Wickremesinghe’s first visit as president is to accused war criminal ‘friends’

Sri Lanka’s president Ranil Wickremesinghe paid a visit to the Defence Headquarters Complex hours after he was sworn in this morning, where he shook hands with accused war criminals and ceremonially lit a lamp before a statue of the Buddha.

Wickremesinghe was greeted by Kamal Gunaratne, Sri Lanka’s defence secretary and former army commander who was involved in overseeing the Mullivaikkal genocide.

He also met with Shavendra Silva, an accused war criminal who is barred from entry to the Untied States over his role in executing Tamils. Wickremesinghe previously described Silva as a “friend. “He has helped me a lot,” he said in remarks last year.

See a video of his visit below.