{"id":218173,"date":"2021-04-13T08:44:15","date_gmt":"2021-04-13T03:14:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/?p=218173"},"modified":"2021-04-13T08:44:15","modified_gmt":"2021-04-13T03:14:15","slug":"time-for-the-uk-to-sanction-sri-lankas-army-commander","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/time-for-the-uk-to-sanction-sri-lankas-army-commander\/","title":{"rendered":"Time For The UK To Sanction Sri Lanka\u2019s Army Commander"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"p3\"><span class=\"s1\">The <span style=\"color: #ff6600;\"><a style=\"color: #ff6600;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/?s=ITJP\">International Truth and Justice Project<\/a><\/span> has compiled a 50-page dossier which it has submitted to the Sanctions Department of the UK\u2019s Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office on General <span style=\"color: #ff6600;\"><a style=\"color: #ff6600;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/?s=Shavendra+Silva\">Shavendra Silva<\/a><\/span>. The Submission argues why Silva, who is Sri Lanka\u2019s current Army Commander, should be designated under the United Kingdom\u2019s Global Human Rights (GHR) Sanctions Regime established on 6 July 2020.<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_4985\" style=\"width: 210px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/02\/major-general-shavendra-silva-colombotelegraph.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-4985\" class=\"size-full wp-image-4985\" src=\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/02\/major-general-shavendra-silva-colombotelegraph.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"200\" height=\"178\" \/><\/a><p id=\"caption-attachment-4985\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Shavendra Silva<\/p><\/div>\n<p class=\"p3\"><span class=\"s1\">\u201cWe have an extensive archive of evidence on the final phase of the civil war in Sri Lanka, meticulously collected by international prosecutors and lawyers. The testimony of victims and witnesses \u2013 many now in the UK \u2013 was vital in informing this Submission, and making the linkages to Shavendra Silva and those under his command,\u201d said the organisation\u2019s executive director, <span style=\"color: #ff6600;\"><a style=\"color: #ff6600;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/?s=Yasmin+Sooka\">Yasmin Sooka<\/a><\/span>. <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p3\"><span class=\"s1\">The ITJP Submission details Shavendra Silva\u2019s role in the perpetration of gross human rights violations including of the right to life when he was 58 Division commander during the final phase of the civil war in 2009 in the north of Sri Lanka. It draws on searing eyewitness testimony from Tamils who survived the government shelling and bombing of hospitals and food queues in the so called No Fire Zones, many of whom now reside in the UK as refugees. The Submission also looks at Silva\u2019s alleged involvement in torture and sexual violence, including rape, which is a<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>priority area of the UK Government\u2019s foreign policy. <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p3\"><span class=\"s1\">\u201cThe US State Department designated Shavendra Silva in 2020 for his alleged role in the violations at the end of the war but the remit<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>of the UK sanctions regime works is broader and includes his role in the shelling of hospitals and other protected civilian sites during the military offensive. This is important in terms of recognising the full extent of the violations, as well as supporting the US action,\u201d commented Ms. Sooka. \u201cUK designation would be another significant step forward in terms of accountability and would be in line with<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>the recent UN Human Rights Council Resolution passed in Geneva for which Britain was the penholder,\u201d she added.<i> <\/i><\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p3\"><span class=\"s1\">Political will in applying the UK\u2019s new sanctions regime to Sri Lanka was apparent in a recent parliamentary debate which saw eleven British parliamentarians ask why the UK government had not applied sanctions against Sri Lankan military figures, including Shavendra Silva who was named six times in this context.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p> [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":22,"featured_media":218175,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3,1,2375],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-218173","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-colombotelegraph","category-news","category-stories"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v26.3 - 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