The British government will not hold an inquiry into the killing of 24 unarmed men in Batang Kali, Selangor despite signaling otherwise in January.

batang kali massacre hreaten to sue uk government 290409 banner According to the BBC , it was learned that the British government had rejected appeals from a committee of surviving families of the attack to hold the inquiry.

On April 24, the British government had said in writing that it had agreed to reconsider its decision not to have an inquiry or further investigate the incident, initially rejected on Jan 21.

The Action Committee Condemning the Batang Kali Massacre, comprising surviving families of the attack, are seeking an inquiry, public apology and compensation for the attack.

Contacted today, committee coordinator Quek Ngee Meng said he was informed last Saturday that the British government had made a provisional decision while a final decision was pending.

According to Quek, the British government's provisional decision not to hold the inquiry was based on two grounds:

1. Since the incident happened a long time ago, the British government is not legally obliged to investigate the matter.

2. Existence of irreconcilable conflict of evidence between British soldiers, who deny the massacre and witnesses of the incident.

Race against time

"However, they have invited us to make further recommendations before a final decision is reached," said Quek, who is also legal counsel for the committee.

He said that provisional decision was also based on the 1970 Frank William's report which is not yet in the public domain.

The report was commissioned by the British Ministry of Defence but was aborted following a change of government.

"We will be seeking a copy of this report," said Quek.

The Batang Kali massacre took place 61 years ago when a platoon of British soldiers surrounded a village, killed 24 suspected communist insurgents and razed the village to the ground.

The committee is a race against time to force the British government to hold an inquiry as many witnesses are in their twilight years.