Former Sri Lankan president Mahinda Rajapaksa has slammed the United Kingdom's announcement of sanctions against senior Sri Lankan military commanders, rejected allegations of war crimes and called on the current government in Colombo to “stand by and defend former armed forces personnel who face persecution by foreign government”.
The UK recently imposed travel bans and asset freezes on three senior figures in Sri Lanka's armed forces: former Chief of Defence Staff Shavendra Silva, former Navy Commander Wasantha Karannagoda, and former Army Commander Jagath Jayasuriya. Paramilitary leader Karuna Amman, a close ally of the Rajapaksas was also sanctioned.
"It was I, as the Executive President of Sri Lanka who took the decision to militarily defeat the LTTE and the armed forces implemented that decision on the ground," Rajapaksa stated, adding that he "categorically rejected" the UK government’s allegations of widespread human rights violations.
The UK government has repeatedly faced calls from international human rights organisations and Tamil advocacy groups to hold Sri Lankan officials accountable for the Mullivaikkal genocide. The UN and various independent investigations have reported evidence of mass atrocities, including the shelling of no-fire zones and extrajudicial killings.
Rajapaksa also condemned sanctions on Vinayagamoorthy Muralitharan, also known as Karuna Amman. He labelled the move as “a clear case of penalising anti-LTTE Tamils so as to placate the dominant segment of the Tamil diaspora in the UK.”
“Regrettably, to this day vote bank politics determines the UK’s stand on Sri Lanka’s war against the LTTE,” he claimed.
He concluded his statement by urging the current Sri Lankan government to "resolutely stand by and defend former armed forces personnel who face persecution by foreign governments and organisations for doing their duty to safeguard Sri Lanka’s national security."
Rajapaksa himself is sanctioned by Canada, due to his role on overseeing the massacres that took place in 2009.
His relationship with the current government though has been fragile, with investigations underway into his financial mismanagement and corruption. Earlier this year, Rajapaksa’s security detail was also reduced on order of the government.
Read his full statement here.
