NEW DELHI, Feb. 20 (Xinhua) -- The Chief Minister of the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu, J. Jayalalithaa, Wednesday lashed out at Sri Lanka, describing the alleged killing of slain Tamil Tiger rebels' chief Prabakaran's 12-year-old son Balachandran "as the cold-blooded war crime of gravest nature".
"The killing of Balachandran (Prabhakaran) is a war crime. Balachandran, who was only 12 years old, was just a child. He had not committed any crime. He had been killed simply because he happened to be the son of Prabakaran," the chief minister told the media in state capital Chennai.
She also urged the central government to cooperate with the U.S. to help pass a resolution in the United Nations denouncing rights violations by Sri Lanka, as well as demanded economic sanctions be imposed on Colombo.
Britain's 'Channel 4' has alleged this week that Sri Lankan military had killed in "cold blood" Prabhakaran's son in May 2009 soon after their crew photographed him munching on a snack while in army custody. It says the child was shot dead at close range and then photographed again.
The new photos are part of a new documentary by the channel, titled 'No War Zone: The Killing Fields of Sri Lanka', which will be screened in Geneva where the United Nations Human Rights Council is to meet next month.
The film was shot during the final phase of Sri Lanka's war when the military crushed the Tamil Tigers in May 2009, killing its chief.
However, the Sri Lankan High Commissioner to India, Prasad Kariyawasam, refuted the allegations, saying that "Sri Lankan forces never targeted civilians".
"Prabhakaran's son could have been killed in crossfire while he was in a little bunker. There is no need for an international probe," he said, claiming that the new photos have been designed to embarrass Sri Lankan ahead of the session of the United Nations ' top human rights body.
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