US Sanctions Sri Lankan Governor Over Alleged Civil War Killings

Facts

• On Wednesday, the US announced that it will refuse visas to Sri Lankan provincial Gov. Wasantha Karannagoda and his wife on human rights grounds after finding accusations that the former Navy chief abducted and killed children of wealthy families during the island nation's 26-year-long civil war "credible."¹
• Karannagoda was reportedly charged alongside 13 others concerning the disappearance of 11 people between 2008 and 2009. According to Amnesty International, he was charged with turning a blind eye to the alleged abductions by naval personnel under his command.²
• In 2021, Sri Lankan authorities dropped the charges against him. He was soon named governor of North Western Province by then-Pres. Gotabaya Rajapaksa, who served as defense chief when Sri Lanka defeated the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), a separatist rebel group, in 2009.³
• The 70-year-old former Navy commander is the second senior military official to be sanctioned by the US. In 2020, the US State Department similarly designated the current chief of defense staff, Gen. Shavendra Silva.⁴
• The US is also one of the nations at the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) that have drafted, passed, and lobbied for resolutions critical of Sri Lanka, advocating for accountability for alleged human rights violations during the war.⁵
• Meanwhile, Sri Lanka denies accusations that it committed any human rights abuses during the civil war that — according to UN estimations — likely killed over 100K people, including 40K civilians.¹

Sources: ¹Al Jazeera, ²UPI, ³Yahoo News, ⁴The New Indian Express, and ⁵The Wire.

Narratives

• Pro-establishment narrative, as provided by Human Rights Watch. The Sri Lankan government has repeatedly refused to acknowledge any responsibility for war crimes committed by military forces during the civil war. Instead of pursuing justice, the government has appointed several high-ranking military officials implicated in alleged war crimes to top political posts. Former Admiral Wasantha Karannagoda is one of them.
• Establishment-critical narrative, as provided by Archive. The unilateral move by the US to blacklist Wasantha Karannagoda is not only counterproductive to the holistic approach that the island nation has taken to addressing national unity and reconciliation, but it also completely disregards due process and is presuming guilt without any evidence.