Government Parliamentarian Namal Rajapaksa today accused the United States of ‘needless provocation’.
Rajapaksa expressed these views in the back drop of the United States banning Army Commander Lt. Gen. Shavendra Silva and his immediate family members from entering the country.
Rajapaksa taking to his twitter account today said, “The U.S. travel ban on Army Commander Lt. Gen. Shavendra Silva is deplorable & based on unsubstantiated allegations. The ban on family members is needless provocation. These actions only weaken bilateral relations. I’m sure #SriLanka‘s friends will stand by us.”
On the 14th of February, the Department of State has designated Lieutenant General Shavendra Silva, current Commander of the Sri Lanka Army and Acting Chief of Defense Staff, as required under Section 7031(c) of the Department of State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs Appropriations Act, due to credible information of his involvement, through command responsibility, in gross violations of human rights, namely extrajudicial killings, by the 58th Division of the Sri Lanka Army during the final phase of Sri Lanka’s Civil War in 2009.
Following the announcement the Ministry of Foreign Relations formally conveyed to US Ambassador Alaina Teplitz Sri Lanka’s strong objections on the US’s decision and requested that the United States Government review its decision.
