Responding to landmark sanctions announced by the Canadian government on former Sri Lankan presidents Mahinda and Gotabaya Rajapaksa, General Secretary of the Rajapaksa-dominated Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP), Sagara Kariyawasam, condemned the move by applauding the action of the Rajapaksa to end the war.
In announcing the sanctions, the Canadian government stress the role of the Rajapaksa in “gross and systematic violations of human rights during the armed conflict in Sri Lanka”.
In announcing the sanctions, Canada’s foreign minister Mélanie Joly stated:
“Over the past four decades, the people of Sri Lanka have suffered a great deal due to the armed conflict, economic and political instability, and gross violations of human rights. Canada is steadfast in its support to attain peace, reconciliation, justice, and accountability on the island. Canada has taken decisive action today to end international impunity against violators of international law."
During the final phase of the armed conflict, Mahinda Rajapaksa as Sri Lanka's president and Gotabaya Rajapaksa, as the Defence Secretary, oversaw the massacre of Tamil civilians in a brutal military campaign. Whilst figures on the number of civilians killed differ the International Truth and Justice Project has found that the highest estimate of those killed during that final phase could be as large as 169,796. During this period a litany of human rights abuses occurred including summary executions, mass rape, the indiscriminate shelling of food lines, hospitals and government-designated no-fire zones.