Canada announced sanctions against four former Sri Lankan state officials, including ex-presidents Gotabaya Rajapaksa and Mahinda Rajapaksa, on Tuesday.
The Canadian government alleges that the Rajapaksas committed “gross and systematic violations of human rights” during the 25 years of civil war, from 1983-2009, between the Tamil minority separatists and Sinhalese-backed government forces.
OVERVIEW
Apart from the Rajapaksa brothers, Staff Sergeant Sunil Ratnayake and Lieutenant Commander Chandana Prasad Hettiarachchi featured in the sanctions list as well. Ratnayake was sentenced to death in 2015 for brutally killing eight Tamil civilians and was later pardoned by Gotabaya Rajapaksa in 2020. Hettiarachchi has been previously arrested for abducting and killing 11 civilians at the naval base in Trincomalee.
The US has previously sanctioned both Ratnayake and Hettiarachchi for committing war crimes.
According to the Canadian government’s press release, the sanctioned officials’ assets in Canada will be frozen. They will also be barred from entering Canada under the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act.
🇨🇦 has imposed sanctions against 4 Sri Lankan state officials responsible for gross and systematic violations of human rights.
— Mélanie Joly (@melaniejoly) January 10, 2023
These sanctions send a clear message: Canada will not accept continued impunity for those that have committed human rights violations in Sri Lanka. pic.twitter.com/cWYqxH4P7C
While announcing the measures, Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly stressed that Sri Lankans “deserved justice” as they have “suffered a great deal” in the past 40 years, which is a combined result of years of “armed conflict and economic and political instability.”
The release noted that Colombo has taken “limited meaningful and concrete action” despite calls from the international community to hold the perpetrators accountable.
Accordingly, Joly said that the sanctions ended the “impunity” held by “violators of international law.”
Joly further mentioned that Canada supports “peace, reconciliation, justice, and accountability” in the island nation. In addition, she stressed that Ottawa supports Colombo’s “path to peace, inclusion, and prosperity through the advancement of accountability, reconciliation, and human rights.”
Canada sanctions Sri Lanka's Rajapaksa brothers. Banned from entering Canada. Announcement: pic.twitter.com/pIbT9gfURJ
— Sidhant Sibal (@sidhant) January 10, 2023
The statement stressed that Canada will cooperate with international partners and multilateral organisations to push for “human rights and accountability” in Sri Lanka.
It also announced Canada’s decision to deploy $3 million in aid to help achieve food security, nutritional assistance, and primary healthcare for vulnerable communities in Sri Lanka.
SRI LANKA’S RESPONSE
While Sri Lankan Deputy High Commissioner Anzul Jhan reassured Ottawa that Colombo remains committed to peace, she added that the government would prefer if such issues were raised by Canada directly. She stressed that her country is committed to the UN’s plan for accountability and reconciliation.
Jhan further stated that President Ranil Wickremesinghe “has started formal discussions with all Tamil parliamentarians on a way forward, to the ethnic issue in Sri Lanka.”