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A Brief Colonial History Of Ceylon(SriLanka)
Sri Lanka: One Island Two Nations
A Brief Colonial History Of Ceylon(SriLanka)
Sri Lanka: One Island Two Nations
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Wednesday, January 30, 2019
ITJP releases dossier of evidence of Silva’s crimes
Shavendra Silva and heavily armed troops pictured interrogating female LTTE cadres who surrendered to the Sri Lankan army.
29 January 2019
There is “more than enough evidence” to suspend Sri Lanka’s new Chief of
Army Staff, Major General Shavendra Silva, and charge him with war
crimes and crimes against humanity, said the International Truth and
Justice Project (ITJP) on Tuesday, as they released a 137-page dossier
detailing his role as a military leader during an offensive that killed
tens of thousands of Tamils.
“There is a staggering amount of evidence in this dossier meticulously collected by my team over many years,” said ITJP’s Executive Director, Yasmin Sooka.
“Many successful cases at
international tribunals or the International Criminal Court had less to
work with. There is now no excuse for this man to remain as number two
in the Sri Lankan Army; he must be suspended immediately and a criminal
investigation instituted.”
The dossier compiles details from UN reports, witness testimony,
official Sri Lankan military releases as well as photographs and other
evidence from the 2009 massacres.
“After the UN investigation completed its work in 2015, the ITJP
continued to document and collect evidence regarding the war,” added
Sooka.
“This means our NGO now has the most extensive archive of evidence
pertaining to the final phase of the Civil War and violations in its
aftermath. This dossier is just a fraction of the information we hold.
This illustrates the importance of a dedicated team of experts to do
this work with knowledge that builds up over years.”
The dossier details several of the crimes Silva oversaw as commander of
the 58 Division, including attacks on hospitals, the use of white
phosphorus and cluster munitions, summary executions and sexual
violence.
“The international community cannot seriously talk about progress on
rule of law and accountability so long as Shavendra Silva enjoys
impunity,” said Sooka.
“How can the UN Department of Peacekeeping Operations continue to
recruit peacekeepers from Sri Lanka when the army is run by this man? It
would condone the gravest international crimes.”
“If Sri Lanka fails to act, we look especially to countries in the
region with close military ties to Sri Lanka to deny Shavendra Silva
visas or, better still, to arrest him under universal jurisdiction.”
See the full text of the dossier here.
