On March 24, the United Kingdom Government’s Foreign, Commonwealth, and Development Office (FCDO) announced its decision to impose sanctions on four Sri Lankans, including three top former military officials. Announcing the decision, the UK said it was sanctioning “figures responsible for serious human rights violations and abuses during the war in Sri Lanka.”
In imposing the sanctions, UK Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, David Lammy said the UK Government is committed to human rights in Sri Lanka, including seeking accountability for human rights violations and abuses which took place during the civil war.
“I made a commitment during the election campaign to ensure those responsible are not allowed impunity. This decision ensures that those responsible for past human rights violations and abuses are held accountable. The UK Government looks forward to working with the new Sri Lankan Government to improve human rights in Sri Lanka and welcomes their commitments on national unity,” he said.
Former Army Commanders General Shavendra Silva and General Jagath Jayasuriya, Former Navy Commander Admiral of the Fleet Wasantha Karannagoda, and ex–Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) Commander Vinayagamoorthy Muralitharan, better known by his nom de guerre Karuna Amman, have now been hit with a travel ban and asset freeze by the United Kingdom. While three of the sanctioned persons have issued responses, the UK’s move has also sparked a wave of local reactions, many of which have been strongly critical of the UK’s actions.
General Shavendra Silva
Gen. Shavendra Silva has long been dogged by various allegations relating to war crimes since the end of Sri Lanka’s long-drawn conflict. Imposing the sanction against him, the UK authorities have identified him as “an involved person within the meaning of The Global Human Rights Sanctions Regulations 2020 on the basis that Shavendra Silva has been and remains responsible for an activity that amounts to a serious violation of an individual’s right to life or right not to be subjected to torture or cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.”
The announcement said that Silva was the Commander of the 58th Division of the Sri Lankan Army and during this time, the 58th Division “committed human rights violations including illegal killings and activities amounting to torture or cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment or punishment,”. The UK Government has claimed that Silva ordered LTTE leaders attempting surrender should be killed and was present at the frontline in the final days of the war when troops under his command of responsibility executed LTTE terrorist cadres.
While Silva has previously denied all allegations, this time around, he has chosen to remain silent. This is not the first time he has been hit with sanctions. In 2020 the U.S. imposed a travel ban on him due to his involvement in alleged war crimes during the final stages of the war, once again particularly related to human rights abuses allegedly committed by the 58th Division under his command.
General Jagath Jayasuriya
In a statement to the media this week, former Army Commander General Jagath Jayasuriya expressed his surprise at being included in the UK sanctions list. “When I first heard about it I could not believe it because my name has never appeared in any report. I was never in any of the frontline brigades,” he said.
The UK Government’s announcement said Jayasuriya has been and remains responsible for “an activity that amounts to a serious violation of an individual’s right to life and right not to be subjected to torture or cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment,”. It said that Jayasuriya was Security Force Commander of operations in the Vanni region from 2007 to 2009, and during this time, those under his command responsibility in the Sri Lankan Army “committed extrajudicial killings and activity amounting to torture or cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment,”.
Despite this expression of surprise, there have also been other known attempts by human rights organisations to bring charges against Jayasuriya. In 2017, Jayasuriya, who was Commander of the Vanni Security Force from 2007 to 2009, had a lawsuit being filed against him before a Brazilian court when he was Sri Lanka’s Ambassador to Brazil. At the time, the Sri Lankan Government stood by him and defended him against the allegations.
Meanwhile in 2019, the International Truth and Justice Project – Sri Lanka (ITJP), an organisation which has gathered and recorded the testimonies of victim-survivors from Sri Lanka together with the Australian Centre for International Justice (ACIJ), and the Human Rights Law Centre (HRLC), also submitted a formal request to the Australian Federal Police (AFP) to investigate Jayasuriya, for serious allegations of torture, war crimes and crimes against humanity committed under his command in the final phase of the Sri Lankan civil war in 2009. At the time, Jayasuriya was in Australia, but the AFP did not act on the request.
Following the announcement of the recent sanctions, Jayasuriya also expressed confusion as to why former Army Commander Field Marshal Sarath Fonseka, who was the Commander during the last stages of the war, had not been hit by any sanctions. “I don’t know how these four names were chosen. The former Army Commander has revealed to the entire country how the war was conducted at the time. I am surprised how our names have appeared and not his. His name should be right at the top,” Jayasuriya said.
Jayasuriya said he hopes the Government will continue to intervene in relation to the sanctions as he, along with others as individuals, cannot fight against a country. According to the former Army Commander, he expected a stronger response from the Government. “It is the Government that must take the next steps. As private persons, we cannot fight against a country that has imposed sanctions on us. It is the Government that must come forward on behalf of us,” he said.
Admiral of the Fleet Wasantha Karannagoda
Another top military official to be hit with sanctions is former Navy Commander Admiral of the Fleet Wasantha Karannagoda. There have long been allegations against him involving an abduction for ransom racket carried out by a group of Navy personnel between 2008 – 2009 during his tenure as Commander. The group has been accused of abducting at least 11 youths in a bid to extort their families.
