MR responds to UK sanctions against ex-military leaders
Former President Mahinda Rajapaksa has issued a special statement over the recent sanctions announced by the UK against former military leaders
“The United Kingdom govt. has announced sanctions including travel bans and asset freezes against Sri Lanka’s former Chief of Defense Staff Shavendra Silva, former Navy Commander Wasantha Karannagoda and former Army Commander Jagath Jayasuriya over unproven allegations of human rights violations during the war with the LTTE. 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,” he says.
“I categorically reject the UK govt.’s allegation of widespread human rights violations during the military operations. Lord Naseby stated in the House of Lords on 12 October 2017 that the then UK Defense Attache in Colombo Lieutenant Colonel Anton Gash had in conversation with him, praised the discipline of the Sri Lanka army and stated that there certainly was no policy to kill civilians. Because Lt. Col Anton Gash’s war time dispatches to London differ so significantly from the narrative promoted by the UK political authorities, only a heavily redacted version of those dispatches have been released. We conducted military operations only against the LTTE and not against the Tamil people,” the statement notes.
“I expect the present 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,” the statement adds.
