Recipient of degree from US Army War College got multiple entry visa in 2019

By Shamindra Ferdinando

The US has categorised another senior military official, Maj. Gen. Udaya Perera, who was Sri Lanka’s Deputy High Commissioner in Malaysia (2009-2011) as a war crimes suspect.

The wartime Director of Operations, Perera, has been denied entry to the US recently although he has a five-year multiple entry visa issued in August 2019.

Well informed sources told The Island Maj. Gen. Perera had been informed of the US decision after he, along with his wife and his teenage son, on the night of 05 Dec., proceeded to the immigration counter to board the Colombo-Singapore Singapore Airline flight.

Maj. Gen. Udaya Perera has successfully followed top military courses in NDU (National Defence University in 2004) and USAWC (United States Army War College in 2012) and is a frequent traveller.

Having cleared the Perera family, the Singaporean Airline staff at the Bandaranaike International Airport (BIA) told him that they had received an alert from US authorities.

From Singapore, they were to fly to Los Angeles. Sources said that Maj. Perera stayed back while his wife and son went ahead with the planned visit. The General and his wife were to see their first granddaughter born in California.

Sources questioned the rationale behind the US move as Maj. Gen Perera, having retired in 2017 had received a multiple entry visa two years later. The Maj. Gen. had attended his daughter’s wedding; she got married to a naturalized US national from Kerala in Sept. 2019. Sources said that it was not clear what prompted the US action three years after the issuance of multiple entry visa and 12 years after the successful conclusion of the war.

The US made its move several weeks after inducting former Army Commander General Mahesh Senanayake into the United States Army Command and General Staff College (CGSC) International Hall of Fame at Fort Leavenworth. An alumnus of CGSC, Senanayake, who contested the 2019 presidential election has been conferred this honour in recognition of his “outstanding military leadership for the nation and commitment to preserving global peace. “

Sources said that about a week after blocking Maj. Gen. Perera, the US included two Sri Lankan military personnel in a list of officials prohibited to enter the US under Section 7031(c) of the Department of State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programmes Appropriation Act, 2021. The following is the relevant section of the U embassy statement:

• Chandana Hettiarachchi, a Sri Lankan naval intelligence officer, for his involvement in gross violations of human rights, namely, the flagrant denial of the right to liberty of at least eight “Trincomalee 11″ victims, from 2008 to 2009. Sunil Ratnayake, a former Staff Sergeant in the Sri Lanka Army, for his involvement in gross violations of human rights, namely the extrajudicial killings of at least eight Tamil villagers in December 2000. The designation of these two Sri Lankan individuals is not the only action we are taking in support of accountability for gross violations of human rights in Sri Lanka.”

However, the US embassy statement that dealt with the inclusion of two personnel conveniently refrained from making any reference to Maj. Gen. Udaya Perera.

Sources said that it was not clear whether the US has dealt with Maj. General Udaya Perera US under Section 7031(c) of the Department of State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programmes Appropriation Act, 2021.

This controversial law provides that in cases where there is credible information that officials of foreign governments have been involved in a gross violation of human rights or significant corruption, those individuals and their immediate family members are to be designated publicly or privately and are ineligible for entry into the United States.

In Feb. 2020, the US prohibited Army Commander General Shavendra Silva, who is also the Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) and his family from entering the US. In addition to them, Australia declined to allow Defence Secretary General Kamal Gunaratne and Maj. General Chagie Gallage from entering Australia. The US denied visa to Field Marshal Sarath Fonseka more than once.

The Island learns that Maj. Gen. Udaya Perera has written to the US embassy in Colombo in this regard.