the [navy] was within the rules governing domestic and international laws.
"There were no orders given to fire by anyone to Sri Lanka naval vessels. Rules of engagements were clear to all commanders."
He said the accusations levelled at him and at other members of the military and political establishment were politically motivated. "I was part of the Sri Lankan military, which prevented the most brutal terrorist organisation from dividing my country. Those that still have aims to divide Sri Lanka continue to hurl baseless, unsubstantiated allegations."
A UN report this year found it was "unable to accept the version of events held by the government of Sri Lanka".
It said the government deliberately shelled no-fire zones where it had encouraged civilians to shelter, as well as attacking the UN, food distribution lines and Red Cross ships rescuing the wounded. "The government systematically shelled hospitals on the front lines … [and] deprived people in the conflict zone of humanitarian aid, in the form of food and medical supplies, particularly surgical supplies, adding to their suffering."
The report was equally condemnatory of the Tamil Tigers. It said they used civilians as hostages and as human shields, forcibly recruited children as young as 14 to fight, and shot - point-blank - any civilians who attempted to escape the conflict.
A federal police spokesman told the Herald: ''The AFP is currently evaluating the submission. Therefore it is not appropriate to comment further.''
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