COLOMBO: Sri Lanka’s appointment of a controversial wartime commander to a top military post has caused anger, with diplomats, activists and the UN expressing alarm.
Lt. Gen. Shavendra Silva was appointed army commander by President Maithripala Sirisena on Monday.
Silva, who led the 58th Division of the Sri Lankan Army, has been named in several UN reports for grave violations of international humanitarian law that contributed to war crimes, including the shelling of a hospital.
Armed forces wiped out separatist rebels in 2009 in an operation that ended a decades-long war which killed tens of thousands of people.
The UN has estimated that around 45,000 ethnic Tamil civilians might have been killed in the last months of the war, while other estimates put the number much higher.
The UN’s High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet condemned the appointment. “I am deeply troubled by the appointment of Lt. Gen. Shavendra Silva as Commander of the Sri Lankan Army, despite the serious allegations of gross violations of international human rights and humanitarian law against him and his troops during the war.”
The US Embassy in Sri Lanka said the allegations against Silva were “serious and credible.”
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The leader of the National Freedom Front party, Wimal Weeraweansa, denounced the embassy’s remarks and said the US viewed Sri Lanka as one of its colonies.
“This appointment undermines Sri Lanka’s international reputation and its commitments to promote justice and accountability, especially at a time when the need for reconciliation and social unity is paramount,” it said in a statement posted on Twitter.
Dayasiri Jayasekera, general secretary of Sirisena’s Sri Lanka Freedom Party, backed the president’s decision and said the US had no say in domestic affairs.
“During the time of humanitarian operations Silva gave leadership to the 58th battalion to win the war against the Liberation Tigers of the Tamil Eelam,” he said.
The leader of the National Freedom Front party, Wimal Weeraweansa, denounced the embassy’s remarks and said the US viewed Sri Lanka as one of its colonies. “It cannot dictate terms to Sri Lanka, which is an independent democratic country,” he said.
But a spokesman for the Tamil National Alliance, M.A. Sumanthiran, said the move was a “serious affront” to the Tamil people.
A group seeking accountability for wartime abuses, the International Truth and Justice Project, said the hire was “immensely damaging.”
“After so much bloodshed Sri Lankans need to hold their leaders accountable to stop the repeated cycles of violence,” Yasmin Sooka, the group’s executive director said. “Silva’s promotion, however, sends a message of total impunity.”
