Former Army Commander and Chief of Defence Staff General Shavendra Silva has rejected the allegations underpinning US and UK sanctions against him, saying he acted within military law throughout the final phase of Sri Lanka’s civil war, in an interview with the YouTube programme Impact Stories reported by Daily Mirror on Tuesday.
“I have been sanctioned by the United States of America, and I was sanctioned recently by the United Kingdom. I’ve been asking: tell me what I have done wrong. I’m not a war criminal. I fought for my country,” Silva said. “What I’ve been tasked to do, I do. If I had gone against military law, I should be punished if I had done something wrong.”
He said the armed forces had operated under established rules governing combat and the surrender of fighters.
Rehabilitation, and the contrast he draws
Silva said approximately 12,000 former LTTE combatants were rehabilitated and reintegrated into society after the war.
“We were very concerned about our own people. Although they were terrorists, they were our own people. As far as they surrendered their weapons, we had no issue taking them in,” he said, contrasting that with the position of officers who served on the front lines and “are being sanctioned all over the world.”
He rejected the characterisation of the LTTE as an organisation fighting for rights, saying the population had grievances that should have been addressed through proper means, and citing the assassinations of a Sri Lankan president and of Rajiv Gandhi.
Criticism of coverage, and a call for direct dialogue
Silva criticised international media reporting of the war, saying some television footage had carried what he described as incorrect translations of conversations, creating misleading impressions about military operations and alleged attacks on civilians.
“Those who are campaigning abroad have mostly been wrongly briefed. At the end of the day, I don’t blame all of them. I blame successive governments for failing to take the right story to the world,” he said.
He invited foreign governments and international organisations to raise specific allegations with Sri Lankan authorities directly rather than relying on third parties. “Tell us: ‘You did this on this particular day at this particular time.’ That way we can clarify the facts directly… If we have genuinely done something wrong, we will accept it. But you must give us the chance to address it directly.”
Silva described May 18, 2009 as the most significant day of his life, recalling that his division finished the last day of the war and that he telephoned the Army Chief to report that “we have liberated the last inch of the land.”
The interview also covered his upbringing — his mother an English teacher, his father a chairman of the Sri Lanka Transport Board — and what he called the importance of Sri Lanka’s defence relationship with India.
Context
The remarks come as the UN Human Rights Council’s 63rd session takes up the latest OHCHR report on Sri Lanka, which addresses accountability for the conflict, and days after a written update was submitted to the Council.
Daily Mirror was the only verified newsroom to carry the interview. No response from the US or UK missions in Colombo, or from the Government, has been reported.
