REFUGEE

COLOMBO, Nov. 1 (Xinhua) -- Sri Lanka's nationalist parties here on Sunday vowed to protect the island's military leadership by noting their protest with the government of the United States over the latter's alleged attempt to frame war crimes charges against the military leadership.

"The United States has no right to question (former Army Commander) General Sarath Fonseka. We will do everything possible to defeat the move both internally and externally," Somawansa Amarasinghe, the leader of the leftist JVP or the People's Liberation Front told reporters.

He was responding to a report that Fonseka, who led the government troops to victory over Tamil Tiger rebels had been asked to attend a voluntary investigation by the U.S. Homeland Security Department on the alleged war crimes during the final phase of the military battle against the rebels.

The nationalist JHU or the National Heritage Party accused the U.S. government of trying to use Fonseka as a source to implicate Sri Lankan Defense Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapakse on a war crimes trial.

"We note our strongest protest with the U.S. government on this attempt. We will make the United States learn an unforgettable lesson in Sri Lanka if they tried to frame the defense secretary," the JHU said in a statement.

Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapakse last month vowed not to submit any of his military commanders or officials for any war crimes trial.

The Sunday Times newspaper said that Fonseka who is visiting his daughters living in Oklahoma of the United States has been asked to come for an interview at the Department of Homeland Security on Wednesday.

The paper said the government of Sri Lanka had provided legal assistance to Fonseka.

The U.S. State Department presented a report to Congress last month containing details of alleged "atrocities" by both the Sri Lankan troops and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam during the final stages of the war in May this year.

The report prepared by the War Crimes Office in the State Department lists 170 incidents between May 2 and 18. It is based mostly on internal reports to Washington from the U. S. Embassy in Colombo, satellite imagery, international relief organizations and media outlets.