International movement Global Peace Initiative (GPI) has called on the International Criminal Court to charge hawkish Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapakse for war crimes linked with the killing of innocent Tamils.

In making the call, GPI coordinator S Pasupathi said that war crimes were evident from the shocking television images of “burning bodies, gruesome massacres and injured children” over the past week.

Pasupathi said GPI cannot accept the “mass massacre and genocide” and is calling on Malaysians to express their sympathy to the victims of the Sri Lankan war at Dataran Merdeka at 10am on Sunday.

sri lanka military final assault on tamil tigers defence 180509 06 The gathering will also be joined by a group of concerned parlimentarians, to be lead by Teluk Intan MP M Manogaran.

“We will mourn for those who died in the ethnic cleansing carried out by the Sri Lankan government. It is time we spoke up and expressed our feelings peacefully.

“The civil war has already cost hundreds and thousands of lives. The official figure is around 70,000 Tamils killed but recent estimates suggest over 300,000, mostly Tamils, had died.

protest against genocide sri lanka violence at sri lanka embassy 150509 08 “Over one million Tamils are internally displaced and further a million Tamils have left the island for the safe havens in the West. Ethnic riots have also left a deep psychological scar between the two major ethnic groups,” said Pasupathi.

The human rights situation in Sri Lanka, according to Pasupathi, is atrocious.

“Abductions, disappearances and murders are very common. Sri Lanka has the second highest number of disappearances in the world, ranking only behind Iraq, according to the United Nations,” he added.

Prabhakaran: Is he dead or alive?

Pasupathi added it was not confirmed that Tamil Tiger rebel leader Velupillai Prabhakaran had been killed.

News reports on his death, he said, were quoting Sri Lankan government sources.

sri lanka military final assault on tamil tigers defence 180509 03 According to reports, Prabhakaran - along with two of his top commanders - had died while trying to flee from the last rebel-held patch of jungle in the northeast of the island.

Hours later, the government declared victory in the 26-year war with the rebels at a televised ceremony.

No photos of Prabhakaran's body have been so far released. According to BBC, the army said it was working to identify his body among the dead. The claims cannot be verified as reporters are barred from the war zone.

The rebels however said today that Prabhakaran was “alive and well”.

"Our beloved leader is alive and safe. He will continue to lead the quest for dignity and freedom for the Tamil people," the Tigers' chief of international relations, Selvarasa Pathmanathan, said in a statement carried on the pro-rebel Tamilnet website.