Sri Lankan President Srisena Acknowledges Troops Committed War Crimes
Posted on November 27th, 2017
Courtesy Asiantribune.com
Sri Lanka President Maithripala Sirisena has acknowledged that few troops were responsible for committing war crimes at the behest of politicians during the three-decade-long civil war with the Tamil Tigers.
File Photo
This was revealed recently in a news item put out by the Press Trust of India (PTI) which has been given ample of publicity in several leading Indian news medias.
The PTI report revealed, ‘Sri Lankan President Maithripala Srisena has Acknowledged that War Crimes Committed By Troops During Rajapaksa Regime, Says Military Should Clear Its Name’.
The reports further revealed –
According to the UN figures, up to 40,000 civilians were killed by the security forces during former president Mahinda Rajapaksa’s regime that brought an end to the brutal conflict with the defeat of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam in 2009. The LTTE ran a nearly three-decade separatist campaign leading to a bloody war with the Sri Lankan security forces.
Sirisena had earlier vowed to defend the troops against warcrimes charges leveled against them. There is something that you should accept according to your conscience. There were things outside the control of the military. They were carried out by a few in the military to appease politicians. These were illegal, against democracy and the freedom of our people,” he said.
You know that investigations are underway into a small number of officers who acted at the behest of politicians. Those who are in custody will be freed if they are innocent. I hear allegations from (opposition) political stages that this is a witch-hunt of war heroes. I strongly reject those allegations,” he said, adding that the military should clear its name.
Troops who committed war crimes at behest of politicians would be punished – says President Sirisena
Sirisena’s reference was to the former regime of President Mahinda Rajapaksa. His administration faced war crimes charges with UN Human Rights Council passing resolutions. Since Rajapaksa’s defeat, several incidents of military excesses have come to be highlighted with several military men under arrest and later given bail as part of the proceedings. During the Rajapaksa’s regime, the soldiers were prevented from facing the legal process and the UN’s call for independent investigations was dubbed as attacks against Sri Lanka’s sovereignty.
– Asian Tribune –
November 27th, 2017 at 6:00 pm
KT Rajasingham is trying to create DIVISIONS between My3 and MR.
Only My3 can SAVE MR from war crimes nonsense.
Only MR can SAVE My3 from election and UNP MEGA CORRUPTION.
November 27th, 2017 at 6:27 pm
The headline is quite inaccurate here to say ‘Sri Lankan Pres Srisena Acknowledges Troops Committed War Crimes’ !
What Pres Sirisena really said was that “a FEW troops were responsible for committing war crimes at the behest of politicians DURING THE THREE DECADES LONG CIVIL WAR WITH THE TAMIL TIGERS”.
When we examine Pres MS’s statement, we wish to know :
1. Were these ‘War Crimes’ or ‘ordinary crimes’ committed by a few soldiers over the three decades long Civil War with the LTTE ?
2. Exactly what these crimes were and exactly when they were committed, ought to be cited by the President.
Then we can lay the matter to rest.
What about crimes committed by Tamil people who were trained to join the LTTE, who were later arrested after the war and re-habilitated and let go into society ?
Are they to be re-arrested and tried again in Courts ?
November 27th, 2017 at 9:19 pm
I think MR WILL HELP to reconstitute the SLFP, because BOTH MR and MS KNOW that to do OTHERWISE is tantamount to ensuring a UNP victory, albeit by a narrow margin, and leaving a fractured moribund SLFP in its wake.
BUT, MR will DO SO ONLY after RECEIVING significant concessions from MS, maximally the PM post in a NEW Govt with a NEW Cabinet, or minimally the post of Leader of the SLFP for now. MR WILL NOT give his support to the MS-SLFP Faction for MERE CRUMBS, but for SUBSTANTIAL CONECESSIONS that will ENSURE that the Patritic MR-FACTION will ULTIMATELY TRIUMPH and form a New Govt under his leadership.
The SENTIMENT among Sinhala Buddhists in Sri Lanka is HEAVILY against the Yamapalanaya and is in favor of the Patriotic Opposition. They will SWEEP the Local Govt elections, no matter whether they are in or out of Govt.
The UNP will use all of its thuggery and its propaganda machinery to confuse the issues, but THEY WILL FAIL ABYSMALLY, only AGGRAVATING the anger of the majority community. II WILL BE TOO LITTLE, TOO LATE, and the best laid plans of its DESHAD-DROHI leaders will fall to pieces!
The only other method to protect Sri Lanka in the short term is to create a BROAD Coalition between the JO, the NFF, the SLPP and ALL other Patriotic Forces and contest as an ENTIRELY NEW Political Party.
The Sinhala Buddhist Community will support that effort instead of the MS-SLFP faction, but nevertheless the result will be a UNP victory, albeit with a MUCH STRENGTHENED Patriotic Front that can compete and WIN the General Elections in 2020.
The result could also be that in the INTERIM, the UNP, DESPERATE to WIN in 2020 and save its leaders from PRISON and/or permanent residence abroad, will COMPLETELY CONTROL and HASTEN the creation of a New Constitution and other LEGAL SAFEGUARDS for themselves at the expense of the Nation, IMPRISON all of its opponents, and will EMPOWER EVERY Minority community to the fullest.
VIOLENCE in the STREETS will be the order of the day, and the blood of Patriots will FLOW profusely in good cause.
Nevertheless, in the end, the PATRIOTIC FORCES will TRIUMPH, and the current PARA-GATHI Yamapalanaya leaders will fly out of the country to safe havens ALREADY in place in foreign countries and survive on their ill-gotten gains sequestered abroad. Now you know another reason why ROBBING the Central Bank and leaving the ROBBERS FREE to deploy the funds both within and outside Sri Lanka was the HIGHEST PRIORITY of the Yamapalanaya. That FUNDED the PARACHUTE that enabled their leaders to take the necessary criminal risks in the future.
Oh, BTW, I see that Lorenzo, the RESIDENT LTTE-UNDERCOVER AGENT at LankaWeb is at it again, spreading MORE CONFUSION and DISINFORMATION among the Patriots, while STILL SHAMELESSLY PROCLAIMING and TAKING CREDIT for his role in OUSTING MR and INSTALLING MS! I bet you that neither MR, nor MS are EVEN AWARE of the existence of this cockroach! Bah a WRETCHED Man!
November 27th, 2017 at 10:40 pm
@Fran
“Ordinary crimes” comitted by soldiers during the war that were not investigated and punished for 8 years are systemic crimes. There is no difference in essence.
The original PTI report gives the impression that (war) crimes the President refers to are crimes comitted after the war or outside war. For instance, using the military to eliminate political/personal opponents. These are not just murder. They are systemic crimes. They must be investigated.
This is why politicians of other countries don’t use the military to kill their personal adversaries.