Sri Lanka’s newly appointed military officials all held senior positions during the final phase of the island’s armed conflict where tens of thousands of Tamils were massacred and alleged crimes against humanity were committed, reports Journalists for Democracy in Sri Lanka.
“Recent appointments to top military posts have heightened doubts on the effectiveness of the proposed 'internal mechanism' to investigate war crimes,” said JDS, detailing several of the newly appointed senior military officials.
The new commander of Sri Lanka’s army, Lieutenant General Crishanthe de Silva, was “in charge of dispatching civilians fleeing the north at the conclusion of the war,” during his time in Kilinochchi as Forward Maintenance Area Commander.
Major General Kamal Gunaratne, the new Master General Ordnance of Army Headquarters was also reportedly “considered the most senior among military commanders in the attack on Mullaithivu” and is accused of overseeing the execution of Balachandra, the son of LTTE leader Velluppillai Prabhakaran and newsreader Isaipriya.
Many of the members also served on Sri Lanka’s military inquiry which concluded no civilians had died due to military action taken during Sri Lanka’s “humanitarian operation,” a term used to describe their final offensive.
“While Tamils consistently call for accountability, almost all the newly promoted military officials have been responsible for operations during the final phase of the war where alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity were committed,” said JDS.
See more from JDS here.
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