by Vishvanath
The British sanctions on three ex-military chiefs of Sri Lanka and a former LTTE military commander, who sided with the Sri Lankan military during the Eelam war, for ‘serious human rights violations and abuses, committed during the civil war, and to prevent a culture of impunity’ have landed the JVP-led NPP government in an awkward position. The sanctions entail UK travel bans and asset freezes, and target individuals responsible for a range of violations and abuses, such as extrajudicial killings, during the war.
Those sanctioned are former Head of the Sri Lankan Armed Forces and the Chief of Defence Staff, General Shavendra Silva, former Navy Commander, Admiral of the Fleet Wasantha Karannagoda, former Commander of the Sri Lankan Army, General Jagath Jayasuriya, former military commander of the LTTE, Vinayagamoorthy Muralitharan, who, also known as Karuna Amman, subsequently created and led a paramilitary group that helped the Sri Lankan military.
Announcing the sanctions, Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, David Lammy, said, among other things: “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.
“I made a commitment during the election campaign to ensure those responsible are not allowed impunity. This decision ensures that those responsible for past human rights violations and abuses are held accountable.”
Interestingly, what one gathers from Lammy’s statement is that the British government has acted under political compulsions, which the nationalist forces in Sri Lanka call pressure from pro-LTTE groups active in the UK.
The NPP government is not well-disposed towards three of the four sanctioned individuals, namely de Silva, Karannagoda, and Karuna Amman, but it finds itself in such a situation that it has had to take exceptions to the British sanctions. It has left out Karuna Amman in its media statement opposing the sanctions, but its stance on the sanctions, by extension, applies to him as well. Sri Lanka’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Foreign Employment and Tourism has announced that unilateral actions by the UK government to impose sanctions on three former military commanders complicate the national reconciliation process underway in Sri Lanka.
Foreign Minister Vijitha Herath personally informed British High Commissioner to Sri Lanka, Andrew Patrick, of the government’s position during a meeting at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Foreign Employment and Tourism, on Wednesday.
The government has said it is actively strengthening domestic mechanisms for accountability and reconciliation, asserting that any past human rights violations should be addressed through these domestic channels.
The UK sanctions in question have given a fillip to the efforts being made by nationalistic forces, both Sinhala and Tamil, to rally popular support in view of the upcoming local government elections slated for May 06.
Former ITAK MP M. A. Sumanthiran lost no time in welcoming the British sanctions. Some other prominent ITAK politicians have reportedly done likewise. They are doing their best to regain lost ground in the North and the East, where the NPP has eaten into their vote banks. The political fallout of the government’s response to the British sanctions in question, in the North and the East, remains to be assessed.
The NPP government may have expected its response to help prevent the nationalistic forces represented by the SLPP, the SLFP and their allies from making the most of the British sanctions on the former military commanders to gain political mileage in the run-up to an election. But their campaign in defence of the sanctioned commanders is gaining momentum. They are all out to win back popular support.
The SLPP, which is still reeling from last year’s electoral defeats, has got something to hold on to during its LG polls campaign. SLPP leader and former war-winning President Mahinda Rajapaksa has urged the NPP government to defend the military commanders who defeated the LTTE.
Categorically denying the UK government’s allegations of widespread human rights violations during Sri Lanka’s military operations against the LTTE, Rajapaksa has called upon the NPP government to stand by and defend former armed forces personnel who face persecution by foreign governments and organisations. He has expressed displeasure that the action comes over ‘unproven allegations of human rights violations’ during the war with the LTTE. He has also said that imposing sanctions on Karuna Amman, who broke away from the LTTE in 2004 and later entered democratic politics, is a clear case of penalizing anti-LTTE Tamils so as to placate the dominant segment of the Tamil diaspora in the UK.
“Three decades of LTTE terrorism claimed the lives of 27,965 armed forces and police personnel, not to mention the lives of many thousands of civilians including politicians. What Sri Lanka defeated in 2009 was the organization that the US Federal Bureau of Investigation had officially designated as the deadliest terrorist organization in the world.”
“It is noteworthy that the United Kingdom introduced special legislation in 2021 and 2023 to protect their own armed forces from persecution by interested parties,” Rajapaksa has pointed out.
The former President has called upon the current NPP administration to defend the former defence personnel from foreign powers: “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.”
SLPP National Organizer Namal Rajapaksa, MP, has also defended the former military commanders to the hilt. Erstwhile SLPP allies, such as the National Freedom Front of Wimal Weerawansa, and Pivithuru Hela Urumaya of Udaya Gammanpila have done likewise. Other nationalistic outfits have also swung into action and are doing their best to overshadow the NPP with an election to the upcoming elections.
The NPP has remained focused on good governance to consolidate its gains on the political front. It has been asking the public to bolster its mandate by ensuring its victory in the LG polls as well to help it accomplish its mission. It has succeeded in putting its main political rivals on the defensive with the help of its anti-corruption campaign, but now it has had another issue to contend with—defending former military commanders identified with the SLPP and its allies. It has also had to protest against the British sanctions in question while being in the good books of the Western bloc, which bashes Sri Lanka at the UNHRC and other international forums for alleged war crimes and other human rights violations. Pro-LTTE groups pressing for a war crimes probe against Sri Lanka wield immense influence on the western governments as they are believed to be able to deliver a large number of votes to political parties that are supportive of them.
Nothing is said to be so certain as the unexpected in politics. The NPP now has to concentrate on a key issue that it did not bargain for. Its response to the UK sanctions on some of theformer military top brass may appeal to the nationalistic forces in the majority community, but it might prove counterproductive where the Tamil nationalists are concerned. It will be interesting to see how the NPP navigates the politically sensitive issue at hand to retain popular support across the country and keeps its reconciliation efforts on track.
