Sri Lanka has summoned the Canadian ambassador following Ottawa’s decision to impose sanctions on four senior officials, including two former presidents, for alleged human rights violations there.
The Sri Lankan government accuses Ottawa of giving in to the politics of the Tamil diaspora by sanctioning two former presidents and two military officers. In a press release, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of this Southeast Asian state believes that this decision “creates a dangerous precedent”.
Ottawa announced Tuesday that it was banning the entry into the country of two former presidents: Gotabaya Rajapaksa, who resigned last July, and his older brother Mahinda Rajapaksa. Both men were in power when the Sri Lankan military defeated Tamil separatists, who fought a bloody 26-year civil war with the country’s majority Sinhalese population.
Gotabaya Rajapaksa temporarily fled his country last summer amid major protests over rising living costs. His brother Mahinda resigned as prime minister last spring — he had served as president before Gotabaya Rajapaksa.
Ottawa also imposed sanctions on two high-ranking military officers. Staff Sergeant Sunil Ratnayake was sentenced to death by a court for his role in the massacre of Tamils in 2000, before being pardoned by President Gotabaya Rajapaksa. The other officer sanctioned by Ottawa is Lieutenant Commander Chandana Prasad Hettiarachchi, who was accused of abducting civilians, who were later killed.
In addition to the entry ban, the four Sri Lankans can no longer make financial transactions in Canada.
Immediate reactions
This announcement quickly caught the attention of the media in Southeast Asia. Sri Lankan Foreign Minister Ali Sabry summoned Acting Canadian High Commissioner Daniel Bood and urged Ottawa to “review its decision”.
Minister Sabry said in a statement that the sanctions were based on “unsubstantiated allegations” and “domestic political constraints”, and could hamper reconciliation efforts in the country.
He said the move set “a dangerous precedent and was against the interests of Sri Lanka” as the country tries to work with elected Tamil officials on a decentralization of power and a peace plan.
Mr. Sabry’s department goes on to say that Canada’s decision places democratically elected leaders in a position of “vulnerability to arbitrary external decisions” that are not based on due process.
Former Haitian Prime Minister Laurent Lamothe made the same argument in a court case last December when he challenged Canadian sanctions based on his alleged support for violent gangs.
Global Affairs Canada and the office of Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly did not offer an immediate response to the Canadian ambassador’s summons.
“Bad timing”
Sri Lanka’s current president, Ranil Wickremesinghe, took office last July after economic turmoil led to an increase in child malnutrition and a shortage of medical supplies.
Last month, Mr Wickremesinghe said his country had “seen through the darkest times, immense hardship” due to last year’s “abject economic collapse”.
The Sri Lankan Foreign Ministry said now was a bad time for Ottawa to implement sanctions, and argued that the move “runs contrary to established diplomatic practice, disregarding existing channels of regular bilateral interaction”.
The department adds that Canada has a role to play as a peacemaker, given its own large population of Tamil origin.