Former Army Commander Field Marshal Sarath Fonseka has defended former head of the Sri Lankan Armed Forces, Shavendra Silva, stating that the recent sanctions by the United Kingdom (UK) were unreasonable.
Addressing a public event, Fonseka said that he believed legal action must be initiated against anyone proven to have broken local and international laws.
“There are instances in the past where we have taken such measures against military personnel. Legal action must be taken against those who have abused the power of their uniforms to break laws,” he said.
Commenting on the sanctions imposed by the UK, Sarath Fonseka said it was understood that no laws, including human rights, were violated during war operations.
“Shavendra Silva was at the forefront of Sri Lanka’s Civil War. It is known that no murders, human rights violations, custodial deaths, or abuse of power took place during the war. As such, the sanctions against Shavendra Silva were unreasonable,” he said.
He said that, however, the sanctions against former Navy Commander Wasantha Karannagoda and former Army Commander Jagath Jayasuriya were reasonable.
Stating that these officers were not at the forefront of the war, he said there was crucial evidence to prove that they had abused their military powers.
“I have spoken in Parliament about these two former military officers. Former Army officer Sunil Rathnayake is accused of wrongly shooting a person, and as someone had witnessed the shooting, he killed several members of a family over the incident. He was later pardoned by former President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, under the protection of war veterans. Wasantha Karannagoda is accused of abducting several youths, demanding ransom, and detaining them at a Trincomalee camp. A former Navy Commander has confessed they were aware of the detention of the youths,” he said.
Pointing out that these were serious murder incidents, Sarath Fonseka said legal action must be initiated against them. (Newswire)