As for Karannagoda, the CID in 2019 accused him of having knowledge of at least five youth being abducted by the group from Dehiwala and that they were held at the Eastern Naval Command. In the B-report presented to court at the time, the CID also said Karannagoda had failed to take any steps to secure the release of the youth from the Eastern Command since being informed of the abductions on May 10, 2009, when he was first informed of the abducted youth. In the B-report, the CID said if Karannagoda had focused and acted with due care on the information received the five youth and other victims of abduction being forcibly held could have been saved. The case, one of Sri Lanka’s most emblematic human rights cases, continues to be heard in the local courts to date. Allegations against him mainly revolve around this particular case, as opposed to possible violations in the battlefront.
The UK Government said Karannagoda has been hit with sanctions on the basis that he has been and remains responsible for an activity that amounts to a serious violation of an individual’s right to life and right not to be subjected to torture or cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.
This week Karannagoda took to social media to express his anger at the sanctions. He called the sanctions unjust and said it is not about justice but is a direct result of international political maneuvering.
“These sanctions are not based on any transparent investigation or legal proceedings. Instead, they reflect the selective application of international pressure, targeting those who played key roles in Sri Lanka’s military victory. The same foreign entities that now impose restrictions did nothing while Sri Lanka was under siege by terrorists. They ignored the atrocities committed by the LTTE, but now demand accountability from those who risked their lives to end a war that claimed thousands of innocent lives. This double standard raises a critical question: Is this truly about human rights, or is it about political influence?” he asked.
Karannagoda spoke about the war, claiming Sri Lanka has faced numerous internal and external attempts to destabilise the country, often with foreign involvement, since it defeated terrorism.
“As someone who has always prioritised the security of this nation, I am well aware of the forces that have worked against our national interests. These include individuals who have misused their positions of power, collaborated with external actors, and sought to manipulate political outcomes for personal gain,” he said.
Karuna Amman
The UK also took aim at ex–Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) Commander Vinayagamoorthy Muralitharan, better known by his nom de guerre Karuna Amman. He turned against the LTTE and created his own armed faction to fight against it. It is believed this breakaway also affected the LTTE leading to its loss in 2009. Since then Amman has been a close associate of consecutive Rajapaksa regimes, even going on to become a Minister under their leadership.
The UK Government in its sanctions announcement said, “he has been and remains responsible for an activity that amounts to serious violations and abuses of an individual’s right to life and right not to be subjected to torture or cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment. Specifically, LTTE forces and a breakaway pro-government fraction of the LTTE ‘Karuna Group’, under Vinayagamoorthy Muralitharan’s command, were directly involved in illegal killings and torture or cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment, during Sri Lanka’s 26-year-long armed conflict,” it said.
Karuna Amman dismissed the allegations as a mere political charade. “I was previously arrested in the UK and spent eight months in prison. Yet, they have only now uncovered supposed offences they failed to recognise back then. Just look at how foolish that Government is,” he said.
Two former Presidents, namely Mahinda Rajapaksa and Maithripala Sirisena have come forward to defend the sanction-hit military top brass. Rajapaksa also alleged that imposing sanctions on Karuna Amman is a clear case of penalising anti-LTTE Tamils so as to placate the dominant segment of the Tamil diaspora in the UK. Meanwhile the United National Party (UNP) led by former President Ranil Wickremesinghe also issued a scathing statement condemning the UK’s decision to impose sanctions on senior military commanders. However, there were also politicians such as Tamil National Alliance’s (TNA) M.A Sumanthiran who hailed the move.
“We welcome the sanctions imposed by the UK today, which include former senior Sri Lankan military Commanders, and a former LTTE military commander who later led the paramilitary Karuna Group, operating on behalf of the Sri Lankan military against the LTTE,” Sumanthiran said in a statement on X.
Complicating reconciliation efforts
Issuing a statement on the sanctions, the Sri Lankan Government highlighted that unilateral actions by the UK Government to impose sanctions on three former Military Commanders will complicate the national reconciliation process under way in Sri Lanka.
It added that the Government is actively strengthening domestic mechanisms for accountability and reconciliation, asserting that any past human rights violations should be addressed through these domestic channels.
However Human Rights Watch (HRW) has emphasized that without genuine efforts by Sri Lanka to ensure accountability for past human rights violations, international intervention remains crucial.
The UK’s move, which HRW described as a step forward in achieving accountability, it said underscored ongoing international pressure on Sri Lanka to address human rights abuses from its decades-long civil war. While the Sri Lankan Government has said that such actions undermine national reconciliation efforts, rights organisations have insisted that external measures are necessary given the country’s failure to establish credible domestic mechanisms for justice. With calls for further international action growing, Sri Lanka now faces increasing scrutiny over its commitment to ensuring accountability for past atrocities.
