Bachelet
“deeply troubled” by appointment of new Sri Lankan army chief
GENEVA (19
August 2019) -- The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet
expressed serious concerns Monday about the appointment of a senior Sri Lankan
military officer, who has been heavily implicated by a succession of UN reports
in alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity, as the country’s new army
commander.
“I 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,” Bachelet said.
The High
Commissioner had already described his previous appointment as Army Chief of
Staff as a “worrying development” in her last report to the Human Rights
Council in March 2019.
Lieutenant-General
Silva commanded Sri Lanka’s 58th Division during the final stages of the
military campaign against the LTTE (‘Tamil Tigers’) in 2009, and successive UN
investigations have implicated his division in alleged serious violations of
international humanitarian and human rights law.*
“The promotion
of Lieutenant-General General Silva severely compromises Sri Lanka’s commitment
to promote justice and accountability in the context of Human Rights Councilresolution 30/1,” Bachelet said. “It
undermines reconciliation efforts, particularly in the eyes of victims and
survivors who suffered greatly in the war. It also sets back security sector
reform, and is likely to impact on Sri Lanka’s ability to continue contributing
to UN peacekeeping efforts.”
ENDS
*See the Sept.
2015 OHCHR Investigation on Sri Lanka (OISL) report: paragraphs 5; 116-19;
285-305; 429-437; 544-543; and 791-882.
For more
information and media requests, please contact: Rupert Colville - + 41 22 917
9767 / rcolville@ohchr.org or Ravina Shamdasani - + 41 22 917 9169 /
rshamdasani@ohchr.org or Marta Hurtado - + 41 22 917 9466 / mhurtado@ohchr.org
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