Sri Lanka will not tolerate targeting of war heroes: Gotabaya Rajapaksa

The Sri Lankan President says, “We will pull out of international bodies that level baseless allegations.”

May 19, 2020 11:04 pm | Updated May 20, 2020 12:36 am IST - COLOMBO

Gotabaya Rajapaksa laying a wreath to commemorate ‘war heroes’ in Colombo.

Gotabaya Rajapaksa laying a wreath to commemorate ‘war heroes’ in Colombo.

Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa on Tuesday said the country will not hesitate to exit international bodies that continuously “targeted” its soldiers.

“If any international body or organisation continuously target our country and our war heroes, using baseless allegations, I will also not hesitate to withdraw Sri Lanka from such bodies or organisations,” he said, speaking at the 11th anniversary of the end of the civil war, marked as “Ranaviru [War Heroes] Day” in the island’s south.

Human rights violations

Several Sri Lankan soldiers, especially top officers, have been accused of human rights violations during and soon after the war. The UN and international human rights watchdogs have repeatedly flagged serious allegations of rights abuse, pushing the Sri Lankan government on war-time accountability.

In Sri Lanka’s Sinhala-majority south, however, military personnel are hailed as “saviours against terrorism”, and enjoy state patronage.

In March, President Rajapaksa pardoned a solider convicted for the murder of eight Tamil civilians, including children, in 2000. In August 2019, then President Maithripala Sirisena named a General accused of war crimes as the Army commander. Major General Shavendra Silva is currently leading a task force to combat the coronavirus ( COVID-19 ) pandemic.

‘Remembrance Day’

The annual celebratory event to acknowledge the military’s role in ending the separatist war comes a day after northern Tamils observe ‘Remembrance Day’, to pay tributes to several thousands of their relatives, including civilians, killed as the state armed forces took on the rebel LTTE during the nearly three decade-war. In its final phase alone, in May 2009, an estimated 40,000 persons died.

While police in the north asked citizens to avoid gatherings on Monday, and in some cases, questioned those who held prayer meetings — despite physical distancing and masks — the government went ahead with an event at the war memorial near the Parliament in Colombo, with senior military officials and ministers in attendance.

President Rajapaksa said that while leaders of powerful countries had emphatically stated they would not allow any action against their war heroes, he too would not allow anyone to exert undue pressure on “war heroes” of a small country. “Pain of the war is not strange to me,” said the leader, who served in the Army before being appointed Defence Secretary under his brother and current Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa, who was President for a decade until 2015.

In a statement released on Monday, Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa lashed out at political opponents for creating an “artificial social dichotomy” between ‘military’ and ‘civilian’. “If a retired member of the armed forces is appointed to some position in the government, that is being portrayed by the opposition as militarisation,” he said, referring to criticism of his government’s recent appointments of serving and retired military men to top bureaucratic posts.

Militarisation has been a lingering concern in post-war Sri Lanka, with the Army’s visible involvement in many areas, including agriculture and education.

Mahinda Rajapaksa said the ‘Ranaviru [war heroes]’ constituency was now an integral part of the clergy, doctors, teachers, farmers and workers. “So whenever we happen to be in power, there will always be former members of the armed forces and police holding various positions in the government,” he said, commending the military’s efforts in combating COVID-19 in Sri Lanka.

0 / 0
Sign in to unlock member-only benefits!
  • Access 10 free stories every month
  • Save stories to read later
  • Access to comment on every story
  • Sign-up/manage your newsletter subscriptions with a single click
  • Get notified by email for early access to discounts & offers on our products
Sign in

Comments

Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments.

We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of The Hindu and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.