Sri Lankan authorities are investigating a
claim that the toppled president's younger
brother ran a "death squad" and ordered a
high-profile newspaper editor's assassination,
a police spokesman said.
Former defence secretary Gotabhaya
Rajapaksa ordered the hit on Lasantha
Wickrematunga in January 2009, ex-public
relations minister Mervyn Silva alleged in a
formal complaint lodged with police on
Saturday, the spokesman said.
Wickrematunga was fatally shot in 2009, just
days before he was due to testify in a
defamation case Rajapaksa had filed against
his paper, which had been highly critical of
the then-ruling family.
"We have received a complaint that Gotabhaya
Rajapaksa was responsible for abductions,
assaults and murder," police spokesman Ajith
Rohana told AFP news agency on Sunday.
"Three murders have been mentioned and one
is that of Lasantha Wickrematunga. He
(Rajapaksa) is accused of running a death
squad." Rohanna added.
Rajapaksa could not be contacted for
comment.
Wickrematunga and his Sunday Leader
newspaper were vocal critics of Rajapaksa's
administration, and had accused Gotabhaya of
corruption over the purchase of second-hand
aircraft and arms for the military.
At the time, the government denied it was
behind Wickrematunga's killing, but
Saturday's complaint reopens the unsolved
murder case.
Since Mahinda Rajapaksa’s defeat during
January 8 presidential elections , complaints
have flooded a Sri Lankan anti-graft
commission alleging huge corruption by
members of his administration.
The ex-leader himself faces allegations that
he tried to use military force and remain in
office when it became clear during the vote
count that he was headed for a defeat.
'White van abductions'
Sri Lanka has faced international criticisms
over its dismal human rights record during the
past decade, with rights groups accusing
Rajapaksa of silencing critics and dissidents.
In his complaint, Silva also said Gotabhaya
was the "architect of white van abductions".
Being "white-vanned" became synonymous
with abductions in Sri Lanka after dozens of
people were abducted in white vans, their
dead bodies later dumped by the road.
The tactic was widely reported to be used by
security forces against opponents during and
after the island's drawn-out Tamil separatist
conflict, which ended in May 2009.
Scores of independent journalists and political
dissidents are still living abroad in exile.
Rajapaksa’s administration also faced
allegations that his troops killed at least
40,000 Tamil civilians while crushing Tamil
Tiger guerrillas in the final stages of the
ethnic war.
The new government of Maithripala Sirisena
has promised reparations and a domestic
investigation into war time atrocities
committed by security forces.
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