Tue 27 August 2019:
Lt. Gen. Shavendra Silva, who became army commander last week, faces allegations of grave rights abuses during the war, which ended in 2009 after government forces defeated ethnic Tamil rebels who fought to create a separate state.
“I, of course, totally deny those allegations,” Silva told reporters at his first media briefing since his appointment. “Those are allegations. Anyone can make any allegations.”
The U.N. human rights chief, the United States and the European Union expressed concern last week about Silva’s selection, saying it undermines the post-war justice and reconciliation process which the government has promised to undertake.
According to a 2015 investigation by the U.N. office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, near the end of the war Silva was tasked with capturing the Putumattalan area from the Tamil Tigers. It found evidence that both a hospital and a U.N. hub were shelled.
The investigation cited witnesses as saying cluster-type munitions were used by the Sri Lankan armed forces in their attacks on Putumattalan hospital and the United Nations hub. The government promised the U.N. Human Rights Council in 2015 that it would investigate the allegations and involve foreign prosecutors and judges, but nothing has been done so far.
Both the Sri Lankan military and the rebels have been accused of wartime abuses. The United Nations has said some 45,000 Tamil civilians may have been killed in the final months of the conflict.
U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet said last week that Silva’s appointment could impact Sri Lanka’s ability to contribute to U.N. peacekeeping missions.
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