{"id":65334,"date":"2019-08-19T20:59:45","date_gmt":"2019-08-20T00:59:45","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/dbsjeyaraj.com\/dbsj\/?p=65334"},"modified":"2019-08-19T20:59:45","modified_gmt":"2019-08-20T00:59:45","slug":"president-sirisena-promotes-shavendra-silva-as-lt-general-and-appoints-him-23rd-commander-of-sri-lankas-army-un-describes-appointment-of-general-accused-of-war-crimes-as-army-chief-deeply-troubli","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dbsjeyaraj.com\/dbsj\/?p=65334","title":{"rendered":"President Sirisena Promotes Shavendra Silva as Lt.General and Appoints Him 23rd Commander of Sri Lanka’s Army: UN Describes Appointment of General Accused of war Crimes as Army Chief “Deeply Troubling”."},"content":{"rendered":"

By
\nMeera Srinivasan<\/strong><\/p>\n

President Maithripala Sirisena on Monday named a general accused of war crimes as commander of the Sri Lankan Army, sparking concern over the appointment that the UN later termed \u201cdeeply troubling\u201d.<\/p>\n

In his capacity as the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, the President appointed \u201cMajor General Shavendra Silva… as the 23rd Commander of the Army effective August 19 after promoting him to the rank of Lieutenant General,\u201d the Army said in a statement.<\/p>\n

Mr. Silva commanded the Sri Lankan Army\u2019s 58 Division during the final stages of the war against the rebel LTTE in 2009, and was implicated in an incident when white-flag carrying LTTE cadre, who were surrendering, were reportedly executed after being assured safety.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\u201cI am deeply troubled by the appointment of Lieutenant-General 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,\u201d UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet said in a statement.<\/p>\n

Though different UN probes in the past have accused his 58 division of grave violations of human rights, President Sirisena in January appointed him Army Chief of Staff. In her March 2019 report to the UN Human Rights Council, the High Commissioner referred to the appointment then as a \u201cworrying development\u201d.<\/p>\n

In its 2015 report, the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights referenced many alleged human rights violations linked to Mr. Silva’s 58 Division, including intentional and indiscriminate attacks against civilians in Killinochchi, Puthukkudiyiruppu and Mullivaikkal in the Northern Province that amounted to \u201cwar crimes\u201d.<\/p>\n

Setback to reforms
\nHis appointment as Army commander now \u201cseverely compromises\u201d Sri Lanka\u2019s commitment to promote justice and accountability in the context of the Human Rights Council resolution of 2015 that Sri Lanka co-sponsored, \u201cundermines reconciliation efforts\u201d and \u201csets back security sector reform\u201d, Ms. Bachelet noted.<\/p>\n

The appointment comes at a time when hope among Tamils, following the current government\u2019s pledge to ensure accountability, are fading. The Tamil National Alliance (TNA) said in a tweet that the installation of Mr. Silva as Army Commander was \u201ca serious affront to the Tamil People. We are deeply dismayed\u201d.<\/p>\n

Colombo-based NGO Centre for Policy Alternatives said despite the gravity of allegations facing Mr. Silva, neither the previous nor the current government investigated them. \u201cIn fact, Major Gen. Silva\u2019s series of promotions demonstrates how these alleged violations appear to be rewarded,\u201d it said in statement.<\/p>\n

Following the development, the U.S. said it was \u201cdeeply concerned\u201d. \u201cThe allegations of gross human rights violations against him, documented by the UN and other organisations, are serious and credible. This appointment undermines Sri Lanka\u2019s international reputation and its commitments to promote justice and accountability, especially at a time when the need for reconciliation and social unity is paramount,\u201d a statement from the Embassy said.<\/p>\n

Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe and his United National Party are yet to comment on the President’s move.<\/p>\n

Courtesy:The Hindu<\/em><\/p>\n

Tweet<\/a><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Meera Srinivasan President Maithripala Sirisena on Monday named a general accused of war crimes as commander of the Sri Lankan Army, sparking concern over the appointment that the UN later termed \u201cdeeply troubling\u201d. In his capacity as the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, the President appointed \u201cMajor General Shavendra Silva… as the 23rd Commander …<\/p>\n

Continue reading ‘President Sirisena Promotes Shavendra Silva as Lt.General and Appoints Him 23rd Commander of Sri Lanka’s Army: UN Describes Appointment of General Accused of war Crimes as Army Chief “Deeply Troubling”.’ »<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[12],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dbsjeyaraj.com\/dbsj\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/65334"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dbsjeyaraj.com\/dbsj\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dbsjeyaraj.com\/dbsj\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dbsjeyaraj.com\/dbsj\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dbsjeyaraj.com\/dbsj\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=65334"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/dbsjeyaraj.com\/dbsj\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/65334\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":65335,"href":"https:\/\/dbsjeyaraj.com\/dbsj\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/65334\/revisions\/65335"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dbsjeyaraj.com\/dbsj\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=65334"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dbsjeyaraj.com\/dbsj\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=65334"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dbsjeyaraj.com\/dbsj\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=65334"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}