Photo courtesy of ITJP
The UK government has imposed sanctions, which include UK travel bans and asset freezes, on three former military commanders and a Tamil paramilitary leader accused of serious human rights violations and abuses during the civil war, a move hailed by victims and human rights activists around the world.
The people sanctioned are former Head of the Armed Forces, Shavendra Silva; former Navy Commander, Wasantha Karannagoda; former Commander of the Army, Jagath Jayasuriya; and former military commander of the LTTE, Vinayagamoorthy Muralitharan, known as Karuna.
The sanctions aim to seek accountability for the war crimes such as extrajudicial killings, torture and sexual violence and to prevent a culture of impunity.
Financial sanctions involve the freezing of monetary and non-monetary assets (e.g. property or vehicles) and ensuring that no assets are made available to them. Individuals are unable to enter or remain in the UK and any visa application to travel to the UK, including for transit purposes, will be refused.
“The UK government is committed to human rights in Sri Lanka, including seeking accountability for human rights violations and abuses which took place during the civil war, and which continue to have an impact on communities today,” said Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, David Lammy. “This decision ensures that those responsible for past human rights violations and abuses are held accountable. The UK government looks forward to working with the new Sri Lankan government to improve human rights in Sri Lanka, and welcomes their commitments on national unity…For communities to move forward together, there must be acknowledgement, and accountability for past wrongdoing, which the sanctions listings introduced today will support. We want all Sri Lanka communities to be able to grow and prosper.”
“We are delighted that after so many years the truth about these war criminals has finally been acknowledged by the United Kingdom, one of the main countries where thousands of their victims have sought shelter,” said International Truth and Justice Project (ITJP) Executive Director, Yasmin Sooka. “We have spent the last decade compiling evidence on them but it’s the victims who testified who deserve recognition today, and the individuals in the Tamil community who quietly and relentlessly kept on advocating for justice for years,” she added.
“Victims and survivors deserve nothing less than truth, justice and accountability. Sanctions are a step forward but independent and credible criminal trials are needed. They have waited too long. Their voices demand action,” tweeted criminal lawyer Shyamala Alagendra.
“I welcome the sanctions imposed by the United Kingdom against Sri Lankan government officials. This is another important step towards accountability on the island. This follows sanctions imposed by Canada against Mahinda and Gotabaya Rajapaksa in January 2023,” tweeted Canada’s new Justice Minister Gary Anandasangaree.
UK based human rights advocate and lawyer Geeth Kulasegaram said the sanctions were a result of a tireless campaign over three years, meeting hundreds of MPs and online petitions to top ranking government officials.
“Today, we have delivered sanctions targeting individuals responsible for human rights violations during the civil war in Sri Lanka. The UK government is committed to working with the new Sri Lankan government on human rights and seeking accountability,” tweeted Catherine West, Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State at the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, who visited Sri Lanka in January this year and met government ministers, civil society leaders and politicians from the north.
In its listing online, the UK Government said General Silva, who only retired this year, had commanded a unit during the civil war that had committed human rights violations including illegal killings and torture. The UK statement directly accused Silva of ordering executions.
“Shavendra Silva also ordered that LTTE leaders attempting surrender should be killed and was present at the frontline in the final days of the war when troops under his command responsibility executed surrendered LTTE,” it said.
This refers to the “white flag” incident in which members of the political wing of the surrendered only to be killed. A UN investigation concluded there were reasonable grounds to believe the leaders, including the wife of one of them, had been executed by soldiers acting under command of the senior military leadership.
Also sanctioned was Jagath Jayasuriya known for his role in running an army garrison known as Joseph Camp notorious for torture and sexual violence.
During Navy Commander Wasantha Karannagoda’s tenure, the navy ran underground torture dungeons in its main naval base on the eastern coast where scores of people were tortured and subjected to enforced disappearance or execution during and after the war.
Tamil paramilitary leader, Karuna, who split from the LTTE to join the army, is accused of involvement in forced recruitment, child recruitment, abduction, killings, torture and extortion.