Sri Lanka govt, opposition slam US' travel ban on Army chief

Sri Lanka's ruling and opposition parties have strongly opposed the US move to impose a travel ban on the country's Army chief Lt Gen Shavendra Silva, saying America's decision was based on independently unverified information.

The US last week imposed travel restrictions on Lt Gen Silva and his immediate family members over alleged gross violations of human rights during the final phase of the island nation's Civil War in 2009.

"Silva was only conducting a war against a designated terrorist group which was the LTTE. The US themselves named many organizations terrorist after 9/11 attacks," Foreign Minister Dinesh Gunawardena told reporters.

"The Foreign Ministry has issued a statement saying that we do not respect the move. As the government, we are taking steps to convey our stance and act in line with the contents of our statement," he added.

Gunawardena said US Ambassador to Lanka Alaina Teplitz has been summoned to the foreign ministry to discuss Colombo's response.

Sajith Premadasa, the main opposition leader, echoed a similar view.

"Imposition of a travel ban on army commander Shavendra Silva and his immediate family is regrettable and unfortunate. He is one of the heroic field commanders who spearheaded the national effort to eradicate terrorism," Premadasa tweeted.

"All of us stand by him and his family at this hour of need. As a country we shall always stand with the war heroes that brought about an end to 30 years of terrorism," he said.

Other opposition figures also said that Silva was doing his job as a battle commander and should therefore not be punished for fighting the LTTE.

Lt Gen Silva, 55, was appointed as the Sri Lankan Army Commander last year and previously headed the Army's 58th Division in the final battle against the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) rebels of the civil war in 2009. His brigade was accused of attacking civilians, hospitals and stopping humanitarian supplies to trapped Tamil civilians.

The Sri Lanka Army has denied the alleged rights abuses.

After the brutal civil war ended, Silva served in New York as Sri Lanka's Deputy Permanent Representative at the UN Mission.

According to a United Nations report, some 45,000 Tamil civilians were killed in the last months of the war alone.