News
President’s Office denies ex-US Ambassador’s claim ‘Killing of LTTE leaders who surrendered’
… recalls US Defence Advisor in Colombo contradicting battlefield executions
By Shamindra Ferdinando
President Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s Office yesterday (15) strongly denied a claim by former US Ambassador for War Crimes and Global Criminal Justice Stephen Rapp (2009-2015) that wartime Defence Secretary Gotabaya Rajapaksa had admitted to killing LTTE leaders followign their surrender to the Army in 2009. Rapp claimed Rajapaksa had told him so when he met the latter in Colombo.
There was absolutely no basis for Rapp’s claim, the President’s Office said when The Island sought President Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s response to the former Ambassador’s accusation. The President’s Office questioned the former US official’s motive to make such a statement seven years after leaving office.
The allegation was made on Friday (12) at an online panel discussion organised by a group of organizations targeting Sri Lanka led by the Global Tamil Forum (GTF) on Justice and rule of law in the run-up to the 46th sessions of the Geneva-based United Nations Human Rights Council. Rapp recalled a conversation with the then Defence Secretary and now President Gotabaya Rajapaksa regarding LTTE leaders who surrendered to the army. Rapp said the government “hated the LTTE”.
“I remember raising this issue with defence secretary Gotabaya, now President Rajapaksa when I was there,” Rapp said at the webinar.
“I remember the defence secretary saying, “Oh, trials, trials, you know they go on so long and people get off”. And then he said, “I killed them, I killed them, I killed them,” Rapp recalled.
Stephen J. Rapp is a Senior Fellow at the US Holocaust Memorial Museum’s Centre for Prevention of Genocide and at Oxford University’s Centre for Ethics, Law & Armed Conflict. He also serves as Chair of the Commission for International Justice and Accountability (CIJA).
The former US Ambassador was responding to a question regarding Sri Lanka’s suspicions about the failure on the part of the UN to inquire into atrocities committed by the LTTE as well as others, including the Indian Army. Rapp noted that one way to have made the Tigers accountable for violations would have been to arrest leaders and put them on trial. Rapp added: “Of course, recalling, that many of the individuals (in the LTTE) that could have been charged were in fact, according to credible evidence, killed after surrender. The numbers are around 360 that were given out”.
The President’s Office while pointing out Rapp visited Sri Lanka in 2012 and 2015, emphasized that the dramatic present accusation was meant for the Geneva sessions. Obviously, Rapp’s claim was nothing but overall part of the campaign to discredit Sri Lanka, the President’s Office said, drawing the former Ambassador’s attention to a wartime US defence attaché Lt. Col. Lawrence Smith declaration in 2011 in Colombo that battlefield executions didn’t take place.
The President’s Office said that the Office of War Crimes and Global Criminal Justice owed an explanation whether Rapp during his tenure as the head of that Office reported such a conversation with the then Sri Lankan Defence Secretary or whether Rapp shared information with UNHRC in the run up to 2015 Geneva sessions. Rapp should peruse Lt. Col’s Smith’s response to retired IPKF Maj. Gen. Ashok Metha’s query, the President’s Office said. Pointing out one-time LTTE mouthpiece TNA was represented at the webinar by its Jaffna District MP M.A. Sumanthiran, PC, the President’s Office questioned how US and the TNA backed the then General Sarath Fonseka’s candidature at the presidential election less than year from the conclusion of the war after having accused him and his army of genocide.
The President’s Office said that Sri Lanka rehabilitated over 12,000 LTTE cadres. Hundreds of LTTE cadres now live abroad under assumed names and were holders of various foreign passports, the President’s Office said adding that leaked US diplomatic cables revealed the Army could have finished off the LTTE with less casualties of its own but suffered losses due to ground commanders taking the civilian factor into consideration.
The President’s Office said that human right campaigning is a lucrative industry where plenty of funds are disbursed among those groups and individuals following the Western agenda. The former Ambassador Rapp’s claim reminded Sri Lanka of US-British campaign on WMDs leading to invasion of Iraq. Rapp’s claim in a way could be compared with former Northern Province Chief Minister C.V. Wigneswaran’s August 2016 high profile claim the Army poisoned 104 surrendered LTTE cadres.
Italian Naval Ship ‘PPA MONTECUCCOLI’ which arrived in Sri Lanka on 10th October 2024, departed the island today (13th October), on successful completion of her formal visit. The Sri Lanka Navy bade customary farewell to the departing ship at the Colombo port, following naval traditions.
On her departure, ‘PPA MONTECUCCOLI’ engaged in a successful Passage Exercise (PASSEX) with SLNS Gajabahu. The PASSEX involved training exercises in communication and tactical maneuvering, concluding with the traditional cheer ship salute
Latest News
President instructs officials to provide immediate relief to those affected by adverse weather conditions
President Anura Kumara Dissanayake has instructed officials to provide immediate relief to those affected by the recent adverse weather conditions across the country.
He also instructed the Secretary to the Ministry of Defence to ensure special attention is given to the safety of people in districts impacted by floods and landslides and to provide necessary support for effective relief operations.
The President emphasized that the government will take action to provide necessary assistance to all affected citizens and that local government officials in the affected areas will be engaged to ensure the people receive the required aid. Until such time, the President requested the public to act cautiously.
Additionally, the President instructed the Ministry of Finance to allocate Rs. 50 million for relief services and urged state officials to ensure proper coordination in delivering the relief to those in need.
According to the Disaster Management Centre, 24,492 individuals from 6,018 families have been affected by floods and landslides in 11 districts due to the adverse weather conditions experienced in recent days.
At present, 2,200 individuals from 584 families are being sheltered in 23 relief centres. Relief operations in all affected districts have already begun, coordinated by state officials through the Chief of Defence Staff’s office.
Emergency situations can be reported by contacting the Disaster Management Centre’s hotline number 117or by calling 0112136136, 0112136222, or 0112670002.
By Norman Palihawadane
Massive file retrieval for re-examination goes on at police headquarters and CID by engaging investigators in perusing evidence related to over thousand cases of the past two decades, police headquarters sources said.
The investigators have been divided into teams for what a senior police officer called ‘cold case investigation’ perusing archived documents and some are engaged in re-scrutinizing the evidence pertaining to several ongoing cases as well.
When contacted for comment, Acting IGP Priyantha Weerasooriya said that afresh investigation of Easter Sunday terror attacks has been commenced and officers have already started recording statements from various parties including those who had already testified before courts and commissions involved in previous probes.
“There is evidence to prove that many former investigations either deliberately overlooked or missed some vital information and facts. The CID has been tasked with the case reopening process. I can promise that new investigations will yield results to bring about justice to many. For example, the CID is looking to gather evidence from many new angles in the Wasim Thajudeen case,” Weerasooriya told The Island.
Prior to investigations a list of names of persons and officers who had been connected to investigations into controversial cases has been sent to the airport and a special police team has been detailed by the Ministry of Public Security to prevent them leaving the country, the Public Security Ministry sources said.
Among the new case-reopening process are several organized crimes involving some officers from the Colombo Crimes Division. Relevant CCD officials have been found trying to flee the country, police headquarters sources said.
The IGP has promised to overhaul CCD and to appoint a new director to the Division.
Sources within the Division said that many officers have found it uncomfortable to face the probes and there were concerns that some sensitive documents related to certain investigations conducted by the CCD might have been destroyed.
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