Sri Lanka slams Britain's 'unilateral action' to sanction its former generals

COLOMBO: Sri Lanka on Wednesday slammed the British government's "unilateral action" to sanction its three former military commanders, who led the campaign that crushed the LTTE in 2009, saying the move will complicate the national reconciliation process.

A UK foreign office statement Monday said Sri Lanka's three military commanders - former Army Commanders Gen Shavendra Silva, Jagath Jayasuriya and former Navy Commander Wasantha Karannagoda - were among those sanctioned and subjected to UK travel bans and asset freezes.

The UK government also sanctioned Vinyagamurthy Muralidaran, the deputy leader of the LTTE, who later turned a rebel of the group and became a deputy minister in the national parliament.

In a statement on Wednesday, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that "such unilateral actions by countries do not assist but serve to complicate the national reconciliation process underway in Sri Lanka".

"The government is in the process of strengthening domestic mechanisms on accountability and reconciliation and any past human rights violations should be dealt with through domestic accountability mechanisms," the ministry said.

Foreign Minister Vijitha Herath conveyed Sri Lanka's position to British High Commissioner Andrew Patrick, it added.

"I categorically reject the UK government's allegations of widespread human rights violations during the military operations,” former president Mahinda Rajapaksa, who is credited for his political leadership to end the LTTE's campaign, said in a statement.

He accused the British politicians of doing vote bank politics on Sri Lanka to win the votes of the Tamil community domiciled in the UK.

He said that the LTTE killed 27,965 Sri Lankan troops and police in their violent campaign, “not to mention the lives of many civilians”.

He said in 2021 and 2023, the UK legislated to protect their forces from prosecution by interested parties.

"Hence, I expect the present government to resolutely stand by and defend former armed forces personnel who face persecution by foreign governments and organizations for doing their duty to safeguard Sri Lanka's national security," Rajapaksa added.

Rights abuses alleged on both government troops and the LTTE during the final battle in 2009 caused four UN rights resolutions, which called for international mechanisms for the prosecution of alleged perpetrators.

Sri Lanka outrightly rejected resolutions and said local mechanisms would be set up. Rights groups charge that only minimal progress has been made despite pledges.

The UK government's sanctions on General Silva follow a similar action against him by the US State Department in 2020.

In 2023, Canada sanctioned two former presidents, Mahinda and Gotabaya Rajapaksa.

The two Rajapaksa brothers led the military campaign which crushed the LTTE, ending their three decades of armed struggle to create a separate Tamil homeland in the north and east regions.

General Silva and Karannagoda were key commanders in the three-year campaign.

The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) ran a parallel state in the north and east regions of Sri Lanka in their bid to set up a separate homeland for the minority Tamils, claiming discrimination at the hands of the Sinhalese.

On May 18, 2009, the Sri Lankan Army declared victory with the discovery of the body of the dreaded LTTE leader Velupillai Prabakaran.

According to Sri Lankan government figures, over 20,000 people are missing due to various conflicts, including the three-decade war with Tamil militants in the north and east, which claimed at least 100,000 lives.