U.S. Authorities Fail to Question Chief Sri Lankan General

By Alok Bhatt
Impunity Watch Reporter, Asia

COLOMBO,Sri Lanka - General Sarath Foneseka, one of the recognized masterminds behind the Sri Lankan government’s final, victorious campaign against the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Ealam, left Oklahoma city today on a civilian visit to his daughters.  Upon hearing of the general’s arrival into the country, authorities in the United States Department of Homeland Security formulated plans to interview the general.  The discussion had the purpose of trying to substantiate allegations of war crimes the Sri Lankan military and government committed throughout the quarter-century civil war against the Tamil Tiger insurgency.  However, the General left Oklahoma City without any disturbance by U.S. authorities.  

General Fonseka played an integral role in the Sri Lankan government’s spring defeat of the Tamil Tigers.  Although the ultimate attack on the insurgency purportedly aimed cease the bloody violence reigning over Sri Lanka for over twenty-five years, reports of crimes against humanity arose in reports submitted to the U.S. congress.  The reports concentrated on heinous acts perpetrated in the final months of fighting ultimately leading to the Tamil Tigers’ defeat in May. 

The report actually asserted that both separatists and Sri Lankan government forces committed atrocities against human rights.  The Sri Lankan government, however, was accused of confining droves of citizens in schools, hospitals, and other large public structures located in designated no-fire zones.  Furthermore, human rights groups alleged that the Sri Lankan government engaged in indiscriminate bombing over Tamil territories, resulting in the deaths of thousands of civilian nationals. 

Between the inhumane acts of the government and separatists, it has been calculated that between 7,000 and 20,000 civilians had been killed over the final months of fighting. Despite the severity of the allegations and the imperative information General Fonseka could divulge concerning heinous practices in war, the Sri Lankan government swiftly pronounced its disfavor towards the idea of an interview.

The Sri Lankan government seemed particularly leery of the possibility that U.S. authorities would inquire about Sri Lankan Secretary of Defense Gotabaya Rajapaksa.  The brother of the Sri Lankan president and a U.S. citizen himself, Rajapaksa is acknowledged as another significant figure in the Sri Lankan military’s defeat over the Tamil Tigers.  The Sri Lankan government also denies the merits of the allegations of human rights offenses. 

Without any words from the Sri Lankan government, the only corroborated information on Sri Lanka's war practices is the lofty, tragic death toll for the bloody civil war.

For more information, please see:

Al-Jazeera - U.S. to 'question' S Lanka army chief - 04 November 2009

Guardian - U.S. to question Sri Lanka army chief war crimes allegations - 02 Novermber 2009

Lanka Journal - Sri Lanka's top general leaves U.S. unquestioned - 04 November 2009