Canada has sanctioned four top Sri Lankan officials, including former presidents Mahinda and Gotabaya Rajapaksa. The Canadian foreign ministry has said this was done on the account of “gross and systematic violations of human rights” during the armed conflict in the island nation from 1983 to 2009.
The 26-year civil war between the government forces and the separatist Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) caused death of thousands of people. The then president Mahinda Rajapaksa and the then defence secretary Gotabaya Rajapaksa headed the forces that were accused of targeting Tamil civilians. However, both sides were accused of war crimes especially in the final months of the war.
The sanctions list also includes Staff Sergeant Sunil Ratnayake and Lieutenant Commander Chandana Prasad Hettiarachchi. They were both previously punished by the US for committing major offences. President Gotabaya Rajapaksa commuted Ratnayake’s death sentence in 2015 for the murder of eight civilians and commuted it to life in prison in 2020.
All Sri Lankans must denounce the Canadian action, according to Sagara Kariyawasam, general secretary and a member of parliament for the Rajapaksa-dominated Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP).
“Sri Lanka faced the scourge of terrorism for 30 years. Not only a large number of civilians were killed from all communities but also Tamil politicians, intellectuals and civil servants. Even renowned Foreign Minister Lakshman Kadirgamar was killed by the LTTE,” he told Media. He further added,“Former presidents Mahinda and Gotabaya Rajapaksa played a great role in ending the war. Now people live without fear of bombs going off, no more body bags go to villages each day.”
According to the foreign ministry, the lack of accountability thwarts efforts by conflict victims to find peace and reconciliation, and the penalties send a “clear message that Canada will not accept ongoing impunity for individuals who have perpetrated serious human rights crimes in Sri Lanka.”