[JURIST] Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa [official profile] on Saturday rejected [press release] the plan of UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon [official profile] to appoint a panel of experts to look into alleged rights abuses in the island nation's civil war, saying it "is totally uncalled for and unwarranted." Rajapaksa said that establishing this panel:

would certainly be perceived as an interference with the current general election campaign being held island wide; where the people of the North and of the East who were not free to participate in such elections earlier were being given the opportunity to do so, respecting the highest standards of democracy.

[JURIST] A spokesperson for the US State Department [official website] said Friday that the Obama administration opposes [daily press briefing] a vote before the full House of Representatives on a resolution [H Res 252 text] branding the World War I-era killings of Armenians by Turkish forces as genocide [JURIST news archive]. Assistant Secretary of State Philip Crowley said, "that any further congressional action will impede the normalization process between Turkey and Armenia." Even though Turkey has recalled its ambassador to the US, Crowley said that the State Department believes:

that the best way for Turkey and Armenia to address their shared past is through their ongoing effort to normalize relations. We have been in contact with Turkish and Armenian officials at the highest levels to urge timely ratification of the protocols, and we look forward to continuing dialogue with them.

[JURIST] The Fiji High Court sentenced eight men to prison terms ranging from three to seven years for plotting the assassination of the leader of the country's military government on Friday. The sentencing judge, Justice Paul Madigan chastised the men [BBC report] for their greed and racial motivations in the plot to assassinate Prime Minister Commodore Josaia Voreqe Frank Bainimarama [BBC profile; JURIST news archive], in 2007. The court described the plot as involving the assassination of Bainimarama, the removal of the president and the Indo-Fijians [UNHCR backgrounder], and the declaration of martial law, during which the plot leaders would request assistance from New Zealand and Australia. The two longest sentences were given to Chief Ratu Inoke Takiveikata, a leader of Naitasiri province, and former Pacific Connex employee Sivaniolo Naulago, who both received seven years [FBC report]. The others convicted were former soldiers Barbados Mills, who received six-and-a-half years, Feoko Gadikibau, who was sentenced to five-and-a-half years, Kaminieli Vosavere, who was sentenced to four years, Eparama Waqatairewa and Pauliasi Ramulo, who were each sentenced to three years, and former head of Fiji Military Intelligence [Fiji Times report] Metuisela Mua, who was sentenced to three-and-a-half years. The men were initially arrested and charged with the plot in 2007, eleven months after the 2006 military coup [JURIST reports]. Five of those sentenced Friday [AFP report] were part of a military unit that had mutinied against Bainimarama in 2000.

The Commonwealth of Nations [official website] suspended [JURIST report] Fiji from its organization in September because it failed to meet the September 1 deadline for reinstating a constitutional democracy and opening a national dialogue. The Pacific Islands Forum [official website] suspended [JURIST report] Fiji's membership in the 16-nation bloc in May after Fiji's current military government failed to meet a May 1 deadline to schedule elections. Bainimarama announced plans [JURIST report] in July to establish a new constitution by September 2013. Bainimarama said that the new constitution would be in place at least one year prior to the elections planned for September 2014. In April, former president Ratu Josefa Iloilo suspended the constitution and revoked the appointment of all judicial officers after a ruling [JURIST reports] from the Fiji Court of Appeal declaring the appointment of the military government following the 2006 coup unconstitutional. Bainimarama took control in the wake of the coup, which ousted former Fijian prime minister Laisenia Qarase [BBC profile].

[JURIST] US lawmakers introduced a bill [text, PDF] Thursday that would require the military interrogation and trial of those taken into US custody who are suspected of links to terrorism. The Enemy Belligerent Interrogation, Detention, and Prosecution Act of 2010 was introduced by Senators John McCain (R-AZ) and Joe Lieberman (I-CT) [official websites] and would require that all people detained by US authorities, both domestically and internationally, who are suspected of engaging in hostilities against the US or its coalition partners or of providing material support for those who do, would be placed in military custody for interrogation and a final status determination made by the president, attorney general, and defense secretary. Under the bill, before a final status determination is made, the suspect cannot be Mirandized or "otherwise ... informed of any rights that the individual may or may not have to counsel or to remain silent consistent with Miranda v. Arizona." If the detainee were then determined to be an "unprivileged enemy belligerent," the bill would mandate detention until the end of the hostilities against the US by the group with which the suspect was involved or supporting. In a press release [text], McCain explained:

[The legislation] sets forth a clear, comprehensive policy for the detention, interrogation and trial of enemy belligerents who are suspected of engaging in hostilities against the United States. This legislation seeks to ensure that the mistakes made during the apprehension of the Christmas Day bomber, such as reading him a Miranda warning, will never happen again and put Americans’ security at risk.