United States sanctions former Sri Lankan Navy commander for human rights violations

The US has sanctioned former senior Sri Lankan Navy Commander Wasantha Karannagoda for a gross violation of human rights during the brutal conflict with the LTTE penalising a second senior defence official of the island nation in the last three yearsThe 70yearold Navy Commander from 20052009 became the second senior defence official to be sanctioned by the US for handling the final battle with the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam LTTE in 2009He was later appointed Sri Lankas Ambassador to JapanIn 2020 the US State Department similarly sanctioned the current chief of defence staff Gen Shavendra Silva He was a divisional head of the Army during the final battle and later became the CommanderThe US State Department has designated the former Navy Commander Wasantha Karannagoda for a gross violation of human rights US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a statement on WednesdayThe US continues to seek truth and justice for victims of the Sri Lankan civil war the statement further addedThe US has sanctioned several other defence officers of Sri Lanka for their role in the island nations war against the LTTE however most of the others were junior officers in designationLast year the US sanctioned the military officer Prabath Bulathwatte former head of a clandestine Sri Lankan Army platoon known as the Tripoli PlatoonWhen named all the property and interests of individuals or entities in the US or under the control of the US are blocked and they and their immediate family members are made ineligible for entry to the USAlso read 2019 Easter bombings anniversary Thousands of Sri Lankans demand justiceIn 2021 the US similarly listed two more Sri Lankan soldiersChandana Hettiarachchi a Navy officer and Sunil Ratnayake a staff sergeant of the Sri Lanka Army were so sanctioned over accountability for gross violations of human rightsIn a bitterly fought campaign that began in 1983 Sri Lankas military ended the nearly threedecade brutal civil war in the island nation in May 2009 by killing the leaders of the LTTEThe LTTE was fighting for an independent state for the Tamilians in Sri Lankas North and Eastern provincesThough the exact date when LTTE supremo Velupillai Prabhakaran was killed by the Sri Lankan Army was not known his death was announced on May 19 2009The thenpresident Mahinda Rajapaksa on May 18 2009 declared the end of a 26year war in which over 100000 people were killed and millions of Sri Lankans mainly minority Tamils were displaced as refugees inside the country and abroadThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever