International Truth and Justice Project Media Evaluation (Private)

Media Coverage for IJTP War Crimes Case

W E

On Monday 28 August, the International Truth and Justice Project (ITJP) filed war crimes charges in Brazil, Colombia, Peru (and later Chile) against Sri Lanka’s Ambassador in Latin America, Jagath Jayasuriya, for his role in the final phase of the civil war in 2009. The filing of the cases, in partnership with a number of Latin American organisations, was coordinated by Spanish prosecutor, Carlos Castresana Fernández, who was one of the Spanish lawyers who in 1996 initiated the cases against General Videla and General Pinochet in Spain’s National Court.

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR: YASMIN SOOKA

This document includes some of the extensive media interest the case generated worldwide across TV, radio, print and online. Yasmin Sooka, ITJP’s executive director and South African human rights lawyer, visited London for a press conference and was interviewed by Channel 4 News, Newshour, BBC World Service’s flagship current affairs show and BBC Radio 5. The Associated Press ran a major story from Latin America and London and there was coverage across the world from the US to the UK; Sri Lanka to India. Dozens of high-profile online publishers ran the story, including Time, Washington Post, BBC, Al Jazeera, and dailymail online. There was extensive coverage in Sri Lanka and on Tamil outlets. The London-based Tamil Guardian live tweeted the press conference and interviewed ITJP’s Yasmin Sooka and Frances Harrison and filmmaker and director of No Fire Zone, Callum Macrae.

The legal action has triggered a huge debate inside Sri Lanka between different factions of the army and political elite. This is still playing out in the media. This report covers the first week of media coverage only.

Created and compiled by tpr media consultants www.tpr-media.com August 2017

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Rights group files war crimes charges against Sri Lankan ambassador – Channel 4 News

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Rights group files war crimes charges against Sri Lankan ambassador Jonathan Rugman Foreign Affairs Correspondent

The Sri Lankan government has denied its ambassador to Brazil is on the run, after a human rights group filed war crimes charges against him there. Jagath Jayasuriya is flying back home to Sri Lanka just as he stands accused of criminal responsibility for the killing, torture and disappearance of civilians

https://www.channel4.com/news/rights-group-files-war-crimes-charges-against-sri-lankan-ambassador[30/08/2017 15:25:16]

Rights group files war crimes charges against Sri Lankan ambassador – Channel 4 News

during his previous role as army commander during his country’s civil war. A warning, there are distressing images in this report.

https://www.channel4.com/news/rights-group-files-war-crimes-charges-against-sri-lankan-ambassador[30/08/2017 15:25:16]

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Sri Lanka's Jagath Jayasuriya wanted for war crimes 29 August 2017 Asia

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Jagath Jayasuriya (centre) commanded troops in the final months of the war

Human rights groups have filed lawsuits in Brazil and Colombia against Sri Lanka's ambassador in Latin America, accusing him of war crimes. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-41089396[30/08/2017 14:24:32]

Sri Lanka's Jagath Jayasuriya wanted for war crimes - BBC News

Former general Jagath Jayasuriya was a commander in the final stages of the civil war with separatist Tamil rebels in 2009.

Tens of thousands of Tamils - and the rebel leadership - were killed at the end of the conflict, in which both sides were accused of atrocities.

Human rights groups have long called for prosecutions but there have been none so far.

What is Jagath Jayasuriya accused of?

Sri Lanka's ambassador to Brazil, Colombia, Peru, Chile, Argentina and Suriname was in charge of troops in the north-east of the island who are alleged to have attacked hospitals and abducted, killed and tortured thousands of civilians.

AFP

Hundreds of thousands of Tamils were trapped on a patch of land at the end of the war

As a diplomat he enjoys immunity but the International Truth and Justice Project, which brought the case, wants him expelled and his conduct investigated.

"In the pivotal period between 2007-2009 he was really in charge of what was happening in the Vanni area," lawyer Yasmin Sooka of the International Truth and Justice Project told the BBC's Newshour programme.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-41089396[30/08/2017 14:24:32]

Sri Lanka's Jagath Jayasuriya wanted for war crimes - BBC News

Gen Pinochet spent 18 months under arrest in London fighting extradition to Spain.

Yasmin Sooka says Jagath Jayasuriya will have diplomatic immunity for as long as he's an ambassador.

PA

Gen Pinochet to Chile andthe was ambassadorial never convicted "We've heardreturned he held on to post and that he will probably resign when he reaches Colombo - immunity will cease once he steps down from the post.

"But what's wonderful is the Latin American countries can actually file an arrest warrant, they can put him on an Interpol red list and ask for his extradition -and really he will become a prisoner on the island of Sri Lanka."

The BBC sought a response from Sri Lanka's Foreign Ministry and the government spokesman on the case but they have not yet provided a response.

What was the cost of the war?

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-41089396[30/08/2017 14:24:32]

Sri Lanka's Jagath Jayasuriya wanted for war crimes - BBC News

AFP

The fate of thousands of Tamils has been in question since the final stages of the war

The 26-year civil war left at least 100,000 people dead on both sides of the conflict. The Tamil Tigers said they were fighting for a homeland for minority Tamils in northern Sri Lanka.

There are still no confirmed figures for tens of thousands of civilian deaths in the last months of battle.

The final months of the war saw hundreds of thousands of Tamil civilians trapped in territory held by the Tamil Tigers (LTTE) in the north-east.

While government forces were accused of indiscriminate shelling leading to massive casualties, the Tamil Tiger rebels were alleged to have used civilians as human shields and shot people trying to escape.

Allegations persist to this day that the army killed rebel leaders and others after they surrendered or were captured - and the UN admitted in 2012 that it could and should have done more to protect civilians.

Channel 4 and the UN have documented numerous atrocities committed during the war.

One investigation said it was possible up to 40,000 people had been killed in the final five months alone. Others suggest the number of deaths could be even higher.

Related Topics Sri Lanka

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Sri Lankan ambassador, accused of war crimes, leaves Brazil | Daily Mail Online

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Sri Lankan ambassador, accused of war crimes, leaves Brazil

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By ASSOCIATED PRESS PUBLISHED: 17:57, 29 August 2017 | UPDATED: 17:57, 29 August 2017

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RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) - A former Sri Lankan general accused of war crimes by human rights groups has left Brazil, where until recently he was his country's ambassador to six nations in South America, an embassy official said Tuesday.

Jagath Jayasuriya left Brazil on Sunday to return to Sri Lanka after completing his twoyear tour of service, acting head of mission Premaphilake Jayakody told The Associated Press.

"He is no longer ambassador," Jayakody said.

+2 The Sri Lanka embassy stands in Brasilia, Brazil, Monday, Aug. 28, 2017. Human rights groups in South America are alleging war crimes violations in lawsuits filed against a former Sri Lankan general who is now his Asian nation's ambassador to Brazil and five other countries in Latin America. (AP Photo/Eraldo Peres)

He declined to comment on allegations in criminal suits that rights groups began filing the previous day in the six countries where Jayasuriya represented Sri Lanka.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/wires/ap/article-4833984/Sri-Lankan-ambassador-accused-war-crimes-leaves-Brazil.html[30/08/2017 14:24:03]

Sri Lankan ambassador, accused of war crimes, leaves Brazil | Daily Mail Online

The suits are based on Jayasuriya's role as a commander in the final phase of Sri Lanka's civil war in 2009. They allege he oversaw military units that attacked hospitals and killed, disappeared and tortured thousands of people.

Jayasuriya had diplomatic immunity in the countries where he was ambassador, and the groups pursuing the suits had hoped to compel governments to expel him. With the apparent end of his ambassadorship, he would no longer enjoy that diplomatic protection if he were to return.

On Monday, Carlos Castresana Fernandez, the lawyer coordinating the effort, said suits had been filed in Brazil and Colombia and more were coming soon for Argentina, Chile and Peru. He said Suriname had refused to accept the petition.

"This is one genocide that has been forgotten, but this will force democratic countries to do something," Fernandez said. "This is just the beginning of the fight."

The criminal suits, reviewed by the AP, were spearheaded by the human rights group International Truth and Justice Project, an evidence-gathering organization based in South Africa. They had three central aims: push local authorities to open investigations of Jayasuriya, remove his diplomatic immunity and expel him.

With Jayasuriya out of the country, the petitions can be amended to ask for arrest warrants in the case he returns, Fernandez said.

Speaking to reporters in London, Yasmin Sooka, executive director of the International Truth and Justice Project, said they believed that Jayasuriya had been tipped off about plans for the suits and fled.

"We discovered by tracking him that in fact by 10:00 last night he had reached Dubai," said Sooka. "That means that he took a direct flight from Brazil to Dubai and he made sure that he didn't cross any of the other countries like the U.S., the U.K. or Europe where he could potentially have been picked up."

The nations where Jayasuriya was ambassador have their own dark histories of violence, including military dictatorships, torture and the killing or disappearance of thousands.

Fernandez, the coordinating lawyer, was one of the attorneys who worked on international cases against former dictators Gen. Jorge Rafael Videla of Argentina and Gen. Augusto Pinochet of Chile. He has also helped win indictments in war crimes and organized crime cases in Guatemala, including one against ex-President Alfonso Portillo.

The civil war in Sri Lanka, an island off the southern tip of India, raged intermittently between 1983 and 2009. Fueled in part by ethnic tensions between Sinhalese and Tamil citizens, an insurgency against the government was led by a group called the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam. They fought to establish a separate Tamil state in the northeastern part of the island.

The suits say Jayasuriya was commander of the Vanni Security Force from 2007 to 2009, one of the bloodiest periods in a war estimated to have killed more than 100,000 people.

The U.N. estimates between 40,000 and 70,000 died in the final phase alone.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/wires/ap/article-4833984/Sri-Lankan-ambassador-accused-war-crimes-leaves-Brazil.html[30/08/2017 14:24:03]

Sri Lankan ambassador, accused of war crimes, leaves Brazil | Daily Mail Online

According to the suits, Jayasuriya oversaw an offensive from Joseph Camp, also known as Vanni, which the papers claim was a notorious torture site.

The International Truth and Justice Project said it interviewed 14 survivors of torture or sexual violence at the camp. According to the group, victims described hearing the howls of detainees at night, which the suits contend Jayasuriya would have been able to hear.

A few years after the war ended, Jayasuriya retired from the military. He was appointed ambassador to Brazil in 2015, and the other countries were added to his purview over the following two years.

Human rights groups have long been after Jayasuriya, but the Sri Lankan government has refused to try him or others allegedly involved in war crimes. ___ Associated Press video journalist Kevin Scott in London contributed to this report. ___ Peter Prengaman on Twitter: www.twitter.com/peterprengaman

+2 A sign points out the location of the Sri Lanka embassy in Brasilia, Brazil, Monday, Aug. 28, 2017. Human rights groups in South America are alleging war crimes violations in lawsuits filed against a former Sri Lankan general who is now his Asian nation's ambassador to Brazil and five other countries in Latin America. (AP Photo/Eraldo Peres)

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Sri Lanka defends diplomat facing warcrimes charges

By AFP PUBLISHED: 14:45, 3 September 2017 | UPDATED: 14:45, 3 September 2017

A human rights group has filed two cases against retired general Jagath Jayasuriya (C) over his role as a senior army officer during and after the island's long ethnic war

Sri Lanka's president Sunday defended his ambassador to Latin America who faces war crimes allegations over his role as a senior army officer during and after the island's ethnic war.

Maithripala Sirisena told a convention of his Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) that he would not allow retired general Jagath Jayasuriya or any war veteran to be tried by any foreign entity.

A human rights group last week filed two cases in Colombia and Brazil against Jayasuriya, who until recently was Sri Lanka's ambassador to several South American countries.

The group alleged that Jayasuriya oversaw torture camps and was responsible for disappearances and extrajudicial killings in the final stages of the civil war in 2009 and thereafter.

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Sri Lankan leader will protect general accused of war crimes

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By ASSOCIATED PRESS PUBLISHED: 16:12, 3 September 2017 | UPDATED: 16:47, 3 September 2017

COLOMBO, Sri Lanka (AP) ­ Sri Lanka's president on Sunday vowed to protect his former ambassador to six South American nations, an ex­army chief accused of crimes in the bloody final phase of the country's civil war.

"I state very clearly that I will not allow anyone in the world to touch Jagath Jayasuriya or any other military chief or any war hero in this country," President Maithripala Sirisena said on Sunday, addressing a convention of his Sri Lanka Freedom Party.

Sirisena's statement came a week after rights groups filed criminal lawsuits in South America against Jayasuriya, who until last week served as the country's envoy to Brazil, Argentina, Chile, Colombia, Peru and Suriname.

The suits are based on Jayasuriya's role as a commander in the final phase of Sri Lanka's civil war in 2009. They allege he oversaw military units that attacked hospitals and killed, disappeared and tortured thousands of people.

The suits had been filed in Brazil and Colombia and more were to come in Argentina, Chile and Peru. Suriname had refused to accept the petition.

Sri Lanka's military has also denied the allegations against Jayasuriya.

Sirisena's comments are seen as an attempt to woo majority ethnic Sinhalese, most of whom oppose action against military personnel accused of crimes in the fight against minority Tamil rebels. Sirisena is being painted as anti­Sinhalese by hard­line sections of the community.

More than 100,000 people are believed to have been killed in Sri Lanka's 26­year civil war, including 40,000 to 70,000 in the final phase alone.

In a joint resolution in 2015 at the U.N. Human Rights Council, Sri Lanka promised among other things a truth­seeking mechanism, a judicial mechanism to prosecute those accused of human rights abuses, and a new constitution that covers the island nation's varied ethnicities and religions. However, little progress has been made.

Sri Lanka had agreed to allow foreign judges but backtracked later, insisting that only local courts could investigate the allegations.

The criminal suits, reviewed by the AP, were spearheaded by the human rights group

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International Truth and Justice Project, an evidence­gathering organization based in South Africa. They had three central aims: push local authorities to open investigations of Jayasuriya, remove his diplomatic immunity and expel him.

However, Jayasuriya left Brazil last week to return to Sri Lanka after completing his two­year tour of service. The petitions can be amended to ask for arrest warrants in case he returns, according to the lawyer who filed the suit.

The civil war in Sri Lanka, an island off the southern tip of India, raged intermittently between 1983 and 2009. Fueled in part by ethnic tensions between ethnic majority Sinhalese and minority Tamils, an insurgency against the government was led by a group called the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam. They fought to establish a separate Tamil state in the northeastern part of the island.

Both sides are accused of war crimes.

The suits say Jayasuriya was commander of the Vanni Security Force from 2007 to 2009, and oversaw an offensive from Joseph Camp, also known as Vanni, which the papers claim was a notorious torture site.

Just after the war's end, Jayasuriya was promoted as chief of the army and in 2015, he retired from the military. He was appointed ambassador to Brazil in 2015, and the other countries were added to his purview over the following two years.

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Sri Lanka's ex­army chief ready to testify against successor

By AFP PUBLISHED: 19:55, 1 September 2017 | UPDATED: 20:30, 1 September 2017

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A human rights group this week filed two cases against General Jagath Jayasuriya in Colombia and Brazil, who until recently was Sri Lanka's ambassador in several South American countries

Sri Lanka's former army chief on Friday accused his successor of committing crimes against suspects during the island's civil war and said he was ready to testify against the ex­military commander.

A human rights group this week filed two cases against General Jagath Jayasuriya in Colombia and Brazil, who until recently was Sri Lanka's ambassador in several South American countries.

The group alleged that Jayasuriya oversaw torture camps and was responsible for hundreds of disappearances and extrajudicial killings in the final stages of the conflict when he was a senior officer.

He was promoted army chief barely three months after the war ended.

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Sarath Fonseka, Jayasuriya's predecessor, told reporters in Colombo Friday that he had received complaints against the post­war commander, who was placed in charge of arrested rebel suspects during the final phase of the war.

"At that time, I had several complaints against him. It was to do with crimes against suspects in his custody," Fonseka said.

"As I started an investigation, the then rulers removed me as army commander."

Fonseka added that he was ready to testify against Jayasuriya, who was not immediately available for comment.

South African­based rights group the International Truth and Justice Project (ITJP), which filed the cases against Jayasuriya, said it wanted both Brazil and Colombia to revoke his diplomatic immunity.

But two days after the cases were filed, Jayasuriya left Brazil where he has been based since 2015. The foreign ministry in Colombo denied media reports that he fled and said he had completed a two­year term.

International rights groups have said that at least 40,000 ethnic Tamil civilians were killed by security forces while crushing the rebels in the final months of Sri Lanka's 37­year civil war, which ended in May 2009.

The UN has estimated that at least 100,000 people were killed between 1972 and 2009.

Tiger rebels have also been accused of using human shields and killing civilians in their guerrilla war for a separate homeland for the minority ethnic Tamil community in the Sinhala majority nation.

Fonseka, who led Sri Lanka's armed forces between December 2005 and July 2009, insisted Friday that troops under his command did not commit atrocities.

Fonseka himself had been accused by rights groups of ordering indiscriminate shelling of hospitals and bombarding civilians. He has denied the allegations.

He said he was pressing for an independent investigation to clear the name of the military and to punish any offenders.

The former Sri Lankan government faced international censure for refusing to acknowledge that civilians were killed while battling Tamil separatists.

However, the new administration which came to power in January 2015 has said it was willing to investigate specific allegations of wrongdoing and pay reparations to victims.

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Top Asian News 6:43 a.m. GMT Associated Press 30 August 2017

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — North Korean leader Kim Jong Un called for more weapons launches targeting the Pacific Ocean to advance his country's ability to contain Guam, state media said Wednesday, a day after Pyongyang for the first time flew a ballistic missile designed to carry a nuclear payload over Japan. Tuesday's aggressive missile launch — likely the longest ever from North Korea — over a close U.S. ally sends a clear message of defiance as Washington and Seoul conduct annual military drills. The Korean Central News Agency said the launch was a "muscle­flexing" countermeasure to the Ulchi Freedom Guardian joint exercises that conclude Thursday.

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi says his country will "fully and completely" abide by U.N. Security Council sanctions resolutions on North Korea. Wang told reporters Wednesday China would work with other members of the council on how best to react to North Korea's launch of a ballistic missile over Japan on Tuesday. He says, "We will make a necessary response." While acknowledging long­standing ties between the Pyongyang and Beijing, Wang says China was compelled to act to guard against further instability. China accounts for around 90 percent of North Korea's foreign trade and has provided limited diplomatic cover for its actions, despite growing increasingly frustrated at continued provocations.

ISLAMABAD (AP) — Despite seemingly stalled peace talks between Afghanistan's government and the Taliban, officials say the intelligence chief speaks by telephone with militant leaders nearly every day about the country's constitution and political future. In addition, Afghanistan's national security adviser has conversations with the Taliban every other month, officials familiar with the efforts said. The Associated Press has seen documents describing the conversations between the Afghan officials and the Taliban leadership in both Pakistan and the Gulf state of Qatar, where they maintain an office. While Afghan officials said neither side was ready to agree to public peace talks, the documents revealed details of the issues discussed, including the Taliban's apparent willingness to accept Afghanistan's constitution and future elections.

BEIJING (AP) — China and India may have ended a tense border standoff for now, but their longstanding rivalry raises questions about the possibility of meaningful cooperation at an upcoming summit of major emerging economies. The annual summit of the BRICS grouping encompassing Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa gets under way this weekend in the southeastern Chinese city of Xiamen, hoping to advance its vision of an alternative to the Western dominance of global affairs. The leaders of all five nations are expected to attend, offering the best opportunity for Chinese President Xi Jinping and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi to talk since the border tensions flared in June.

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BEIJING (AP) — China's foreign minister said Wednesday he hopes India can "learn lessons" from a recently resolved border standoff and avoid such occurrences in the future, as the leaders of the two Asian giants prepare to meet next week for a summit in southeastern China. Wang Yi's remarks came after the countries agreed Monday to pull back their troops from a disputed Himalayan plateau where China, India and Bhutan meet. "We're hoping that their side will learn lessons from this incident and prevent some of the things from happening again. We hope that through the efforts of both sides we will maintain healthy and stable relations," Wang said.

RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) — A former Sri Lankan general accused of war crimes by human rights groups has left Brazil, where until recently he was his country's ambassador to six nations in South America, an embassy official said Tuesday. Jagath Jayasuriya left Brazil on Sunday to return to Sri Lanka after completing his two­year tour of service, acting head of mission Premaphilake Jayakody told The Associated Press. "He is no longer ambassador," Jayakody said. He declined to comment on allegations in criminal suits that rights groups began filing the previous day in the six countries where Jayasuriya represented Sri Lanka.

BANGKOK (AP) — Violence in Myanmar's western Rakhine state has driven thousands of ethnic Rohingya Muslims fleeing toward Bangladesh for safety, along with a smaller exodus of ethnic Rakhine Buddhists. A majority of the country's estimated 1 million Rohingya live in the northern part of Rakhine state, where Rohingya insurgents launched coordinated attacks last week against police posts, setting off allegedly brutal retaliation by government forces.

Human rights groups and advocates for the Rohingya say the army retaliated by burning down villages and shooting civilians. The government blames Rohingya insurgents for the violence, including the arson. The official death toll in the violence was 96 as of Sunday, and the actual number is likely to be higher.

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Sri Lanka's ambassador to Brazil flees country over war crimes lawsuits | Tamil Guardian

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Sri Lanka's ambassador to Brazil flees country over war crimes lawsuits

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Updated 1300 GMT Sri Lanka's ambassador to Brazil has fled the country after human rights groups filed lawsuits

http://tamilguardian.com/content/sri-lankas-ambassador-brazil-flees-country-over-war-crimes-lawsuits[30/08/2017 15:00:01]

Sri Lanka's ambassador to Brazil flees country over war crimes lawsuits | Tamil Guardian

accusing him of overseeing war crimes on Monday night.

Jagath Jayasuriya has now returned to Colombo via Dubai after fleeing Brazil on Sunday.

A former military general, Jagath Jayasuriya stands accused of overseeing Sri Lankan units that bombed hospitals, as well as the execution and torture of surrendees and disappeared civilians amongst a litany of human rights abuses against Tamil civilians and militants during the final phase of the island's armed conflict in May 2009.

"This is one genocide that has been forgotten, but this will force democratic countries to do something," said Carlos Castresana Fernandez, a lawyer for the human rights groups. "This is just the beginning of the fight."

Mr Fernandez has previously worked on landmark international war crimes cases against Argentine General Jorge Rafael Videla and Chilean General Augusto Pinochet. Mr Fernandez expressed confidence in the evidence behind the lawsuit, adding that it was far more substantial than he had in previous cases. He said

"I am shocked to see there is even more evidence of grave crimes in this law suit than in the cases we started against General Pinochet or Videla".

Similar lawsuits against the former military general have been filed in Colombia and Peru, with Chile expected to follow suit. The war crimes case against the former military general was filed by South Africa based NGO, the International Truth and Justice Project. (ITJP).

http://tamilguardian.com/content/sri-lankas-ambassador-brazil-flees-country-over-war-crimes-lawsuits[30/08/2017 15:00:01]

Sri Lanka's ambassador to Brazil flees country over war crimes lawsuits | Tamil Guardian

Details of General Jayasuriya's diplomatic appointments. Source: ITJP

A hasty getaway

http://tamilguardian.com/content/sri-lankas-ambassador-brazil-flees-country-over-war-crimes-lawsuits[30/08/2017 15:00:01]

Sri Lanka's ambassador to Brazil flees country over war crimes lawsuits | Tamil Guardian

“It is an outrage that a man like this, named in UN reports, should be sent as a diplomat abroad and accredited given what he has done," said the International Truth and Justice Project's (ITJP) executive director, South African human rights lawyer Yasmin Sooka. "We understand he’s suddenly fled the region and returned to Sri Lanka.”

Speaking to the Tamil Guardian, Ms Sooka said her organisation had tracked the general's final movements in the country.

"Of course somebody tipped off the general yesterday and he actually fled Brazil," she said.

"And last night as we were tracking him, we heard that he took a direct flight to Dubai. At 10 o’clock last night we knew that he was in Dubai. We don’t know at what point he will reach Sri Lanka today, but apparently, he was still ambassador at the moment that he boarded that flight. And we’ve heard that he intends to resign in Sri Lanka, which is when he will be no longer able to claim diplomatic immunity."

Ms Sooka went on to add,

"if all of these countries actually set up arrest warrants for him, effectively General Jayasuriya will be a prisoner in his own country".

“If he really believed in his innocence, General Jayasuriya would have remained in post and faced the judicial process that would have ensued," Ms Sooka added.

A statement released by Sri Lanka's foreign affairs ministry shortly after the news of the ambassador fleeing Brazil broke, said he was returning to Sri Lanka on a planned visit. “The Foreign Ministry denies that Jagath Jayasuriya fled Brazil in response to a human rights petition. He is returning after ending his term as planned,” BBC Sinhala service quotes the Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Mahishini Collonne as saying.

The general had handed his credentials as ambassador to Colombia just six months ago.

http://tamilguardian.com/content/sri-lankas-ambassador-brazil-flees-country-over-war-crimes-lawsuits[30/08/2017 15:00:01]

Sri Lanka's ambassador to Brazil flees country over war crimes lawsuits | Tamil Guardian

“It is an outrage that a man like this, named in UN reports, should be sent as a diplomat abroad and accredited given what he has done," said the International Truth and Justice Project's (ITJP) executive director, South African human rights lawyer Yasmin Sooka. "We understand he’s suddenly fled the region and returned to Sri Lanka.”

Speaking to the Tamil Guardian, Ms Sooka said her organisation had tracked the general's final movements in the country.

"Of course somebody tipped off the general yesterday and he actually fled Brazil," she said.

"And last night as we were tracking him, we heard that he took a direct flight to Dubai. At 10 o’clock last night we knew that he was in Dubai. We don’t know at what point he will reach Sri Lanka today, but apparently, he was still ambassador at the moment that he boarded that flight. And we’ve heard that he intends to resign in Sri Lanka, which is when he will be no longer able to claim diplomatic immunity."

Ms Sooka went on to add,

"if all of these countries actually set up arrest warrants for him, effectively General Jayasuriya will be a prisoner in his own country".

“If he really believed in his innocence, General Jayasuriya would have remained in post and faced the judicial process that would have ensued," Ms Sooka added.

A statement released by Sri Lanka's foreign affairs ministry shortly after the news of the ambassador fleeing Brazil broke, said he was returning to Sri Lanka on a planned visit. “The Foreign Ministry denies that Jagath Jayasuriya fled Brazil in response to a human rights petition. He is returning after ending his term as planned,” BBC Sinhala service quotes the Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Mahishini Collonne as saying.

The general had handed his credentials as ambassador to Colombia just six months ago.

http://tamilguardian.com/content/sri-lankas-ambassador-brazil-flees-country-over-war-crimes-lawsuits[30/08/2017 15:00:01]

Sri Lanka's ambassador to Brazil flees country over war crimes lawsuits | Tamil Guardian

Award winning film maker Callum Macrae told the Tamil Guardian that the ambassador had fled from the charges.

"General Jagath Jayasuriya has run away," he said. "He has run away from these charges. He has run away from facing the consequences of what was done under his command."

"By fleeing he looks guilty," said Frances Harrison, program co-ordinator for the ITJP. "The big question for us is, if he thinks he is a war hero, if he thinks he did nothing wrong, why did Jagath Jayasuriya not stay in Brazil?"

Command responsibility

http://tamilguardian.com/content/sri-lankas-ambassador-brazil-flees-country-over-war-crimes-lawsuits[30/08/2017 15:00:01]

Sri Lanka's ambassador to Brazil flees country over war crimes lawsuits | Tamil Guardian

Details of the Sri Lankan military's chain of command during the final stages of the armed conflict in which tens of thousands of Tamil civilians were killed. Source: ITJP

Mr Jayasuriya was commander of the Sri Lankan security forces in Vanni during the government's massive military offensive in 2007 until its closing days in 2009. He stood alongside Sri Lankan troops as they fired artillery shells in a victory ceremony on the beaches of Mullivaikkaal in May 2009.

The commander was then appointed as Ambassador to Brazil, Colombia, Peru, Chile, Argentina and Suriname in 2015, by the current government led by Sri Lanka's President Maithripala Sirisena.

A video outlining the charges leveled against former military general Jagath Jayasuriya's involvement can be found below.

http://tamilguardian.com/content/sri-lankas-ambassador-brazil-flees-country-over-war-crimes-lawsuits[30/08/2017 15:00:01]

Sri Lanka's ambassador to Brazil flees country over war crimes lawsuits | Tamil Guardian

A Question of Command Responsibility (English) from NoFireZone on Vimeo.

Also see the video in Portuguese here and Spanish here.

The general has repeatedly restated his roles and responsibilities in overseeing the final military operations.

“The entire northern operation was conducted in the tactical area of responsibility that came under my command,” he said in 2010. “I was actively involved in the ground operations executing directives from Army headquarters and the Ministry of Defence.”

“Overall I... was responsible for the conduct of the whole thing,” he told the Sri Lankan government appointed Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission that same year.

In 2012 Mr Jayasuriya spoke of his personal contact with senior political leaders during the massacres - including then Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rakapaksa. He statedin an interview,

“President Mahinda Rajapaksa was determined and did not give in to pressures of the international community to suddenly stop the military operations when the Wanni humanitarian operations were entering a decisive phase around April 2009.”

“I still remember, the President, personally giving me a call instructing me to pursue the operations as planned, though he remained under enormous pressure to stop it. It was the country’s political leadership that gave strength to us to be successful.”

http://tamilguardian.com/content/sri-lankas-ambassador-brazil-flees-country-over-war-crimes-lawsuits[30/08/2017 15:00:01]

Sri Lanka's ambassador to Brazil flees country over war crimes lawsuits | Tamil Guardian

General Jayasuriya at the frontlines of the Sri Lankan military offensive in 2009.

The next steps “The Government of Sri Lanka has committed to a process of transitional justice which includes truth seeking, reparation, justice, and guarantees of non-recurrence,” continued the Sri Lankan Ministry of Foreign Affairs statement.

With virtually no progress towards accountability though, Tamil victims remain deeply sceptical.

“The Sri Lankan government has shown very little interest in really investigating the allegations made or bringing about prosecutions,” said Arun Gananathan, a human rights lawyer. “And therefore Tamil victims are very very frustrated that nothing has been done and they are not seeing anyone getting prosecuted that were committed.”

http://tamilguardian.com/content/sri-lankas-ambassador-brazil-flees-country-over-war-crimes-lawsuits[30/08/2017 15:00:01]

Sri Lanka's ambassador to Brazil flees country over war crimes lawsuits | Tamil Guardian

“I am deeply concerned that (General Jayasuriya) feels that there is some kind of safety from these criminal charges in Sri Lanka,” continued Mr Macrae.

“If a domestic process is adequate, if a domestic process can be trusted, then I confidently expect to see Jagath Jaysuriya arrested and facing these criminal charges in Sri Lanka. If he doesn’t it calls into question very seriously the state’s commitment to a domestic judicial process.”

His comments were echoed by Ms Harrison, who called on the Sri Lankan government to live up to its commitments.

“We think that now the Sri Lankan government, if it is serious about accountability and the rule of law, ought to issue an arrest warrant for him,” she said. “That’s the very least they should do to show the international community that all the commitments they made in Geneva actually mean something.”

The Sri Lankan government had committed to a UN resolution at the Human Rights Council in Geneva, mandating a court with international prosecutors to examine cases of mass atrocities.

Though the resolution was first passed in 2015, the court has still not yet been set up.

“In the international community we always say that the obligation to deal with accountability lies first with the sovereign state,” said Ms Sooka.

“But in a case where that state is unable or unwilling then the international community has to step in.”

Further details of the submission can be seen here.

Also see live tweets from the ITJP press conference here.

Related Articles: 08 November 2015 : War crimes suspect Jagath Jayasuriya takes up diplomatic post in Brazil 05 May 2017 : Sri Lanka's foreign minister criticises previous administration for abusing diplomatic immunity 03 July 2015 : Former Sri Lankan army general denied US visa 23 June 2015 : Sri Lanka continues to appoint suspected war criminals as diplomats 19 May 2013 : Sri Lanka’s Army Commander lashes out at ‘foreign intervention’ 14 July 2012 : Army camps are not anybody else's problem - Lt Gen Jayasuriya 16 May 2012 : Army boasts of increased militarisation 24 April 2012 : Jagath's backflip 23 April 2012 : Rajapakse defied international pressure to pursue military operations – SL Army Chief 14 April 2012 : Army to be ‘guiding light’ for development in Sri Lanka – Army Commander 17 March 2012 : Head of Army inquiry denies war crimes 30 August 2017 : Sri Lankan military denies war crimes charges against ambassador 30 August 2017 : Sri Lankan general should be referred to International Criminal Court – APPGT Chair

http://tamilguardian.com/content/sri-lankas-ambassador-brazil-flees-country-over-war-crimes-lawsuits[30/08/2017 15:00:01]

Sri Lankan military denies war crimes charges against ambassador | Tamil Guardian

Wednesday, 30 August 2017

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Sri Lankan military denies war crimes charges against ambassador Officials from the Sri Lankan military have denied war crimes charges against a former military commander who was appointed as the government’s ambassador to Brazil and fled from South America earlier this week.

Speaking after General Jagath Jayasuriya arrived back in Colombo, Sri Lanka's military spokesman Roshan Seneviratne denied all reports of war crimes.

"These allegations keep coming up from time to time, but there is no truth in them," said Mr Seneviratne.

Major General Kamal Gunarathna, the now retired commander of the 53 Division during the final stages of the island’s armed conflict, also rushed to his colleague’s defence. Hiru News reported the major general as stating the law suit filed against Mr Jayasuriya has “been orchestrated by the Tamil diaspora”.

Their comments come after fled the country after human rights groups filed lawsuits accusing Mr Jayasuriya of overseeing war crimes on Monday night.

He stands accused of overseeing Sri Lankan units that bombed hospitals, as well as the execution and torture of surrendees and disappeared civilians amongst a litany of human rights abuses against Tamil civilians and militants during the final phase of the island's armed conflict in May 2009.

Related Articles: 30 August 2017 : Sri Lanka's ambassador to Brazil flees country over war crimes lawsuits

http://tamilguardian.com/content/sri-lankan-military-denies-war-crimes-charges-against-ambassador[30/08/2017 15:00:36]

‘ I will not allow anyone in the world to touch Jagath Jayasuriya or any other military chief’ says Sri Lankan President – Promises to protect all War Criminals in the...

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‘ I will not allow anyone in the world to touch Jagath Jayasuriya or any other military chief’ says Sri Lankan President – Promises to protect all War Criminals in the Military.

Posted on 4th September 2017 by Karu in LATEST UPDATES, SPECIAL NEWS, SRI LANKA NEWS, Uncategorized // 0 Comments

http://www.uktamilnews.com/?p=26226[06/09/2017 11:47:19]

SPECIAL NEWS

‘ I will not allow anyone in the world to touch Jagath Jayasuriya or any other military chief’ says Sri Lankan President – Promises to protect all War Criminals in the...

Sri Lanka’s president on Sunday vowed to protect his former ambassador to six South American nations, an ex-army chief accused of crimes in the bloody final phase of the country’s civil war.

“I state very clearly that I will not allow anyone in the world to touch Jagath Jayasuriya or any other military chief or any war hero in this country,” President Maithripala Sirisena said on Sunday, addressing a convention of his Sri Lanka Freedom Party.

Sirisena’s statement came a week after rights groups filed criminal lawsuits in South America against Jayasuriya, who until last week served as the country’s envoy to Brazil, Argentina, Chile, Colombia, Peru and Suriname.

The suits are based on Jayasuriya’s role as a commander in the final phase of Sri Lanka’s civil war in 2009. They allege he oversaw military units that attacked hospitals and killed, disappeared and tortured thousands of people.

The suits had been filed in Brazil and Colombia and more were to come

http://www.uktamilnews.com/?p=26226[06/09/2017 11:47:19]

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‘ I will not allow anyone in the world to touch Jagath Jayasuriya or any other military chief’ says Sri Lankan President – Promises to protect all War Criminals in the...

in Argentina, Chile and Peru. Suriname had refused to accept the petition.

Sri Lanka’s military has also denied the allegations against Jayasuriya.

Sirisena’s comments are seen as an attempt to woo majority ethnic Sinhalese, most of whom oppose action against military personnel accused of crimes in the fight against minority Tamil rebels. Sirisena is being painted as anti-Sinhalese by hard-line sections of the community.

More than 100,000 people are believed to have been killed in Sri Lanka’s 26-year civil war, including 40,000 to 70,000 in the final phase alone.

In a joint resolution in 2015 at the U.N. Human Rights Council, Sri Lanka promised among other things a truth-seeking mechanism, a judicial mechanism to prosecute those accused of human rights abuses, and a new constitution that covers the island nation’s varied ethnicities and religions. However, little progress has been made.

Sri Lanka had agreed to allow foreign judges but backtracked later, insisting that only local courts could investigate the allegations.

The criminal suits, reviewed by the AP, were spearheaded by the human rights group International Truth and Justice Project, an evidencegathering organization based in South Africa. They had three central

http://www.uktamilnews.com/?p=26226[06/09/2017 11:47:19]

‘ I will not allow anyone in the world to touch Jagath Jayasuriya or any other military chief’ says Sri Lankan President – Promises to protect all War Criminals in the...

aims: push local authorities to open investigations of Jayasuriya, remove his diplomatic immunity and expel him.

However, Jayasuriya left Brazil last week to return to Sri Lanka after completing his two-year tour of service. The petitions can be amended to ask for arrest warrants in case he returns, according to the lawyer who filed the suit.

The civil war in Sri Lanka, an island off the southern tip of India, raged intermittently between 1983 and 2009. Fueled in part by ethnic tensions between ethnic majority Sinhalese and minority Tamils, an insurgency against the government was led by a group called the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam. They fought to establish a separate Tamil state in the northeastern part of the island.

Both sides are accused of war crimes.

The suits say Jayasuriya was commander of the Vanni Security Force from 2007 to 2009, and oversaw an offensive from Joseph Camp, also known as Vanni, which the papers claim was a notorious torture site.

Just after the war’s end, Jayasuriya was promoted as chief of the army and in 2015, he retired from the military. He was appointed ambassador to Brazil in 2015, and the other countries were added to his purview over the following two years.

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Sri Lankan Ambassador, Accused of War Crimes, Leaves Brazil

By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

AUG. 29, 2017, 12:54 P.M. E.D.T.

RIO DE JANEIRO — A former Sri Lankan general accused of war crimes by human rights groups has left LEARN MORE Brazil, where until recently he was his country's ambassador toSubscriber six nations in login Gr South

3

America, an embassy official said Tuesday.

Jagath Jayasuriya left Brazil on Sunday to return to Sri Lanka after completing his two-year tour of service, acting head of mission Premaphilake Jayakody told The Associated Press.

"He is no longer ambassador," Jayakody said.

He declined to comment on allegations in criminal suits that rights groups began filing the previous day in the six countries where Jayasuriya represented Sri Lanka.

The suits are based on Jayasuriya's role as a commander in the final phase of Sri Lanka's civil war in 2009.

They allege he oversaw military units that attacked hospitals and killed, disappeared and tortured thousands of people.

Jayasuriya had diplomatic immunity in the countries where he was ambassador, and the groups pursuing the suits had hoped to compel governments to expel him. With the apparent end of his ambassadorship, he would no longer enjoy that diplomatic protection if he were to return.

On Monday, Carlos Castresana Fernandez, the lawyer coordinating the effort, said suits had been filed in Brazil and Colombia and more were coming soon for Argentina, Chile and Peru. He said Suriname had refused to accept the petition.

"This is one genocide that has been forgotten, but this will force democratic countries to do something," Fernandez said. "This is just the beginning of the fight."

The criminal suits, reviewed by the AP, were spearheaded by the human rights group International Truth and Justice Project, an evidence-gathering organization based in South Africa. They had three central aims: push local authorities to open investigations of Jayasuriya, remove his diplomatic

immunity and expel him.

With Jayasuriya out of the country, the petitions can be amended to ask for arrest warrants in the case he returns, Fernandez said.

Speaking to reporters in London, Yasmin Sooka, executive director of the International Truth and Justice Project, said they believed that Jayasuriya had been tipped off about plans for the suits and fled.

"We discovered by tracking him that in fact by 10:00 last night he had reached Dubai," said Sooka. "That means that he took a direct flight from Brazil to Dubai and he made sure that he didn't cross any of the other countries like the U.S., the U.K. or Europe where he could potentially have been picked up."

The nations where Jayasuriya was ambassador have their own dark histories of violence, including military dictatorships, torture and the killing or disappearance of thousands.

Fernandez, the coordinating lawyer, was one of the attorneys who worked on international cases against former dictators Gen. Jorge Rafael Videla of

Pinochet of Chile. He has also helped win indictments in war crimes and organized crime cases in Guatemala, including one against ex-President Alfonso Portillo.

The civil war in Sri Lanka, an island off the southern tip of India, raged intermittently between 1983 and 2009. Fueled in part by ethnic tensions between Sinhalese and Tamil citizens, an insurgency against the government was led by a group called the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam. They fought to establish a separate Tamil state in the northeastern part of the island.

The suits say Jayasuriya was commander of the Vanni Security Force from 2007 to 2009, one of the bloodiest periods in a war estimated to have killed more than 100,000 people. The U.N. estimates between 40,000 and 70,000 died in the final phase alone.

According to the suits, Jayasuriya oversaw an offensive from Joseph Camp, also known as Vanni, which the papers claim was a notorious torture site.

The International Truth and Justice Project said it interviewed 14 survivors of torture or sexual violence at the camp. According to the group, victims described hearing the howls of detainees at night, which the suits contend Jayasuriya would have been able to hear.

A few years after the war ended, Jayasuriya retired from the military. He was appointed ambassador to Brazil in 2015, and the other countries were added to his purview over the following two years.

Human rights groups have long been after Jayasuriya, but the Sri Lankan government has refused to try him or others allegedly involved in war crimes.

TIME

I World

A sign points out the location of the Sri Lanka embassy in Brasilia, Brazil, Aug. 28, 2017. Eraldo Peres-AP

BRAZIL

A Sri Lankan Ambassador in Latin America Is to Face War Crimes Suits Peter Prengaman / AP Aug 29, 2017

000

(RIO DE JANEIRO) - Human rights groups in South Alnerica are alleging war crimes violations in lawsuits filed against a former Sri Lankan general who is now his nation's ambassador to Brazil and five other countries in Latin America.

The suits against Jagath Jayasuriya are based on his role as a commander in the final phase of Sri Lanka's civil war in 2009. They allege Jayasuriya oversaw

Sri Lankan Ambassador Faces War Crime Suits in Latin America | Time.com

thousands of people.

Jayasuriya has diplomatic immunity in the countries where he is ambassador: Brazil, Colombia, Peru, Chile, Argentina and Suriname. But the groups pursuing the suits hope they will compel regional governments to expel him.

Carlos Castresana Fernandez, the lawyer coordinating the effort, told The Associated Press on Monday night that suits were filed Monday in Brazil and Colombia. Petitions also will be filed in Argentina, Chile and Peru in the coming days, he said, adding that authorities in Suriname refused to accept the suit.

"This is one genocide that has been forgotten, but this will force democratic countries to do something," Fernandez said. "This is just the beginning of the fight."

Calls to the Sri Lankan Embassy in Brazil's capital went unanswered Monday evening as did an email seeking comment.

Jayasuriya's whereabouts were not immediately known. Fernandez said Brazilian justice officials told him Jayasuriya had left Brazil on Sunday. That couldn't be independently confirmed.

The criminal suits, reviewed by the AP, were spearheaded by the human rights group International Truth and Justice Project, an evidence-gathering organization based in South Africa. The suits have three central aims: push local authorities to open investigations of Jayasuriya, remove his diplomatic immunity and expel him.

Many of the nations where Jayasuriya is ambassador have their own dark histories of military dictatorships and torture.

Fernandez, the coordinating lawyer, was one of the attorneys who worked on international cases against Argentine Gen. Jorge Rafael Videla and Chilean Gen. Augusto Pinochet. He has also helped indict many Guatemalan war criminals and organized crimemembers, including former President Alfonso Portillo.

While lawsuits across international jurisdictions can be tricky to sort out, such moves can also pay off. In the case of Pinochet, he ended up being arrested and

http://time.com/4919793/sri-lankan-ambassador-war-crimes/[30/08/2017 14:30:52]

Sri Lankan Ambassador Faces War Crime Suits in Latin America | Time.com

held for a time in England because of international suits filed against him.

The civil war in Sri Lanka, an island off the southern tip of India, raged intermittently between 1983 and 2009. Fueled in part by ethnic tensions between Sinhalese and Tamil citizens, an insurgency against the government was led by a group called the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam. They fought to establish a separate Tamil state in the northeastern part of the island.

The suits say Jayasuriya was commander of the Vanni Security Force from 2007 to 2009, one of the bloodiest periods in a war estimated to have killed more than 100,000 people. The U.N. estimates between 40,000 and 70,000 died in the final phase alone.

According to the suits, Jayasuriya oversaw an offensive from Joseph Camp, also known as Vanni, which the papers claim was a notorious torture site. The International Truth and Justice Project said it interviewed 14 survivors of torture or sexual violence at the camp. According to the group, victims described hearing the howls of detainees at night, which the suits contend Jayasuriya would have been able to hear.

Human rights groups have long been after Jayasuriya, but the Sri Lankan government has refused to try him or others allegedly involved in war abuses. A few years after the war ended, he retired from the military. Jayasuriya was appointed ambassador to Brazil in 2015 and the other countries were added to his purview over the following two years.

by

http://time.com/4919793/sri-lankan-ambassador-war-crimes/[30/08/2017 14:30:52]

War crimes suits against Sri Lankan ambassador in Brazil | Fox News

RIO DE JANEIRO –  Human rights groups in South America are alleging war crimes violations in lawsuits filed against a former Sri Lankan general who is now his Asian nation's ambassador to Brazil and five other countries in Latin America.

The suits against Jagath Jayasuriya are based on his role as a commander in the final phase of Sri Lanka's civil war in 2009. They allege Jayasuriya oversaw military units that attacked hospitals and killed, disappeared and tortured thousands of people.

Jayasuriya has diplomatic immunity in the countries where he is ambassador: Brazil, Colombia, Peru, Chile, Argentina and Suriname. But the groups pursuing the suits hope they will compel regional governments to expel him.

Carlos Castresana Fernandez, the lawyer coordinating the effort, told The Associated Press on Monday night that suits were filed Monday in Brazil and Colombia. Petitions also will be filed in Argentina, Chile and Peru in the coming days, he said, adding that authorities in Suriname refused to accept the suit.

"This is one genocide that has been forgotten, but this will force democratic countries to do something," Fernandez said. "This is just the beginning of the fight."

http://www.foxnews.com/world/2017/08/29/war-crimes-suits-against-sri-lankan-ambassador-in-brazil.html[30/08/2017 14:32:39]

War crimes suits against Sri Lankan ambassador in Brazil | Fox News

Calls to the Sri Lankan Embassy in Brazil's capital went unanswered Monday evening as did an email seeking comment.

Jayasuriya's whereabouts were not immediately known. Fernandez said Brazilian justice officials told him Jayasuriya had left Brazil on Sunday. That couldn't be independently confirmed.

The criminal suits, reviewed by the AP, were spearheaded by the human rights group International Truth and Justice Project, an evidence-gathering organization based in South Africa. The suits have three central aims: push local authorities to open investigations of Jayasuriya, remove his diplomatic immunity and expel him.

Many of the nations where Jayasuriya is ambassador have their own dark histories of military dictatorships and torture.

Fernandez, the coordinating lawyer, was one of the attorneys who worked on international cases against Argentine Gen. Jorge Rafael Videla and Chilean Gen. Augusto Pinochet. He has also helped indict many Guatemalan war criminals and organized crime members, including former President Alfonso Portillo.

While lawsuits across international jurisdictions can be tricky to sort out, such moves can also pay off. In the case of Pinochet, he ended up being arrested and held for a time in England because of international suits filed against him.

The civil war in Sri Lanka, an island off the southern tip of India, raged intermittently between 1983 and 2009. Fueled in part by ethnic tensions between Sinhalese and Tamil citizens, an insurgency against the government was led by a group called the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam. They fought to establish a separate Tamil state in the northeastern part of the island.

The suits say Jayasuriya was commander of the Vanni Security Force from 2007 to

http://www.foxnews.com/world/2017/08/29/war-crimes-suits-against-sri-lankan-ambassador-in-brazil.html[30/08/2017 14:32:39]

War crimes suits against Sri Lankan ambassador in Brazil | Fox News

2009, one of the bloodiest periods in a war estimated to have killed more than 100,000 people. The U.N. estimates between 40,000 and 70,000 died in the final phase alone.

According to the suits, Jayasuriya oversaw an offensive from Joseph Camp, also known as Vanni, which the papers claim was a notorious torture site. The International Truth and Justice Project said it interviewed 14 survivors of torture or sexual violence at the camp.

According to the group, victims described hearing the howls of detainees at night, which the suits contend Jayasuriya would have been able to hear.

Human rights groups have long been after Jayasuriya, but the Sri Lankan government has refused to try him or others allegedly involved in war abuses. A few years after the war ended, he retired from the military. Jayasuriya was appointed ambassador to Brazil in 2015 and the other countries were added to his purview over the following two years.

___

Peter Prengaman on Twitter: www.twitter.com/peterprengaman

(VSC Europe

http://www.foxnews.com/world/2017/08/29/war-crimes-suits-against-sri-lankan-ambassador-in-brazil.html[30/08/2017 14:32:39]

Sri Lankan ambassador, accused of war crimes, leaves Brazil - ABC News

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Sri Lankan ambassador, accused of war crimes, leaves Brazil 

By PETER PRENGAMAN, ASSOCIATED PRESS

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RIO DE JANEIRO — Aug 29, 2017, 12:52 PM ET

The Associated Press The Sri Lanka embassy stands in Brasilia, Brazil, Monday, Aug. 28, 2017. Human rights groups in South America are alleging war crimes violation

  

A former Sri Lankan general accused of war crimes by human rights groups has left Brazil, where until recently he was his country's ambassador to six nations in South America, an embassy official said Tuesday.

http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/war-crimes-suits-sri-lankan-ambassador-brazil-49481653[30/08/2017 14:32:09]

Sri Lankan ambassador, accused of war crimes, leaves Brazil - ABC News

Jagath Jayasuriya left Brazil on Sunday to return to Sri Lanka after completing his two-year tour of service, acting head of mission Premaphilake Jayakody told The Associated Press.

"He is no longer ambassador," Jayakody said.

He declined to comment on allegations in criminal suits that rights groups began filing the previous day in the six countries where Jayasuriya represented Sri Lanka.

The suits are based on Jayasuriya's role as a commander in the final phase of Sri Lanka's civil war in 2009. They allege he oversaw military units that attacked hospitals and killed, disappeared and tortured thousands of people.

Jayasuriya had diplomatic immunity in the countries where he was ambassador, and the groups pursuing the suits had hoped to compel governments to expel him. With the apparent end of his ambassadorship, he would no longer enjoy that diplomatic protection if he were to return.

On Monday, Carlos Castresana Fernandez, the lawyer coordinating the effort, said suits had been filed in Brazil and Colombia and more were coming soon for Argentina, Chile and Peru. He said Suriname had refused to accept the petition.

"This is one genocide that has been forgotten, but this will force democratic countries to do something," Fernandez said. "This is just the beginning of the fight."

The criminal suits, reviewed by the AP, were spearheaded by the human rights group International Truth and Justice Project, an evidence-gathering organization based in South Africa. They had three central aims: push local authorities to open investigations of Jayasuriya, remove his diplomatic immunity and expel him.

With Jayasuriya out of the country, the petitions can be amended to ask for arrest warrants in the case he returns, Fernandez said.

Speaking to reporters in London, Yasmin Sooka, executive director of the International Truth and Justice Project, said they believed that Jayasuriya had been tipped off about plans for the suits and fled.

"We discovered by tracking him that in fact by 10:00 last night he had reached Dubai," said Sooka. "That means that he took a direct flight from Brazil to Dubai and he made sure that he didn't cross any of the other countries like the U.S., the U.K. or Europe where he could potentially have been picked up."

http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/war-crimes-suits-sri-lankan-ambassador-brazil-49481653[30/08/2017 14:32:09]

Sri Lankan ambassador, accused of war crimes, leaves Brazil - ABC News

The nations where Jayasuriya was ambassador have their own dark histories of violence, including military dictatorships, torture and the killing or disappearance of thousands.

Fernandez, the coordinating lawyer, was one of the attorneys who worked on international cases against former dictators Gen. Jorge Rafael Videla of Argentina and Gen. Augusto Pinochet of Chile. He has also helped win indictments in war crimes and organized crime cases in Guatemala, including one against ex-President Alfonso Portillo.

The civil war in Sri Lanka, an island off the southern tip of India, raged intermittently between 1983 and 2009. Fueled in part by ethnic tensions between Sinhalese and Tamil citizens, an insurgency against the government was led by a group called the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam. They fought to establish a separate Tamil state in the northeastern part of the island.

The suits say Jayasuriya was commander of the Vanni Security Force from 2007 to 2009, one of the bloodiest periods in a war estimated to have killed more than 100,000 people. The U.N. estimates between 40,000 and 70,000 died in the final phase alone.

According to the suits, Jayasuriya oversaw an offensive from Joseph Camp, also known as Vanni, which the papers claim was a notorious torture site.

The International Truth and Justice Project said it interviewed 14 survivors of torture or sexual violence at the camp. According to the group, victims described hearing the howls of detainees at night, which the suits contend Jayasuriya would have been able to hear.

A few years after the war ended, Jayasuriya retired from the military. He was appointed ambassador to Brazil in 2015, and the other countries were added to his purview over the following two years.

Human rights groups have long been after Jayasuriya, but the Sri Lankan government has refused to try him or others allegedly involved in war crimes.

——— Associated Press video journalist Kevin Scott in London contributed to this report.

——— Peter Prengaman on Twitter: www.twitter.com/peterprengaman

http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/war-crimes-suits-sri-lankan-ambassador-brazil-49481653[30/08/2017 14:32:09]

Sri Lankan ambassador, accused of war crimes, leaves Brazil - ABC News

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Harvey expected to move north after hitting Louisiana

Thousands of people likely remain stranded and an estimated 30,000 to 40,000 homes have been destroyed in the Houston area as Hurricane Harvey, now a tropical storm, continues to batter the Gulf Coast region with torrential rains, flooding and strong winds, Harris County Judge Ed Emmett told ABC News.

Harvey made its third landfall just west of Cameron, Louisiana, at 4 a.m. CT Wednesday with maximum sustained winds of 45 mph, according to the National Weather Service. As of 7 a.m. CT, the slow-moving storm had picked up some speed moving north and its center was about 25 miles away from Lake Charles, Louisiana.

Ahead of that, it battered the Port Arthur area in southeast Texas, dumping as much as 2 feet of rain in some parts.

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"We have people who are on the second flood of their homes; they're riding it out and they're waiting for the waters to go down," Emmett said today in an interview with ABC News Chief Anchor George Stephanopoulos on "Good Morning America."

"We've got probably 30-40,000 homes that have been destroyed," Emmett added.

http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/war-crimes-suits-sri-lankan-ambassador-brazil-49481653[30/08/2017 14:32:09]

Sri Lankan ambassador, accused of war crimes, leaves Brazil - ABC News

Although the storm has begun to shift the brunt of its impact to western Louisiana, Emmett said Texas' Harris County must now help residents return to their homes.

"The biggest challenge is going to get people back in their homes," he said.

"We've got to get those people back into their normal lives as soon as possible."

Harvey, which first came ashore last Friday in Texas as a Category 4 hurricane, dumped more than 51 inches of rain on some parts of the state, according to preliminary reports from the National Weather Service. The storm is responsible for at least 11 deaths, all in Texas, over the past four days.

Trump thanks Texas officials for hurricane response, barely addresses victims The tropical storm is expected to weaken and continue moving to the north and east across the Lower Mississippi Valley and Tennessee Valley through Thursday. But the National Weather Service said Harvey still has the potential to cause "life-threatening flooding."

"Catastrophic and life-threatening flooding continues in southeastern Texas and portions of southwestern Louisiana,� the National Weather Service warned in its advisory Wednesday morning. "Excessive runoff from heavy rainfall will cause flooding of small creeks and streams, urban areas, highways, streets and underpasses as well as other drainage areas and low-lying spots."

The situation became serious in eastern Texas in the early hours of Wednesday. The National Weather Service issued a flash-flood warning for parts of southeast Texas, including Beaumont and Port Arthur, which received as much as 2 feet of rain in some areas during the early morning hours.

Port Arthur Mayor Derrick Freeman urged residents to get to higher ground in a Facebook post early Wednesday.

"Our whole city is underwater right now but we are coming!" Freeman wrote in one post. "Please get to higher ground if you can, but please try stay out of attics."

Officials were forced to evacuate the shelter at the Bob Bower Civic Center in Port Arthur on Wednesday morning after it began to fill with water. One witness, who was forced to relocate, said some areas of the center had almost 4 feet of water inside. Displaced residents were taken to a secondary evacuation site at the Carl Parker Center, ABC affiliate KBMT said.

http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/war-crimes-suits-sri-lankan-ambassador-brazil-49481653[30/08/2017 14:32:09]

Sri Lankan leader will protect general accused of war crimes - ABC News

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Sri Lankan leader will protect general accused of war crimes 

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By BHARATHA MALLAWARACHI THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

· COLOMBO, Sri Lanka — Sep 3, 2017, 11:44 AM ET

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Sri Lanka's president on Sunday vowed to protect his former ambassador to six South American nations, an ex-army chief accused of crimes in the bloody final phase of the country's civil war.

"I state very clearly that I will not allow anyone in the world to touch Jagath Jayasuriya or any other military chief or any war hero in this country," President Maithripala Sirisena said on Sunday, addressing a convention of his Sri Lanka Freedom Party.

Sirisena's statement came a week after rights groups filed criminal lawsuits in South America against Jayasuriya, who until last week served as the country's envoy to Brazil, Argentina, Chile, Colombia, Peru and Suriname.

The suits are based on Jayasuriya's role as a commander in the final phase of Sri Lanka's civil war in 2009. They allege he oversaw military units that attacked hospitals and killed, disappeared and tortured thousands of people.

The suits had been filed in Brazil and Colombia and more were to come in Argentina, Chile and Peru. Suriname had refused to accept the petition.

Sri Lanka's military has also denied the allegations against Jayasuriya.

http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/sri-lankan-leader-protect-general-accused-war-crimes-49596524[06/09/2017 11:37:26]

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Sri Lankan leader will protect general accused of war crimes - ABC News

Sirisena's comments are seen as an attempt to woo majority ethnic Sinhalese, most of whom oppose action against military personnel accused of crimes in the fight against minority Tamil rebels. Sirisena is being painted as anti-Sinhalese by hard-line sections of the community.

More than 100,000 people are believed to have been killed in Sri Lanka's 26year civil war, including 40,000 to 70,000 in the final phase alone.

In a joint resolution in 2015 at the U.N. Human Rights Council, Sri Lanka promised among other things a truth-seeking mechanism, a judicial mechanism to prosecute those accused of human rights abuses, and a new constitution that covers the island nation's varied ethnicities and religions. However, little progress has been made.

Sri Lanka had agreed to allow foreign judges but backtracked later, insisting that only local courts could investigate the allegations.

The criminal suits, reviewed by the AP, were spearheaded by the human rights group International Truth and Justice Project, an evidence-gathering organization based in South Africa. They had three central aims: push local authorities to open investigations of Jayasuriya, remove his diplomatic immunity and expel him.

However, Jayasuriya left Brazil last week to return to Sri Lanka after completing his two-year tour of service. The petitions can be amended to ask for arrest warrants in case he returns, according to the lawyer who filed the suit.

The civil war in Sri Lanka, an island off the southern tip of India, raged intermittently between 1983 and 2009. Fueled in part by ethnic tensions between ethnic majority Sinhalese and minority Tamils, an insurgency against the government was led by a group called the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam.

They fought to establish a separate Tamil state in the northeastern part of the island.

Both sides are accused of war crimes.

The suits say Jayasuriya was commander of the Vanni Security Force from 2007 to 2009, and oversaw an offensive from Joseph Camp, also known as Vanni, which the papers claim was a notorious torture site.

Just after the war's end, Jayasuriya was promoted as chief of the army and in 2015, he retired from the military. He was appointed ambassador to Brazil in 2015, and the other countries were added to his purview over the following two years.

http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/sri-lankan-leader-protect-general-accused-war-crimes-49596524[06/09/2017 11:37:26]

NSBC News — Sri Lanka's Jagath Jayasuriya wanted for war crimes

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Sri Lanka's Jagath Jayasuriya wanted for war crimes

By Nick Potter

Tuesday 29 Augus, 2017 18.28 GMT

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Human rights groups have fled lawsuits in Brazil and Colombia agains Sri Lanka's ambassador in Latin America, accusing him of war crimes.

Former general Jagath Jayasuriya was a commander in the fnal sages of the civil war with separatis Tamil rebels in 2009.

Tens of thousands of Tamils - and the rebel leadership - were killed at the end of the confict, in which both sides were accused of atrocities.

Sri Lanka's Jagath Jayasuriya wanted for war crimes

Human rights groups have long called for prosecutions but there have been none so far.

What is Jagath Jayasuriya accused of?

Sri Lanka's ambassador to Brazil, Colombia, Peru, Chile, Argentina and Suriname was in charge of troops in the north-eas of the island who are alleged to have attacked hospitals and abducted, killed and tortured thousands of civilians.

As a diplomat he enjoys immunity but the International Truth and Jusice Project, which brought the case, wants him expelled and his conduct invesigated.

"In the pivotal period between 2007-2009 he was really in charge of what was happening in the Vanni area," lawyer Yasmin Sooka of the International Truth and Jusice Project told the BBC's Newshour programme.

"The UN inquiry found that the army certainly didn't maintain the disinction between civilians and combatants, and they also violated the law on the quesion of proportionality.

In the las months of the war hundreds of thousands of Tamils ended up trapped on a tiny srip of land.

"What was really awful was the perfdious conduct in putting people into no-fre zones and then shelling and bombarding them, which is why you have such a huge loss of life," Ms Sooka said.

https://www.nsbcnews.com/story/20170829-sri-lanka-s-jagath-jayasuriya-wanted-for-war-crimes[30/08/2017 14:34:02]

NSBC News — Sri Lanka's Jagath Jayasuriya wanted for war crimes

Lawsuits are also due to be fled in Peru, Chile and Argentina, according to the group.

Where is the ambassador now?

Sri Lanka's government says the former general is on his way home following the completion of his assignment as ambassador. He is scheduled to arrive in Colombo on Wednesday.

"His departure from Brazil was pre-planned and he has not fed as some media reports allege," Foreign Minisry spokeswoman Mahishini Colonne told BBC Sinhala.

Ms Sooka said: "He was tipped of, and he skipped from Brazil yeserday - we've tracked him and, based on reliable information we have, he took a direct fight to Dubai."

Can he be prosecuted?

International lawsuits across jurisdictions are complicated.

Spain's Carlos Casresana Fernandez, who has co-ordinated eforts agains Jagath Jayasuriya, is one of the lawyers who worked on cases agains Chilean General Auguso Pinochet and Argentine General Jorge Rafael Videla.

Gen Pinochet spent 18 months under arres in London fghting extradition to Spain.

Yasmin Sooka says Jagath Jayasuriya will have diplomatic immunity for as long as he's an ambassador.

"We've heard he held on to the ambassadorial pos and that he will probably resign when he reaches Colombo immunity will cease once he seps down from the pos.

"But what's wonderful is the Latin American countries can actually fle an arres warrant, they can put him on an Interpol red lis and ask for his extradition - and really he will become a prisoner on the island of Sri Lanka."

The BBC sought a response from Sri Lanka's Foreign Minisry and the government spokesman on the case but they have not yet provided a response.

What was the cos of the war?

The 26-year civil war left at leas 100,000 people dead on both sides of the confict. The Tamil Tigers said they were fghting for a homeland for minority Tamils in northern Sri Lanka.

There are sill no confrmed fgures for tens of thousands of civilian deaths in the las months of battle.

The fnal months of the war saw hundreds of thousands of Tamil civilians trapped in territory held by the Tamil Tigers (LTTE) in the north-eas.

While government forces were accused of indiscriminate shelling leading to massive casualties, the Tamil Tiger

https://www.nsbcnews.com/story/20170829-sri-lanka-s-jagath-jayasuriya-wanted-for-war-crimes[30/08/2017 14:34:02]

NSBC News — Sri Lanka's Jagath Jayasuriya wanted for war crimes

rebels were alleged to have used civilians as human shields and shot people trying to escape.

Allegations persis to this day that the army killed rebel leaders and others after they surrendered or were captured - and the UN admitted in 2012 that it could and should have done more to protect civilians.

Channel 4 and the UN have documented numerous atrocities committed during the war.

One invesigation said it was possible up to 40,000 people had been killed in the fnal fve months alone. Others sugges the number of deaths could be even higher.

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https://www.nsbcnews.com/story/20170829-sri-lanka-s-jagath-jayasuriya-wanted-for-war-crimes[30/08/2017 14:34:02]

AP

Sri Lankan ambassador, accused of war crimes, leaves Brazil

By PETER PRENGAMAN Associated Press Aug 29, 2017 Updated Aug 29, 2017

0

A sign points out the location of the Sri Lanka embassy in Brasilia, Brazil, Monday, Aug. 28, 2017. Human rights groups in South America are alleging war crimes violations in lawsuits filed against a former Sri Lankan general who is now his Asian nation’s ambassador to Brazil and five other countries in Latin America. (AP Photo/ Eraldo Peres) 

The  Sr are all nation Eraldo

RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) — A former Sri Lankan general accused of war crimes by human rights groups has left Brazil, where until recently he was his country's ambassador to six nations in South America, an embassy official said Tuesday.

Jagath Jayasuriya left Brazil on Sunday to return to Sri Lanka after completing his two-year tour of service, acting head of mission Premaphilake Jayakody told The Associated Press.

"He is no longer ambassador," Jayakody said.

He declined to comment on allegations in criminal suits that rights groups began filing the previous day in the six countries where Jayasuriya represented Sri Lanka.

The suits are based on Jayasuriya's role as a commander in the final phase of Sri Lanka's civil war in 2009. They allege he oversaw military units that attacked hospitals and killed, disappeared and tortured thousands of people.

Jayasuriya had diplomatic immunity in the countries where he was ambassador, and the groups pursuing the suits had hoped to compel governments to expel him. With the apparent end of his ambassadorship, he would no longer enjoy that diplomatic protection if he were to return.

On Monday, Carlos Castresana Fernandez, the lawyer coordinating the effort, said suits had been filed in Brazil and Colombia and more were coming soon for Argentina, Chile and Peru. He said Suriname had refused to accept the petition.

"This is one genocide that has been forgotten, but this will force democratic countries to do something," Fernandez said. "This is just the beginning of the fight."

The criminal suits, reviewed by the AP, were spearheaded by the human rights group International Truth and Justice Project, an evidence-gathering organization based in South Africa. They had three central aims: push local authorities to open investigations of Jayasuriya, remove his diplomatic immunity and expel him.

With Jayasuriya out of the country, the petitions can be amended to ask for arrest warrants in the case he returns, Fernandez said.

Speaking to reporters in London, Yasmin Sooka, executive director of the International Truth and Justice Project, said they believed that Jayasuriya had been tipped off about plans for the suits and fled.

"We discovered by tracking him that in fact by 10:00 last night he had reached Dubai," said Sooka. "That means that he took a direct flight from Brazil to Dubai and he made sure that he didn't cross any of the other countries like the U.S., the U.K. or Europe where he could potentially have been picked up."

The nations where Jayasuriya was ambassador have their own dark histories of violence, including military dictatorships, torture and the killing or disappearance of thousands.

Fernandez, the coordinating lawyer, was one of the attorneys who worked on international cases against former dictators Gen. Jorge Rafael Videla of Argentina and Gen. Augusto Pinochet of Chile. He has also helped win indictments in war crimes and organized crime cases in Guatemala, including one against ex-President Alfonso Portillo.

The civil war in Sri Lanka, an island off the southern tip of India, raged intermittently between 1983 and 2009. Fueled in part by ethnic tensions between Sinhalese and Tamil citizens, an insurgency against the government was led by a group called the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam. They fought to establish a separate Tamil state in the northeastern part of the island.

The suits say Jayasuriya was commander of the Vanni Security Force from 2007 to 2009, one of the bloodiest periods in a war estimated to have killed more than 100,000 people. The U.N. estimates between 40,000 and 70,000 died in the final phase alone.

According to the suits, Jayasuriya oversaw an offensive from Joseph Camp, also known as Vanni, which the papers claim was a notorious torture site.

The International Truth and Justice Project said it interviewed 14 survivors of torture or sexual violence at the camp.

According to the group, victims described hearing the howls of detainees at night, which the suits contend Jayasuriya would have been able to hear.

A few years after the war ended, Jayasuriya retired from the military. He was appointed ambassador to Brazil in 2015, and the other countries were added to his purview over the following two years.

Human rights groups have long been after Jayasuriya, but the Sri Lankan government has refused to try him or others allegedly involved in war crimes.

——— Associated Press video journalist Kevin Scott in London contributed to this report.

——— Peter Prengaman on Twitter: www.twitter.com/peterprengaman Copyright 2017 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

SRI LANKAN COVERAGE

Sri Lanka: Former Army Commander Faces War Crimes Suits in Latin America – Sri Lanka Guardian

Sri Lanka: Former Army Commander Faces War Crimes Suits in Latin America  Aug 29, 2017  Sri Lanka Guardian  Columnists, Feature  No comments ( August 29, 2017, Boston, Sri Lanka Guardian) Human rights groups in South America are alleging war crimes violations in lawsuits filed against a former Sri Lankan general who is now his nation’s ambassador to Brazil and five other countries in Latin America.

The suits against Jagath Jayasuriya are based on his role as a commander in the final phase of Sri Lanka’s civil war in 2009. They allege Jayasuriya oversaw military units that attacked hospitals and killed, disappeared and tortured thousands of people.

Jayasuriya has diplomatic immunity in the countries where he is ambassador: Brazil, Colombia, Peru, Chile, Argentina and Suriname. But the groups pursuing the suits hope they will compel regional governments to expel him.

Carlos Castresana Fernandez, the lawyer coordinating the effort, told The Associated Press on Monday night that

https://www.slguardian.org/2017/08/sri-lanka-former-army-commander-faces-war-crimes-suits-in-latin-america/[30/08/2017 14:54:40]

Sri Lanka: Former Army Commander Faces War Crimes Suits in Latin America – Sri Lanka Guardian

suits were filed Monday in Brazil and Colombia. Petitions also will be filed in Argentina, Chile and Peru in the coming days, he said, adding that authorities in Suriname refused to accept the suit.

“This is one genocide that has been forgotten, but this will force democratic countries to do something,” Fernandez said. “This is just the beginning of the fight.”

Calls to the Sri Lankan Embassy in Brazil’s capital went unanswered Monday evening as did an email seeking comment.

Jayasuriya’s whereabouts were not immediately known. Fernandez said Brazilian justice officials told him Jayasuriya had left Brazil on Sunday. That couldn’t be independently confirmed.

The criminal suits, reviewed by the AP, were spearheaded by the human rights group International Truth and Justice Project, an evidence-gathering organization based in South Africa. The suits have three central aims: push local authorities to open investigations of Jayasuriya, remove his diplomatic immunity and expel him.

Many of the nations where Jayasuriya is ambassador have their own dark histories of military dictatorships and torture.

Fernandez, the coordinating lawyer, was one of the attorneys who worked on international cases against Argentine Gen. Jorge Rafael Videla and Chilean Gen. Augusto Pinochet. He has also helped indict many Guatemalan war criminals and organized crimemembers, including former President Alfonso Portillo.

While lawsuits across international jurisdictions can be tricky to sort out, such moves can also pay off. In the case of Pinochet, he ended up being arrested and held for a time in England because of international suits filed against him.

The civil war in Sri Lanka, an island off the southern tip of India, raged intermittently between 1983 and 2009.

Fueled in part by ethnic tensions between Sinhalese and Tamil citizens, an insurgency against the government was led by a group called the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam. They fought to establish a separate Tamil state in the northeastern part of the island.

The suits say Jayasuriya was commander of the Vanni Security Force from 2007 to 2009, one of the bloodiest periods in a war estimated to have killed more than 100,000 people. The U.N. estimates between 40,000 and 70,000 died in the final phase alone.

According to the suits, Jayasuriya oversaw an offensive from Joseph Camp, also known as Vanni, which the papers claim was a notorious torture site. The International Truth and Justice Project said it interviewed 14 survivors of torture or sexual violence at the camp. According to the group, victims described hearing the howls of detainees at night, which the suits contend Jayasuriya would have been able to hear.Human rights groups have long been after Jayasuriya, but the Sri Lankan government has refused to try him or others allegedly involved in war abuses. A few years after the war ended, he retired from the military.

Jayasuriya was appointed ambassador to Brazil in 2015 and the other countries were added to his purview over the following two years. ( Sources: AP) Click here to read more infomation about the Lawsuit

https://www.slguardian.org/2017/08/sri-lanka-former-army-commander-faces-war-crimes-suits-in-latin-america/[30/08/2017 14:54:40]

Sri Lanka: Former Army Commander Faces War Crimes Suits in Latin America – Sri Lanka Guardian

Read the full text of the Press release issued by the ITJP;

https://www.slguardian.org/2017/08/sri-lanka-former-army-commander-faces-war-crimes-suits-in-latin-america/[30/08/2017 14:54:40]

Sri Lanka: Former Army Commander Faces War Crimes Suits in Latin America – Sri Lanka Guardian

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https://www.slguardian.org/2017/08/sri-lanka-former-army-commander-faces-war-crimes-suits-in-latin-america/[30/08/2017 14:54:40]

Sri Lanka: Former Army Commander Faces War Crimes Suits in Latin America – Sri Lanka Guardian

suits were filed Monday in Brazil and Colombia. Petitions also will be filed in Argentina, Chile and Peru in the coming days, he said, adding that authorities in Suriname refused to accept the suit.

“This is one genocide that has been forgotten, but this will force democratic countries to do something,” Fernandez said. “This is just the beginning of the fight.”

Calls to the Sri Lankan Embassy in Brazil’s capital went unanswered Monday evening as did an email seeking comment.

Jayasuriya’s whereabouts were not immediately known. Fernandez said Brazilian justice officials told him Jayasuriya had left Brazil on Sunday. That couldn’t be independently confirmed.

The criminal suits, reviewed by the AP, were spearheaded by the human rights group International Truth and Justice Project, an evidence-gathering organization based in South Africa. The suits have three central aims: push local authorities to open investigations of Jayasuriya, remove his diplomatic immunity and expel him.

Many of the nations where Jayasuriya is ambassador have their own dark histories of military dictatorships and torture.

Fernandez, the coordinating lawyer, was one of the attorneys who worked on international cases against Argentine Gen. Jorge Rafael Videla and Chilean Gen. Augusto Pinochet. He has also helped indict many Guatemalan war criminals and organized crimemembers, including former President Alfonso Portillo.

While lawsuits across international jurisdictions can be tricky to sort out, such moves can also pay off. In the case of Pinochet, he ended up being arrested and held for a time in England because of international suits filed against him.

The civil war in Sri Lanka, an island off the southern tip of India, raged intermittently between 1983 and 2009.

Fueled in part by ethnic tensions between Sinhalese and Tamil citizens, an insurgency against the government was led by a group called the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam. They fought to establish a separate Tamil state in the northeastern part of the island.

The suits say Jayasuriya was commander of the Vanni Security Force from 2007 to 2009, one of the bloodiest periods in a war estimated to have killed more than 100,000 people. The U.N. estimates between 40,000 and 70,000 died in the final phase alone.

According to the suits, Jayasuriya oversaw an offensive from Joseph Camp, also known as Vanni, which the papers claim was a notorious torture site. The International Truth and Justice Project said it interviewed 14 survivors of torture or sexual violence at the camp. According to the group, victims described hearing the howls of detainees at night, which the suits contend Jayasuriya would have been able to hear.Human rights groups have long been after Jayasuriya, but the Sri Lankan government has refused to try him or others allegedly involved in war abuses. A few years after the war ended, he retired from the military.

Jayasuriya was appointed ambassador to Brazil in 2015 and the other countries were added to his purview over the following two years. ( Sources: AP) Click here to read more infomation about the Lawsuit

https://www.slguardian.org/2017/08/sri-lanka-former-army-commander-faces-war-crimes-suits-in-latin-america/[30/08/2017 14:54:40]

“War crime charges against Gen. Jayasuriya orchestrated by Tamil diaspora” says former commander - Hiru News - Srilanka's Number One News Portal, Most visit...

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WEDNESDAY, 30 AUGUST 2017 - 13:46

“WAR CRIME CHARGES AGAINST GEN. JAYASURIYA ORCHESTRATED BY TAMIL DIASPORA” SAYS FORMER COMMANDER SELECTION COMMITTEE HEADED

BY SANATH JAYASURIYA TO RESIGN http://www.hirunews.lk/169750/war-crime-charges-against-gen-jayasuriya-orchestrated-by-tamil-diaspora-says-former-commander[30/08/2017 14:55:58]

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Retired Major General Kamal Gunarathna who commanded the 53 Division of the Sri Lanka Army during the last stages of the conflict, says that war crimes charges filed against former Army Commander General Jagath Jayasuriya have been orchestrated by the Tamil Diaspora.

The Retired Major General said that there is no basis to accuse General Jayasuriya of war crimes. He said that General Jayasuriya did not give orders to the military units during the last stages of the conflict.

The Foreign Affairs Ministry meanwhile, said that the former General who had served as Sri Lanka’s ambassador to several Latin American countries including Brazil, returned to the island, ending his tenure.

He served Sri Lanka's ambassador to Brazil, Colombia, Peru, Chile, Argentina and Suriname.

General Jayasuriya has been charged with allegations that he was responsible for giving orders to the army units during the last phase of the humanitarian operation.

Executive directress Yasmin Sooka of the International Project for Truth and Justice, who filed the relevant charges, has said that it is their hope that the General face court actions.

Ms Sooka, a specialist in South African law, charged that the General had fled the regions http://www.hirunews.lk/169750/war-crime-charges-against-gen-jayasuriya-orchestrated-by-tamil-diaspora-says-former-commander[30/08/2017 14:55:58]

“War crime charges against Gen. Jayasuriya orchestrated by Tamil diaspora� says former commander - Hiru News - Srilanka's Number One News Portal, Most visit...

prior to so appearing before the court.

However, the Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mahishini Colonne rejected those allegations and stressed General Jayasuriya returned to the island, upon completion his tenure.

As a diplomat, he enjoys immunity, but the International Truth and Justice Project, which brought the case, wants him expelled and his conduct investigated.

http://www.hirunews.lk/169750/war-crime-charges-against-gen-jayasuriya-orchestrated-by-tamil-diaspora-says-former-commander[30/08/2017 14:55:58]

Interpol Should Issue A Red Notice For General Jagath Jayasuriya: APPGT – Colombo Telegraph

meaningful action may start a move towards bringing this horrific and bloody chapter in the country’s meaningful action may start a move towards bringing this horrific and bloody chapter in the country’s history to an end,” he further said. history to an end,” he further said.



AUGUST 30, 2017 / AUTHOR: COLOMBO TELEGRAPH / 25 COMMENTS

Interpol Should Issue A Red Notice For General Jagath Jayasuriya: APPGT

Paul Scully MP, Chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group for Tamils (APPGT) in the UK House of Commons reacted to the news that Sri Lanka’s ambassador to Brazil fled his post after human rights groups filed lawsuits accusing him of overseeing war crimes in the final phase of Sri Lanka’s civil war in 2009.

General Jagath Jayasuriya who has diplomatic immunity in Brazil and the five other countries where he is ambassador has reportedly left to return to Sri Lanka.

Paul Scully said: “If the country is to reconcile differences and come together, the Sri Lankan government needs to have an open, transparent judicial process that has the confidence of both sides. The evidence prepared by human rights groups including The International Truth and Justice Project (ITJP) is compelling.

Families of the dead and missing deserve answers and justice.”

“It is not enough to hide behind diplomatic immunity or run away at the first sign of legal challenge. Interpol should issue a red notice for General Jayasuriya’s arrest and the case referred to the International Criminal Court in The Hague. Reconciliation will be a complicated affair but such

https://www.colombotelegraph.com/index.php/interpol-should-issue-a-red-notice-for-general-jagath-jayasuriya-appgt/[30/08/2017 14:56:27]

Interpol Should Issue A Red Notice For General Jagath Jayasuriya: APPGT – Colombo Telegraph

“Crime is a Crime” REPLY

sach / August 30, 2017 16:07

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what are the war crimes he is accused of? Did you check the charges? No right?

The charges against him are under his command, civilians were killed from attacks on hospitals, bla bla bla…and they have dragged the charges giving him command responsibility. On what basis?

1. Lets say SL killed many civilians ( 5 million as tamils say) , ok so how can you prove command responsibility 2. Did SLA kill that many civilians? There is no evidence to suggest that and no evidence to show more than 4000 ppl were killed at all.

3. If people were killed who is responsible? Obviously LTTE! because LTTE held a humanshield.

SLG should recall their ambassadars in these countries and call their ambassadars to FM and put up a strong protest.

No Tamil from the west should be given visa to visit SL REPLY

Dr. Gnana Sankaralingam / August 30, 2017 17:14

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See the documents submitted in the court case detailing all criminal activities that took place under Jagath Jayasuriya which resulted in several Tamils being tortured or made to disappear. News say that he had left Brazil. If he was not guilty why did he flee from justice.

REPLY

sach / August 30, 2017 18:18

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https://www.colombotelegraph.com/index.php/interpol-should-issue-a-red-notice-for-general-jagath-jayasuriya-appgt/[30/08/2017 14:56:27]

Sunday Times - Rights groups in South America file lawsuits against Lankan Ambassador in Brazil alleging war crimes violations

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Rights groups in South America file lawsuits against Lankan Ambassador in Brazil alleging war crimes violations  29 August 2017 Like 1

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In today's News Former Minister A.H.M. Azwer passes away Interview: Former President Mohamed Nasheed warns India not to ignore Beijing’s growing influence Keeping up with the Kims: North Korea's elusive first family Cricket: We resigned in the best interest of the game - SLC Selection Committee Human rights groups in South America are alleging war crimes violations in lawsuits filed against a former Sri Lankan general who is now his Sri Lanka's ambassador to Brazil and five other countries in Latin America, AP reported The suits against Jagath Jayasuriya are based on his role as a commander in the final phase of of the civil war in 2009. They allege Jayasuriya oversaw military units that violated human rights.

Jayasuriya has diplomatic immunity in the countries where he is ambassador: Brazil, Colombia, Peru, Chile, Argentina and Suriname. But the groups pursuing the suits hope they will compel regional governments to expel him, the AP report claimed.

Carlos Castresana Fernandez, the lawyer coordinating http://www.sundaytimes.lk/.../rights-groups-in-south-america-file-lawsuits-against-lankan-ambassador-in-brazil-alleging-war-crimes-violations[30/08/2017 14:54:06]

Sunday Times - Rights groups in South America file lawsuits against Lankan Ambassador in Brazil alleging war crimes violations

the effort, told The Associated Press on Monday night that suits were filed Monday in Brazil and Colombia.

Petitions also will be filed in Argentina, Chile and Peru in the coming days, he said, adding that authorities in Suriname refused to accept the suit.

"This is one genocide that has been forgotten, but this will force democratic countries to do something," Fernandez said. "This is just the beginning of the fight."

Calls to the Sri Lankan Embassy in Brazil's capital went unanswered Monday evening as did an email seeking comment.

Jayasuriya's whereabouts were not immediately known. Fernandez said Brazilian justice officials told him Jayasuriya had left Brazil on Sunday. That couldn't be independently confirmed.

The criminal suits, reviewed by the AP, were spearheaded by the human rights group International Truth and Justice Project, an evidence-gathering organization based in South Africa. The suits have three central aims: push local authorities to open investigations of Jayasuriya, remove his diplomatic immunity and expel him.

Many of the nations where Jayasuriya is ambassador have their own dark histories of military dictatorships and torture.

Fernandez, the coordinating lawyer, was one of the attorneys who worked on international cases against Argentine Gen. Jorge Rafael Videla and Chilean Gen. Augusto Pinochet.

He has also helped indict many Guatemalan war criminals and organized crime members, including former President Alfonso Portillo.

While lawsuits across international jurisdictions can be tricky to sort out, such moves can also pay off. In the case of Pinochet, he ended up being arrested and held for a time in England because of international suits filed against him.

Pic courtesy AP : Lankan Embassy in Brazil. http://www.sundaytimes.lk/.../rights-groups-in-south-america-file-lawsuits-against-lankan-ambassador-in-brazil-alleging-war-crimes-violations[30/08/2017 14:54:06]

Sunday Times - President vows to protect war heros

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President vows to protect war heros  4 September 2017 Like 0

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In today's News Heavy showers expected to continue till tomorrow Priority bus lane open for school vans Myanmar's Suu Kyi under pressure as almost 125,000 Rohingya flee violence China's Xi wants to put relations with India on 'right track'

Maithripala Sirisena vowed once again that he will not allow anyone in the world to do anything for Retd Major Gen. Jagath Jayasuriya or any of Sri Lanka’s military commanders or war heroes.

He made these remarks addressing the 66th anniversary celebrations of the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) held at the Campbell Park in Borella yesterday The anniversary celebration was held on a very grand scale with the participation of a large number of activists of SLFP under the theme “Nokiliti Gamanak Jana Balaya-Hari Athata” (unsullied journey _ People’s Movement to correct Direction). President also emphasized that as the SLFP is strengthened as a democratic party, it will be built as a wider political movement which unites all the forces including Buddhist clergy, doctors, teachers, peasants, workers, fishing community and war heroes.

http://www.sundaytimes.lk/article/1030662/president-vows-to-protect-war-heros[05/09/2017 12:48:40]

Sunday Times - President vows to protect war heros

President Sirisena further said that the SLFP should be a party which comprise of intellectuals as well as scholars and it should be built as a party which follows the advices of religious leaders and the party should be a patriotic, people centric and Democratic Party, which will continue to promote the vision of S.W.R.D Bandaranaike and Madam Sirimavo Bandaranaike.

Even though some accuses the SLFP that it has joined with the United National Party, if the SLFP and the United National Party have not joined and formed the consensual government, we as a country would not have been able to face the allegations leveled against us by the international community as well as the economic sanctions.

He recalled the press statement, issued when the invitations has been sent to all the MPs, as they will not join the party as long as the SLFP is with the UNP, and said that there are many evidences and factors in the history of the world, when a country is faced with challenges, all are united irrespective of their political views, ethnicity, religion and language differences, to take the country forward freeing the country from those challenges.

President Sirisena said that at all times corruption, fraud, malpractices and dynastic rule should be removed from the politics and the power given by the people should not be used by the politicians to strengthen their own agendas, but must use for the benefit of the country and its people. He further said that coming into the power as well as give up that power should be done according to the aspirations of the people. The President said in anyway a Member of Parliament or a President is not a factor of the power and all the time the general public is the core factor of the power.

Maha Sangha and other religious leaders, General Secretary to the SLFP Duminda Dissanayake, General Secretary to the UPFA Mahinda Amaraweera, Former President Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga, former Prime Minister D. M. Jayaratne, Seniors of the SLFP, Ministers and MPs were among those participated in this occasion.

î„‘Â Comments - 0 http://www.sundaytimes.lk/article/1030662/president-vows-to-protect-war-heros[05/09/2017 12:48:40]

Sri Lanka rejects war crimes allegations against ex-Army chief | The Sunday Leader Home News Investigation Politics Opinion Features Business Weekend Leader Sports

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Sri Lanka rejects war crimes allegations against exArmy chief Sri Lanka rejected war crimes allegations raised against former Army Commander Jagath Jayasuriya.

Army spokesman Brigadier Roshan Seneviratne said the allegations are baseless and shows that the ideology of the LTTE still remains.

The International Truth and Justice Project, a human rights group has filed war crimes charges in Brazil and Colombia against Jagath Jayasuriya, who just concluded his term as Sri Lanka’s Ambassador in Latin America.

The International Truth and Justice Project has accused Jayasuriya of being involved in war crimes during the final phase of the civil war in 2009.

The United Nations estimated between 40 and 70 thousand Tamil civilians were killed in the last months of the Sri Lankan war and a 2015 UN Investigation found reasonable grounds to conclude the Sri Lankan military had committed systematic and widespread violations of international humanitarian law.

The lawsuit filed in Brasilia and Bogotá on Monday alleges that General Jayasuriya bears individual criminal responsibility as the commander of units that committed repeated attacks on hospitals, acts of torture and sexual violence, enforced disappearances and extrajudicial killings.

“It is an outrage that a man like this, named in UN reports,should 2,249 be sent Views as a diplomat abroad and accredited given what he has done. The International Truth and Justice Project (ITJP) and its Latin American partners would have liked to see the General stand trial but instead we understand he’s suddenly fled the region and returned to Sri Lanka,” said the ITJP’s executive director, South African human rights lawyer, Yasmin Sooka.

However Government spokesman Rajitha Senaratne said that the Government will not back baseless allegations against any military officer.

He said the Government will however investigate war time disappearances and other allegations related to the conflict. (Colombo Gazette) 0

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http://www.thesundayleader.lk/2017/08/30/sri-lanka-rejects-war-crimes-allegations-against-ex-army-chief/[30/08/2017 15:01:14]

Sri Lanka: Former Army Commander Faces War Crimes Suits in Latin America – Sri Lanka Guardian

Sri Lanka: Former Army Commander Faces War Crimes Suits in Latin America  Aug 29, 2017  Sri Lanka Guardian  Columnists, Feature  No comments ( August 29, 2017, Boston, Sri Lanka Guardian) Human rights groups in South America are alleging war crimes violations in lawsuits filed against a former Sri Lankan general who is now his nation’s ambassador to Brazil and five other countries in Latin America.

The suits against Jagath Jayasuriya are based on his role as a commander in the final phase of Sri Lanka’s civil war in 2009. They allege Jayasuriya oversaw military units that attacked hospitals and killed, disappeared and tortured thousands of people.

Jayasuriya has diplomatic immunity in the countries where he is ambassador: Brazil, Colombia, Peru, Chile, Argentina and Suriname. But the groups pursuing the suits hope they will compel regional governments to expel him.

Carlos Castresana Fernandez, the lawyer coordinating the effort, told The Associated Press on Monday night that

https://www.slguardian.org/2017/08/sri-lanka-former-army-commander-faces-war-crimes-suits-in-latin-america/[30/08/2017 14:54:40]

Sri Lanka: Former Army Commander Faces War Crimes Suits in Latin America – Sri Lanka Guardian

suits were filed Monday in Brazil and Colombia. Petitions also will be filed in Argentina, Chile and Peru in the coming days, he said, adding that authorities in Suriname refused to accept the suit.

“This is one genocide that has been forgotten, but this will force democratic countries to do something,” Fernandez said. “This is just the beginning of the fight.”

Calls to the Sri Lankan Embassy in Brazil’s capital went unanswered Monday evening as did an email seeking comment.

Jayasuriya’s whereabouts were not immediately known. Fernandez said Brazilian justice officials told him Jayasuriya had left Brazil on Sunday. That couldn’t be independently confirmed.

The criminal suits, reviewed by the AP, were spearheaded by the human rights group International Truth and Justice Project, an evidence-gathering organization based in South Africa. The suits have three central aims: push local authorities to open investigations of Jayasuriya, remove his diplomatic immunity and expel him.

Many of the nations where Jayasuriya is ambassador have their own dark histories of military dictatorships and torture.

Fernandez, the coordinating lawyer, was one of the attorneys who worked on international cases against Argentine Gen. Jorge Rafael Videla and Chilean Gen. Augusto Pinochet. He has also helped indict many Guatemalan war criminals and organized crimemembers, including former President Alfonso Portillo.

While lawsuits across international jurisdictions can be tricky to sort out, such moves can also pay off. In the case of Pinochet, he ended up being arrested and held for a time in England because of international suits filed against him.

The civil war in Sri Lanka, an island off the southern tip of India, raged intermittently between 1983 and 2009.

Fueled in part by ethnic tensions between Sinhalese and Tamil citizens, an insurgency against the government was led by a group called the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam. They fought to establish a separate Tamil state in the northeastern part of the island.

The suits say Jayasuriya was commander of the Vanni Security Force from 2007 to 2009, one of the bloodiest periods in a war estimated to have killed more than 100,000 people. The U.N. estimates between 40,000 and 70,000 died in the final phase alone.

According to the suits, Jayasuriya oversaw an offensive from Joseph Camp, also known as Vanni, which the papers claim was a notorious torture site. The International Truth and Justice Project said it interviewed 14 survivors of torture or sexual violence at the camp. According to the group, victims described hearing the howls of detainees at night, which the suits contend Jayasuriya would have been able to hear.Human rights groups have long been after Jayasuriya, but the Sri Lankan government has refused to try him or others allegedly involved in war abuses. A few years after the war ended, he retired from the military.

Jayasuriya was appointed ambassador to Brazil in 2015 and the other countries were added to his purview over the following two years. ( Sources: AP) Click here to read more infomation about the Lawsuit

https://www.slguardian.org/2017/08/sri-lanka-former-army-commander-faces-war-crimes-suits-in-latin-america/[30/08/2017 14:54:40]

Charges against Gen. Jayasuriya false: Military - Daily Mirror - Sri Lanka Latest Breaking News and Headlines

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Charges against Gen. Jayasuriya false: Military  2780

2017-08-30 18:23:04

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Military Spokesman Roshan Seneviratne today rejected the war crime charges levelled against former General Jagath Jayasuriya who served as the Ambassador to Brazil.

Responding to a journalist at the Cabinet news briefing, the Brigadier said baseless allegations had been made against military personnel since the end of the war in 2009.

“The recent lawsuit filed against the former General validates that the LTTE ideology still prevails though it was defeated on the soil,” he said.

Meanwhile, Cabinet Spokesman and Minister Rajitha Senaratne said they would continue to take legal action against specific allegations levelled against military personnel based on the evidence.

“However, not all killings and everything happened during the war are violations of human rights,” he said.

http://www.dailymirror.lk/article/Charges-against-Gen-Jayasuriya-false-Military-135682.html[05/09/2017 10:35:55]

Charges against Gen. Jayasuriya false: Military - Daily Mirror - Sri Lanka Latest Breaking News and Headlines

http://www.dailymirror.lk/article/Charges-against-Gen-Jayasuriya-false-Military-135682.html[05/09/2017 10:35:55]

Charges against Gen. Jayasuriya false: Military - Daily Mirror - Sri Lanka Latest Breaking News and Headlines

Pics by Pradeep Pathirana

http://www.dailymirror.lk/article/Charges-against-Gen-Jayasuriya-false-Military-135682.html[05/09/2017 10:35:55]

Won’t allow anyone to touch Jagath Jayasuriya: President - Daily Mirror - Sri Lanka Latest Breaking News and Headlines

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Won’t allow anyone to touch Jagath Jayasuriya: President  5369

2017-09-03 18:19:15

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President Maithripala Sirisena said today he would never allow former Army Commander (Rtd) General Jagath Jayasuriya or any other war hero to be hauled before an international criminal court or war tribunal as long as he remained the President of Sri Lanka.

He said the threat of war crimes charges, economic sanctions and the hostile attitude of the global community against Sri Lanka was the direct result of the Mahinda Rajapaksa regime’s failure to create an atmosphere of reconciliation, reconstruction and rehabilitation in a country and a nation which was in tatters after the war.

Addressing a massive gathering of party supporters and well wishers who had converged from all parts of the country to celebrate the SLFP's 66th anniversary celebrations held at Campbell Park, Borella last afternoon, the President recalled ex-president Rajapaksa’s unilateral decision to declare presidential election two years ahead of time said he wrote to him highlighting six points as to why he should not hold an early election.

“I told him in writing in April 2014 not to hold an early presidential poll for six reasons when such an idea was mooted. The then government had miserably failed to introduce reforms and a proper reconciliation process to build the shattered lives of the people in the North and East. We also had so much of work to complete which the government had failed to do. All constituent party leaders of the UPFA also were of the view that the government must complete its full term before declaring the poll. But he did not listen and went ahead and perished. Mr. Rajapaksa felt he could not face the impending economic melt down, the crisis brewing in the domestic front, the extremely hostile attitude of the global community and UN agencies. The SLFP Central Committee, the Cabinet and the leaders of other political parties of the UPFA were dumb and blind to these developments,”the President said.

"Under this highly inhospitable global and domestic environment, what would have been the situation had there been no regime change and I was not elected as the President."

As the newly elected President, he said he explained how he met world leaders and requested them to give him some space to rebuild the nation, save the country from disaster, introduce reform programmes, restore democracy, the rule of law, media and judicial freedom and put in place a result oriented reconciliation process to which all leaders agreed and promised full support.

“Consequent to the positive and cooperative atmosphere the unity government was able to build up about Sri Lanka

http://www.dailymirror.lk/article/Won-t-allow-anyone-to-touch-Jagath-Jayasuriya-President-135886.html[05/09/2017 12:49:53]

Won’t allow anyone to touch Jagath Jayasuriya: President - Daily Mirror - Sri Lanka Latest Breaking News and Headlines

among the international community after the January 2015 victory, Sri Lanka was able to regain the GSP+ facility and the EU withdrew the export ban on fish exports. The UNHRC gave Sri Lanka a grace period of two years until September 2019 to address the human rights issues highlighted in the Geneva resolution co-sponsored by Sri Lanka,” he said.

He said the Unity Government had done a lot for the country during the past two years and asked what would have been the position of the SLFP if the UNP went for an election after the 2015 presidential election victory.

“I admit that we have made some lapses and mistakes. But I don’t condone the unfair criticism of the ‘Yahapalana Government’ because we have been able to do much for the country having saved it from a disaster,” the President said.

He said the manner in which some people were using the new and unrestricted freedom was somewhat unusual and the insults, mudslinging, canards and misinformation posted on Facebook, media websites and other electronic and print media against me and against the ‘Yahapalana Government’ was unprecedented.

"The SLFP was formed by the founding father S.W.R.D.Bandaranaike to take the country on a new path. The concept of patriotism, our country, our culture and our nation mindset was first mooted with the establishment of the new party departing from the west-aligned culture that existed since independence," the President said. "In the short period of three and half years that the SLFP ruled the country from 1956, Mr. Bandaranaike was able to introduce a series of people-friendly programmes amid heavy opposition from rival political parties. He had a new vision and new ideology for the country. There is no leader like Mr. Bandaranaike who was insulted, ridiculed and harassed. He was branded ‘Sevala Banda' and a spineless leader by his political opponents. Sir John Kotalawela, the Prime Minister before Mr. Bandaranaike said Mr. Bandaranaike let loose the dogs he had caged indicating the socialist and progressive policies he adopted for the nationalization programme and other people friendly projects."

The President said Mr. Bandaranaike mortgaged his Rosemead Place residence to fund the SLFP and after his assassination in September 1959, Ms. Bandaranaike had to leave the place with her three children as she was not in a position to pay the debt, but Sir John intervened and saved the day for her.

“But this is how out past leaders did politics. They did not come to politics, to get commissions and bribes and embezzle billions like certain other politicians who took to politics as a business. Nepotism was never an issue in the SLFP in the past," he said.

The President appealed to SLFPers to assist him to rescue their beloved party that had been infected with corruption, nepotism, crimes and waste in the recent past and take the party to victory in 2020 through a clean and robust political campaign.

"Our vision and mission is to create a Sri Lanka free of corruption, waste and nepotism. The SLFP is capable of doing that and our aim is to form a SLFP government in 2020 with those values. I am ready to achieve that target with your support, blessings and cooperation,” he said.

Ministers Nimal Siripala De Silva, S.B. Dissanayaka, Sarath Amunugama, Susil Premajayantha, W.D.J. Seneviratne, Jaffna District UPFA member Angajan Ramanathan and former SLFP MP and SLFP youth organization General Secretary Shantha Bandara presented the various resolutions.(Sandun A Jayasekera)

Recommended Articles JO will contest polls under Flower Bud symbol

Ratmalana airport could be used to land int'l

http://www.dailymirror.lk/article/Won-t-allow-anyone-to-touch-Jagath-Jayasuriya-President-135886.html[05/09/2017 12:49:53]

Sarath Fonseka’s war crime rhetoric is self-harming - Daily Mirror - Sri Lanka Latest Breaking News and Headlines

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Sarath Fonseka’s war crime rhetoric is self-harming  1423

2017-09-05 00:00:41

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When Yasmin Zooka’s International Truth and Justice Project (ITJC), known for its dalliance with LTTE loving fringe Tamil groups, selectively raises the human rights card on Sri Lanka, it can be dismissed as sour grapes.

But, when the former war-winning army commander and now a Field Marshal and Cabinet Minister Sarath Fonseka jumps on the bandwagon to implicate his successor Gen. Jagath Jayasuriya, because they have a grudge against each other, that smacks of a mind-boggling level of pettiness.

Last week it was reported that ITJC had filed a law suit in Brazil against Gen. Jagath Jayasuriya (who, by the way, is not a relation of this writer), Sri Lanka’s ambassador there and five other countries, Colombia, Peru, Chile, Argentina and Suriname. Gen. Jayasuriya was accused of committing war crimes while he was the security forces commander of the Vanni during the final phase of the Eelam war. The dossier of the lawsuit was handed over to Brazil’s federal

http://www.dailymirror.lk/article/Sarath-Fonseka-s-war-crime-rhetoric-is-self-harming-135991.html[05/09/2017 15:37:11]

Sarath Fonseka’s war crime rhetoric is self-harming - Daily Mirror - Sri Lanka Latest Breaking News and Headlines

police only in the final week of Gen. Jayasuriya’s tenure there as ambassador by a counsel representing the ITJC.

Mr. Fonseka spares no opportunity to take a shot at his nemesis and in the process however, he tends to overlook the resultant security implications

That unusual wait till the eleventh hour, when you have a whole of two years to do that, may imply this latest adventure is yet another propaganda gimmick by Zooka’s NGO.

The ITJC has tried its best to keep the pot boiling in Sri Lanka. Recently it issued a dossier which accused the Sri Lankan security forces of continuing with ‘torture of Sri Lankan Tamils’. Weeks earlier a London court ruled a Tamil asylum seeker who claimed he had been tortured in Sri Lanka during a visit had in fact self-inflicted his injuries to advance his asylum claims. ITJC is a front of fringed diaspora Tamils, who are bitter about the annihilation of Tamil Tiger terrorists in this country. The Sri Lankan government, no matter its intentions about reconciliation, should treat these outlets as such. But, how can it react to Field Marshal Sarath Fonseka who has now opened a can of worms which would be relished by the groups that have called for punitive action against the Sri Lankan state and its security forces.

Soon after the reports of ITJC lawsuit, Fonseka jumped the gun and told a media conference that he had information with regard to crimes committed by former army commander Jagath Jayasuriya, the then Vanni commander and that he was ready to give evidence if proper legal action was instituted against him.

“I received complaints that Mr. Jayasuriya was engaged in crimes as Vanni commander with regard to those who were arrested. He continued the same strategy even after he was promoted as army commander. I have information regarding those who committed the crimes. I am ready to explain the crimes committed in detail if proper legal action is instituted,” he said.

Mr. Fonseka spares no opportunity to take a shot at his nemesis and in the process however, he tends to overlook the resultant national security implications. An earlier attempt to implicate Gotabaya Rajapaksa for ordering to kill the surrendered LTTE high fliers during what was known as White Flag incident, landed the then presidential contender Fonseka in a political minefield, and cost him a good deal of southern votes. He later recanted his statement, but by then the damage had been done.

There are things that the holders of high security and strategic responsibilities are expected not to talk about even after their retirement. In most countries, even the low level security operatives are required to sign an agreement on nondisclosure, breach of which is punishable by law.

If he thinks certain incidents deserve a re-scrutiny, Field Marshal Fonseka can convey his concerns to those who matter, perhaps to the President

Still, if he thinks certain incidents deserve a re-scrutiny, Field Marshal Fonseka can convey his concerns to those

http://www.dailymirror.lk/article/Sarath-Fonseka-s-war-crime-rhetoric-is-self-harming-135991.html[05/09/2017 15:37:11]

Sarath Fonseka’s war crime rhetoric is self-harming - Daily Mirror - Sri Lanka Latest Breaking News and Headlines

who matter, perhaps to the President, who as the Commander in Chief could order an investigation. A media conference is not definitely the right place to raise those concerns. In most countries that went through a level of security vulnerability on par with Sri Lanka, such a gesture would have amounted to treason. Even when, it is not, it shows a greater deal of bankruptcy. It is a sad indictment of Field Marshal Fonseka, without whose ruthless efficiency of fighting the war, Sri Lanka would have been at the mercy of terrorists for a foreseeable future. Before him, there were colourful army commanders, but none of them was a match to Prabakaran. One had a reputation in dancing in his underwear in the officers’ mess in inebriation. Another was so disenchanted that his daughter had been dropped from the Olympic Swimming Squad, he came to the National Television to complain about his grievances, while the army having routed in Elephant Pass was on a mass withdrawal.

Fonseka was no such charlatan. Since taking over the army and having narrowly survived a suicide attack on his life, he fully committed to ending the war. He was a ruthless task master, some of his division commanders literally cried in front of him when he ordered to implement certain dare devil operational manoeuvers. However, finally he won the war and Sri Lankans are grateful to him for that. Now some of his rhetoric threatens not only to undo his legacy, but also to unleash unwarranted forces, that could intimidate Sri Lanka for a long time.

Of course, certain excesses of the war, such as alleged incidents of abduction rackets run by certain individual officers and other ranks, should be investigated. Then are others, such as the killings of five students in Trincomalee, attacks on Uthayan and other media institutions and personnel. However, it would be foolhardily to denounce the entire conduct of war, or its operational decisions, no matter whether they were taken by Gotabhaya Rajapaksa, Sarath Fonseka or by someone else, because they entailed a political-military logic in the given circumstances at the time, of which rationale, to some extent, is vindicated by the fact that Sri Lankans have lived without a single major incident of terrorism since the end of the war.

Some issues are too big to be politicized. The war is one such thing, though unfortunately, former regime of Mahinda Rajapaksa did exactly that and created the bad blood that runs through the country.

This government should not follow the footsteps of its predecessor. That is a dangerous and most likely a losing gamble. President Maithripala Sirisena was right when he said he would not let anybody to besmirch the war victory.

He should perhaps tell his Cabinet Minister Field Marshal Fonseka to keep quiet for the greater good.

Follow @RangaJayasuriya on Twitter

http://www.dailymirror.lk/article/Sarath-Fonseka-s-war-crime-rhetoric-is-self-harming-135991.html[05/09/2017 15:37:11]

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JO wants Fonseka removed from Cabinet September 5, 2017, 12:10 pm

UPFA MP Vasudeva Nanayakkara yesterday urged the government to remove Regional Development Minister Sarath Fonseka from the Cabinet and also strip him of Field Marshal title for his unsubstantiated allegations against former Army Commander Gen. Jagath Jayasuriya.

MP Nanayakkara said that Fonseka must not be kept in the Cabinet.

UPFA MP Udaya Gammanpila, too, yesterday demanded immediate removal of Fonseka from the Cabinet while several Joint Opposition MPs including Prasanna Ranatunga, attorney-at-law Sisira Jayakody and Prasanna Ranaweera led a protest at Kiribathgoda demanding punitive action against Fonseka.

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Did Jagath Jayasuriya End his Term Early Because he was “Tipped Off” By Brazilian Authorities of Impending Legal Action Against Him? | dbsjeyaraj.com

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Did Jagath Jayasuriya End his Term Early Because he was “Tipped Off” By Brazilian Authorities of Impending Legal Action Against Him? Posted by Administrator on 4 September 2017, 3:44 am

Articles by D.B.S. Jeyaraj › Articles by D.B.S. Jeyaraj

Articles by D.B.S. Jeyaraj – dbsjeyaraj.com › Remembering Comrade Bala Tampoe the Legendary Trade Union Leader on his Third Death Anniversary

By D.B>S.Jeyaraj (Veteran Trade Union Leader Philips Balendra Tampoe passed away at the age of 92 on September 1st 2014.Comrade Bala Tampoe as he was generally known

by Bandu de Silva I refer to the news item in today’s The island (Saturday 2nd September 2017) and would like to comment on contracts on which non-career ambassadors are appointed by the Sri Lankan Foreign Ministry, to create public awareness in search of truth.

I do so with my background as a former Director General and Ambassador and Director of Overseas Administration in the Foreign Ministry whose duties included preparation of contracts to be signed by non -career ambassadors, and also one who served with 12 heads of mission appointed on contract.

There is something fishy about the content of the local media reports.

They speak of General Jayasuriya claiming he took up the post and assumed duties in August 2015 for a term of two years. In June, this year he wrote to the then Foreign Secretary that his tenure had been completed and if he was to be re-appointed as an Ambassador, he wanted to be posted to an Asian country.

General Jayasuriya’s was a non-career appointment. Therefore, the appointment would have been necessarily, based on a contract signed with the Foreign Ministry. For long years the usual period of

http://dbsjeyaraj.com/dbsj/archives/54972[05/09/2017 15:41:12]

Did Jagath Jayasuriya End his Term Early Because he was “Tipped Off” By Brazilian Authorities of Impending Legal Action Against Him? | dbsjeyaraj.com

created Trade union history by being the general secretary of the Ceylon Mercantile Union for an unbroken period of sixty – six years.To denote the third death anniversary […] › ITAK Gets a Clean Chit as Supreme Court Rules Federalism is not Separatism

By D.B.S.Jeyaraj The month of August saw a flurry of hectic political activity in Sri Lanka.

The statement made by controversial minister Ravi Karunayake at the Presidential Commission of inquiry followed by his resignation, the move to postpone Provincial council polls by way of the 20th Constitutional amendment, the revolt within UNP ranks against the […] › How JR Was Coerced By New Delhi to Sign the Indo-Lanka Accord 30 Years Ago

by D.B.S.Jeyaraj Thirty years ago on this day (July 29th 1987) an accord was signed by the then

appointment under a contract has been three years. Earlier, it had been four years but this was changed.

There has been no case of any head of mission on contract being posted for a lesser number of years at his request or terminating the appointment except in a single case, i.e. of Wilmot Perera, first Ambassador to China, who requested the termination of contract after six months. The contract contained a clause that the appointee should pay cost of damages if the contract was terminated by him/her before the expiry date. The govt could, of course, terminate a contract early for political reasons on a new govt taking office.

The case of Neville Jansz, High Commissioner in Australia, and Earnest Perera, former I.G.P, who was appointed High Commissioner in Malaysia, fall into this category. There were others who were recalled to be appointed to other posts.

This was the general policy and pattern. There is no evidence that this policy was changed to accommodate General Jayasuriya. In the present case, the Foreign Ministry spokesperson has said the Ambassador returned on termination of contract. Isn’t there something fishy here, the F/O too stepping in to confirm the retired General’s version?

The statement attributed to the Ambassador shows that he envisaged an extension of his contract (presuming it was two years) or another posting to an Asian country. Why is this preference for an Asian country? Was it because of the feeling that he would be safe there against growing allegations? Can it be because he wanted to visit his son in Hong Kong and daughter in Australia? Too fragile a thought! Will he get easy access to Australia with the allegations against him coming up?

The Ambassador has said that on July 10, he received a reply saying the completion of the tenure had been approved and he had been asked to return before August 31. This is unusual if the contract was for two years and it was ending. The words ‘completion of the tenure of the contract’ seems to let the cat out of the bag. What is there to approve if

http://dbsjeyaraj.com/dbsj/archives/54972[05/09/2017 15:41:12]

Did Jagath Jayasuriya End his Term Early Because he was “Tipped Off” By Brazilian Authorities of Impending Legal Action Against Him? | dbsjeyaraj.com

Indian prime minister Rajiv Gandhi and Junius Richard Jayawardene the then President of Sri Lanka in Colombo that had far reaching implications for both the tear drop island in the Indian ocean and its giant neighbour. The […]

Special Feature

D.B.S. Jeyaraj’s Journey Home: Journalist in Exile Visits Sri Lanka for the First Time in 25 Years Marianne David Interviews DBS Jeyaraj for DailyFT Pix by Dushiyanthini Kanagasabapathipillai Forced into exile 25 years ago and compelled to stay away in order to stay alive, journalist D.B.S. Jeyaraj always dreamt of returning to Sri Lanka. That flame of hope flickered occasionally, as the war dragged on and then escalated despite

the contract ended? If the ‘completion’ had to be approved by the Foreign Ministry that must be a termination before the expiry of the contract.

The Ambassador has sought to prove that he did not know that allegations were being made against him by a lawyer in Brazil, in which a request has been made to the Federal police to launch an investigation against the Sri Lankan Ambassador, to deprive his diplomatic immunity and declare him a ‘persona non grata’ in the event the Sri Lankan government refused to cooperate with the investigation. We have only the Ambassador’s version that he did not know of such a thing while he was still the Ambassador, a position which can be deemed to be supported by the Sri Lankan Foreign Office when it says he returned on termination of the contract.

Yasmin Sooka, executive director of the International Truth and Justice Project, formerly a member of Darusman’s team, said in London that they believed that Jayasuriya had been tipped off about plans for the suits and fled. “We discovered by tracking him that in fact by 10:00 last night he had reached Dubai,” said Sooka. “That means that he took a direct flight from Brazil to Dubai and he made sure that he didn’t cross any of the other countries like the US, the UK. or Europe where he could potentially have been picked up.” Sooka is not fond of Sri Lanka and is bent on a witch hunt.

The question arises if the Brazilian government knew of moves against the Ambassador and advised him to leave Brazil immediately to avoid an unpleasant diplomatic situation. Reuter observes that the nations where Jayasuriya was ambassador have their own dark histories of violence including military dictatorships, torture and the killing or disappearance of thousands. Where else? Except Brazil?

There seems to be a big cover-up including the involvement of the Foreign Ministry in Colombo and Brazilian authorities.

Courtesy:The Island

http://dbsjeyaraj.com/dbsj/archives/54972[05/09/2017 15:41:12]

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Sirisena vows to protect General - The Hindu

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http://www.thehindu.com/news/international/sirisena-vows-to-protect-general/article19621100.ece[05/09/2017 13:02:47]

Sirisena vows to protect General - The Hindu

Former Army chief Lt. Gen. Jagath Jayasuriya. | Photo Credit: Ishara S. KODIKARA

Jagath Jayasuriya faces charges of war crimes over his role in the civil war Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena has vowed to protect a former Army chief who faces allegations of war crimes from his time as a top Army officer during the island’s civil war. “I will never allow anyone, including international elements, to harass not only former Army commander Lt. Gen. Jagath Jayasuriya but any war hero,” he told a huge gathering of cadre of the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP).

Cases in South America Last week, the International Truth and Justice Project, a human rights group, filed two cases in Colombia and Brazil against Gen. Jayasuriya, who was Sri Lanka’s Ambassador to several South American countries until recently. The group alleged http://www.thehindu.com/news/international/sirisena-vows-to-protect-general/article19621100.ece[05/09/2017 13:02:47]

Sunday Times - President vows to protect war heros

President Sirisena further said that the SLFP should be a party which comprise of intellectuals as well as scholars and it should be built as a party which follows the advices of religious leaders and the party should be a patriotic, people centric and Democratic Party, which will continue to promote the vision of S.W.R.D Bandaranaike and Madam Sirimavo Bandaranaike.

Even though some accuses the SLFP that it has joined with the United National Party, if the SLFP and the United National Party have not joined and formed the consensual government, we as a country would not have been able to face the allegations leveled against us by the international community as well as the economic sanctions.

He recalled the press statement, issued when the invitations has been sent to all the MPs, as they will not join the party as long as the SLFP is with the UNP, and said that there are many evidences and factors in the history of the world, when a country is faced with challenges, all are united irrespective of their political views, ethnicity, religion and language differences, to take the country forward freeing the country from those challenges.

President Sirisena said that at all times corruption, fraud, malpractices and dynastic rule should be removed from the politics and the power given by the people should not be used by the politicians to strengthen their own agendas, but must use for the benefit of the country and its people. He further said that coming into the power as well as give up that power should be done according to the aspirations of the people. The President said in anyway a Member of Parliament or a President is not a factor of the power and all the time the general public is the core factor of the power.

Maha Sangha and other religious leaders, General Secretary to the SLFP Duminda Dissanayake, General Secretary to the UPFA Mahinda Amaraweera, Former President Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga, former Prime Minister D. M. Jayaratne, Seniors of the SLFP, Ministers and MPs were among those participated in this occasion.

î„‘Â Comments - 0 http://www.sundaytimes.lk/article/1030662/president-vows-to-protect-war-heros[05/09/2017 12:48:40]

Sirisena vows to protect General - The Hindu

that he oversaw torture camps and was responsible for disappearances and extrajudicial killings in the final stages of the civil war.

Speaking at the SLFP’s 66th anniversary convention in Colombo on Sunday, Mr. Sirisena emphasised that no one would be allowed to discredit the country’s war heroes, “who were actively involved in defending and safeguarding the country’s territorial integrity and sovereignty”.

An SLFP veteran, Mr. Sirisena currently faces pressure from a faction of the party that supports his political rival and former President Mahinda Rajapaksa, who retains considerable public support despite his election loss in 2015.

In an apparent bid to consolidate support within his divided party, Mr. Sirisena said that he was able to protect democracy in the SLFP “unlike in the past”.

“Everyone is free to air their views in the SLFP today,” he said.

Despite the government’s evidently slow-paced efforts towards post-war reconciliation, people in the Tamil-majority north and east have pinned their hopes on Mr. Sirisena, who is a frequent visitor to war-affected areas, where he has promised to address their long-pending concerns. At the same time, he faces a major political challenge from within the party that appears to threaten the stability of the government.

The Rajapaksa camp enjoys support from the armed forces and the Sinhala Buddhist hard-liners who will oppose any domestic or international investigation into war crimes, said senior journalist V. Thanabalasingham. “President Sirisena cannot say anything against their position on accountability. It is naïve to expect him or the government or the establishment to say or do anything against those they consider war heroes,” he told The Hindu.

The Tamil society too has for long relied on the international community to intervene and solve their problems, but the international actors are now lauding the government for its reconciliation efforts, he said, referring to a recent statement from Assistant Secretary of State Alice Wells from the U.S. who visited Colombo recently. “The Tamil people’s dependence on these actors has come down, but they do not have an alternative either,” he said.

http://www.thehindu.com/news/international/sirisena-vows-to-protect-general/article19621100.ece[05/09/2017 13:02:47]

Sri Lanka's Jagath Jayasuriya wanted for war crimes - BBC News

"The UN inquiry found that the army certainly didn't maintain the distinction between civilians and combatants, and they also violated the law on the question of proportionality.

In the last months of the war hundreds of thousands of Tamils ended up trapped on a tiny strip of land.

"What was really awful was the perfidious conduct in putting people into no-fire zones and then shelling and bombarding them, which is why you have such a huge loss of life," Ms Sooka said.

Lawsuits are also due to be filed in Peru, Chile and Argentina, according to the group.

Where is the ambassador now?

Sri Lanka's government says the former general is on his way home following the completion of his assignment as ambassador. He is scheduled to arrive in Colombo on Wednesday.

"His departure from Brazil was pre-planned and he has not fled as some media reports allege," Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mahishini Colonne told BBC Sinhala.

Ms Sooka said: "He was tipped off, and he skipped from Brazil yesterday we've tracked him and, based on reliable information we have, he took a direct flight to Dubai."

Can he be prosecuted?

International lawsuits across jurisdictions are complicated.

Spain's Carlos Castresana Fernandez, who has co-ordinated efforts against Jagath Jayasuriya, is one of the lawyers who worked on cases against Chilean General Augusto Pinochet and Argentine General Jorge Rafael Videla.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-41089396[30/08/2017 14:24:32]

Sri Lankan ambassador to Brazil accused of war crimes during civil war | world-news | Hindustan Times

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Sri Lankan ambassador to Brazil accused of war crimes during civil war Rights groups allege Jagath Jayasuriya oversaw military units that attacked hospitals and killed, disappeared and tortured thousands of people.

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Updated: Aug 30, 2017 08:44 IST

Rio de Janeiro

The Sri Lankan embassy in Brasilia on August 28, 2017.(AP)

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Human rights groups in South America have alleged war crimes violations in lawsuits filed against a former Sri Lankan general, currently the ambassador to Brazil and

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five other countries in Latin America.

http://www.hindustantimes.com/...kan-ambassador-to-brazil-accused-of-war-crimes-during-civil-war/story-o2hLSITVZ4QQoYXqdlVh3K.html[30/08/2017 14:47:57]

Sri Lankan ambassador to Brazil accused of war crimes during civil war | world-news | Hindustan Times

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The suits against Jagath Jayasuriya are based on his role as a commander in the final phase of Sri Lanka’s civil war in 2009. The rights groups allege Jayasuriya oversaw

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military units that attacked hospitals and killed, disappeared and tortured thousands of people.

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Jayasuriya has diplomatic immunity in the countries where he is ambassador: Brazil, Colombia, Peru, Chile,

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Argentina and Suriname. But the groups pursuing the suits hope they will compel regional governments to expel him.

 The criminal suits, reviewed by the AP, were spearheaded by the human rights group International Truth and Justice Project, an evidence-gathering organization based in South Africa. The suits have three central aims: push local authorities to open investigations of Jayasuriya, remove his diplomatic immunity and expel him.

According to the suits, Jayasuriya oversaw an offensive from Joseph Camp, also known as Vanni, which the papers claim was a notorious torture site. The International Truth and Justice Project said it interviewed 14 survivors of torture or sexual violence at the camp.

According to the group, victims described hearing the howls of detainees at night, which the suits contend Jayasuriya would have been able to hear.

Carlos Castresana Fernandez, the lawyer coordinating the effort, told The Associated Press on Monday night that suits were filed Monday in Brazil and Colombia.

Petitions also will be filed in Argentina, Chile and Peru in the coming days, he said, adding that authorities in http://www.hindustantimes.com/...kan-ambassador-to-brazil-accused-of-war-crimes-during-civil-war/story-o2hLSITVZ4QQoYXqdlVh3K.html[30/08/2017 14:47:57]

Sri Lankan ambassador to Brazil accused of war crimes during civil war | world-news | Hindustan Times

Suriname refused to accept the suit.

“This is one genocide that has been forgotten, but this will force democratic countries to do something,” Fernandez said. “This is just the beginning of the fight.”

Calls to the Sri Lankan embassy in Brazil’s capital went unanswered Monday evening, as did an email seeking comment.

Jayasuriya’s whereabouts were not immediately known.

Fernandez said Brazilian justice officials told him Jayasuriya had left Brazil on Sunday. That couldn’t be independently confirmed.

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http://www.hindustantimes.com/...kan-ambassador-to-brazil-accused-of-war-crimes-during-civil-war/story-o2hLSITVZ4QQoYXqdlVh3K.html[30/08/2017 14:47:57]

War crimes suits against Sri Lankan ambassador in Brazil | The Indian Express

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Only in Express Home World War crimes suits against Sri Lankan ambassador in Brazil

War crimes suits against Sri Lankan ambassador in Brazil "This is one genocide that has been forgotten, but this will force democratic countries to do something," Fernandez said. "This is just the beginning of the fight."

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By: AP | Rio De Janeiro | Published:August 29, 2017 4:19 pm

http://indianexpress.com/article/world/war-crimes-suits-against-sri-lankan-ambassador-in-brazil-4819230/[30/08/2017 14:44:32]

War crimes suits against Sri Lankan ambassador in Brazil | The Indian Express

A sign points out the location of the Sri Lanka embassy in Brasilia, Brazil, Monday, Aug. 28, 2017. Human rights groups in South America are alleging war crimes violations in lawsuits filed against a former Sri Lankan general who is now his Asian nation’s ambassador to Brazil and five other countries in Latin America. (AP Photo/Eraldo Peres)

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Human rights groups in South America are alleging war crimes violations in lawsuits filed against a former Sri Lankan general who

Court seeks jail’s response on Yasin Bhatkal’s plea on rights violation

is now his Asian nation’s ambassador to Brazil and five other countries in Latin America.

The suits against Jagath Jayasuriya are based on his role as a

South Korea may pull

commander in the final phase of Sri Lanka’s civil war in 2009. They

back on use of water

allege Jayasuriya oversaw military units that attacked hospitals and

cannons and buses to

killed, disappeared and tortured thousands of people.

control protesters

Jayasuriya has diplomatic immunity in the countries where he is Smoke and Mirrors:

ambassador: Brazil, Colombia, Peru, Chile, Argentina and Suriname.

India’s Human Rights report at the United Nations

But the groups pursuing the suits hope they will compel regional governments to expel him.

Carlos Castresana Fernandez, the lawyer coordinating the effort, told

The Associated Press yesterday that suits were filed Monday in Brazil and Colombia. Petitions also will be filed in

http://indianexpress.com/article/world/war-crimes-suits-against-sri-lankan-ambassador-in-brazil-4819230/[30/08/2017 14:44:32]

War crimes suits against Sri Lankan ambassador in Brazil | The Indian Express

Argentina, Chile and Peru in the coming days, he said, adding that authorities in Suriname refused to accept the suit.

“This is one genocide that has been forgotten, but this will force democratic countries to do something,” Fernandez said. “This is just the beginning of the fight.”

Calls to the Sri Lankan Embassy in Brazil’s capital went unanswered Monday evening as did an email seeking comment.

Jayasuriya’s whereabouts were not immediately known. Fernandez said Brazilian justice officials told him Jayasuriya had left Brazil on Sunday. That couldn’t be independently confirmed.

The criminal suits, reviewed by the AP, were spearheaded by the human rights group International Truth and Justice Project, an evidence-gathering organization based in South Africa. The suits have three central aims: push local authorities to open investigations of Jayasuriya, remove his diplomatic immunity and expel him.

Many of the nations where Jayasuriya is ambassador have their own dark histories of military dictatorships and torture.

Fernandez, the coordinating lawyer, was one of the attorneys who worked on international cases against Argentine Gen. Jorge Rafael Videla and Chilean Gen. Augusto Pinochet. He has also helped indict many Guatemalan war criminals and organized crime members, including former President Alfonso Portillo.

While lawsuits across international jurisdictions can be tricky to sort out, such moves can also pay off. In the case of Pinochet, he ended up being arrested and held for a time in England because of international suits filed against him.

The civil war in Sri Lanka, an island off the southern tip of India, raged intermittently between 1983 and 2009.

Fueled in part by ethnic tensions between Sinhalese and Tamil citizens, an insurgency against the government was led by a group called the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam. They fought to establish a separate Tamil state in the northeastern part of the island.

http://indianexpress.com/article/world/war-crimes-suits-against-sri-lankan-ambassador-in-brazil-4819230/[30/08/2017 14:44:32]

Sri Lanka's Jagath Jayasuriya wanted for war crimes | Breaking & Viral News Feeds from India

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August 30, 2017

Sri Lanka’s Jagath Jayasuriya wanted for war crimes Published on August 29, 2017

Sri

Lanka’s

Jagath

“His departure from Brazil was pre-planned and he has

https://www.timesdelhi.com/2017/08/29/sri-lankas-jagath-jayasuriya-wanted-for-war-crimes/[30/08/2017 14:45:26]

Sri Lanka's Jagath Jayasuriya wanted for war crimes | Breaking & Viral News Feeds from India

not fled as some media reports allege,” Foreign Ministry

Jayasuriya

wanted

for

war crimes

GO TO spokeswoman Mahishini Colonne told BBC Sinhala.

TOP

Ms Sooka said: “He was tipped off, and he skipped from Brazil yesterday – we’ve tracked him and, based on reliable information we have, he took a direct flight to Dubai.”

29 August 2017 From the section Asia

Can he be prosecuted?

International

lawsuits

across

jurisdictions

are

complicated.

Spain’s Carlos Castresana Fernandez, who has coordinated efforts against Jagath Jayasuriya, is one of the lawyers who worked on cases against Chilean General Augusto Pinochet and Argentine General Image copyright

Jorge Rafael Videla.

AFP Image copyright Image caption

PA

Jagath Jayasuriya (centre) commanded troops in the

Image caption

final months of the war Gen Pinochet returned to Chile and was never Human rights groups have filed lawsuits in Brazil and

convicted

Colombia against Sri Lanka’s ambassador in Latin America, accusing him of war crimes.

Gen Pinochet spent 18 months under arrest in London fighting extradition to Spain.

Former general Jagath Jayasuriya was a commander in the final stages of the civil war with separatist Tamil

Yasmin Sooka says Jagath Jayasuriya will have

rebels in 2009.

diplomatic immunity for as long as he’s an ambassador.

Tens of thousands of Tamils – and the rebel leadership

“We’ve heard he held on to the ambassadorial post and

– were killed at the end of the conflict, in which both

that he will probably resign when he reaches Colombo

sides were accused of atrocities.

– immunity will cease once he steps down from the post.

Human rights groups have long called for prosecutions but there have been none so far.

“But what’s wonderful is the Latin American countries can actually file an arrest warrant, they can put him on

https://www.timesdelhi.com/2017/08/29/sri-lankas-jagath-jayasuriya-wanted-for-war-crimes/[30/08/2017 14:45:26]

Sri Lanka's Jagath Jayasuriya wanted for war crimes | Breaking & Viral News Feeds from India

What

is

Jagath

Jayasuriya

an Interpol red list and ask for his extradition – and really he will become a prisoner on the island of Sri

accused of?

Lanka.”

Sri Lanka’s ambassador to Brazil, Colombia, Peru, Chile, Argentina and Suriname was in charge of troops in the north-east of the island who are alleged to have

The BBC sought a response from Sri Lanka’s Foreign Ministry and the government spokesman on the case but they have not yet provided a response.

attacked hospitals and abducted, killed and tortured

What was the cost of the war?

thousands of civilians.

Image copyright

Image copyright

AFP

AFP

Image caption

Image caption

Hundreds of thousands of Tamils were trapped on a patch of land at the end of the war

The fate of thousands of Tamils has been in question since the final stages of the war

As a diplomat he enjoys immunity but the International Truth and Justice Project, which brought the case, wants him expelled and his conduct investigated.

The 26-year civil war left at least 100,000 people dead on both sides of the conflict. The Tamil Tigers said they were fighting for a homeland for minority Tamils in northern Sri Lanka.

“In the pivotal period between 2007-2009 he was really in charge of what was happening in the Vanni area,” lawyer Yasmin Sooka of the International Truth and

There are still no confirmed figures for tens of thousands of civilian deaths in the last months of battle.

Justice Project told the BBC’s Newshour programme.

The final months of the war saw hundreds of thousands “The UN inquiry found that the army certainly didn’t maintain

the

distinction

between

civilians

and

of Tamil civilians trapped in territory held by the Tamil Tigers (LTTE) in the north-east.

combatants, and they also violated the law on the question of proportionality.

While

government

forces

were

accused

of

indiscriminate shelling leading to massive casualties, In the last months of the war hundreds of thousands of Tamils ended up trapped on a tiny strip of land.

the Tamil Tiger rebels were alleged to have used civilians as human shields and shot people trying to escape.

“What was really awful was the perfidious conduct in putting people into no-fire zones and then shelling and bombarding them, which is why you have such a huge loss of life,” Ms Sooka said.

Allegations persist to this day that the army killed rebel leaders and others after they surrendered or were captured – and the UN admitted in 2012 that it could

https://www.timesdelhi.com/2017/08/29/sri-lankas-jagath-jayasuriya-wanted-for-war-crimes/[30/08/2017 14:45:26]

Sri Lanka: Government and Army reject war crime charges against Ambassador Jagath Jayasuriya - The aPolitical

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https://www.theapolitical.in/south-asia/sri-lanka-government-army-reject-war-crime-charges-ambassador-jagath-jayasuriya[05/09/2017 10:33:11]

Sri Lanka: Government and Army reject war crime charges against Ambassador Jagath Jayasuriya - The aPolitical

 Vinita Rawat, The aPolitical |  31/08/2017 The Sri Lankan government and the Army yesterday rejected the war crime charges against Jagath Jayasuriya, Ambassador to Brazil.

Government spokesperson and Minister Rajitha Senaratne dismissing the allegations stated that not all killings and everything happened during the war are violations of human rights, the Daily Mirror reported today.

https://www.theapolitical.in/south-asia/sri-lanka-government-army-reject-war-crime-charges-ambassador-jagath-jayasuriya[05/09/2017 10:33:11]

Sri Lanka: Government and Army reject war crime charges against Ambassador Jagath Jayasuriya - The aPolitical

Mr Senaratne, however, added that they would continue to take legal action against specific allegations levelled against military personnel based on the evidence.

The Army also rejected the war crime allegations against its former general. Army spokesperson Brigadier Roshan Senevirathne stated that the allegations against the former Army Commander were “baseless”.

On 29 August, the International Truth and Justice Project (ITJP), an international human rights organisation, had filed war crimes lawsuits in Brazil and Colombia against Jagath Jayasuriya for his role in the final phase of the civil war in 2009.

The lawsuit alleged that “General Jayasuriya bears individual criminal responsibility as the commander of units that committed repeated attacks on hospitals, acts of torture and sexual violence, enforced disappearances and extrajudicial killings.”

General Jagath Jayasuriya was the Vanni Security Force Commander from 2007 to 2009 and he oversaw an offensive from Joseph Camp in the northern town of Vavuniya during the final phase of the war. The ITJP has collected testimony from 14 survivors of torture and/or sexual violence in this camp that occurred while General Jayasuriya was in command of the site.

After the Apart from Brazil and Colombia, General Jayasuriya was also Ambassador to Peru, Chile, Argentina and Suriname. Sri Lanka’s external affairs ministry yesterday said that Jayasuriya’s diplomatic tenure as the Ambassador to Brazil and six other countries in South America has ended and he was on the way home, the Colombo Page reported yesterday. General Jayasuriya was appointed as Ambassador to Brazil in 2015.

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https://www.theapolitical.in/south-asia/sri-lanka-government-army-reject-war-crime-charges-ambassador-jagath-jayasuriya[05/09/2017 10:33:11]

Hasty departure of an ex-General - The Statesman

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Hasty departure of an ex-General Abbas Nasir September 3, 2017 | 4:49 am

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Sri Lankan army Gen Jagath Jayasuriya (Photo: Facebook) A news item that didn’t seem to get any traction at all this week was the filing of war crimes charges in Brazil and Colombia against the former chief of the Sri Lankan army Gen Jagath Jayasuriya who is reported to have fled Latin America.

The charges relate to the alleged war crimes, including summary execution of surrendered/captured Tamil Tiger cadres, rape and torture of men and women, disappearances, and then mass-scale targeting of civilians in ‘no-fire-zones’ recorded in eastern Sri Lanka using rockets and artillery.

Jayasuriya was the operational commander as a major-general in northern Sri Lanka during the last stretches of the war which saw the army finally crushing the terrorist Liberation Tiger of Tamil Eelam and declaring victory in May 2009, bringing to a close the quarter century-old conflict.

Later, after his elevation as army chief which was followed by his retirement from the army in 2015, Jayasuria was posted as his country’s envoy to Brazil with simultaneous accreditation to Colombia, Argentina, Peru, Chile and Suriname based in Brasilia.

The charges were filed by the South Africa-headquartered International Truth and Justice Project (ITJP) in partnership with human rights organisations in Latin America. They were represented by Spanish lawyer Carlos Castresana Fernández. Charges relate to Jayasuriya’s role in the final phase of the Sri Lankan civil war when the UN estimated between 40,000 and 70,000 Tamil civilians were killed.

In 1996, Fernandez was among the Spanish lawyers who filed cases against Chilean dictator Gen Augusto Pinochet in the Spanish National Court.

http://www.thestatesman.com/opinion/hasty-departure-ex-general-1502486572.html[05/09/2017 15:48:27]

Hasty departure of an ex-General - The Statesman

As head of the Commission Against Impunity in Guatelama (CICIG), he indicted Guatemala’s former president Alfonso Portillo and a number of other Guatemalan war criminals including members of organised crime.

He was also involved in the cases against Argentine dictator Gen Rafael Videla for crimes committed during his tenure from 1976 to 1981.

“I am shocked to see there is even more evidence of grave crimes in this lawsuit than in the cases we started against Gen Pinochet or Videla,” said Castresana, according to the ITJP. “Nobody believed at first that the Pinochet case would go anywhere or that the Argentinian courts would ever be able to make the military juntas accountable; nobody believed the Guatemalan security forces could be held accountable, but with a handful of good, committed people I want to tell you that it is possible to deliver justice for the victims. I don’t care that he fled Brazil; the case is just starting. He has made things easier for us, because fleeing he will not enjoy immunity anymore.”

The ITJP says the charges relate to Jayasuriya’s role in the final phase of the civil war in 2009 when the United Nations estimated between 40,000 and 70,000 Tamil civilians were killed and a 2015 UN Investigation found reasonable grounds to conclude the Sri Lankan military had committed systematic and widespread violations of international humanitarian law.

The lawsuit filed in Brasilia and Bogotá on Monday alleges that Jayasuriya bears individual criminal responsibility as the commander of units that committed repeated attacks on hospitals, carried out acts of torture and sexual violence and were responsible for enforced disappearances and extrajudicial killings. Jagath Jayasuriya was the Vanni Security Force commander from 2007- 09 and, by his own admission, overseeing the entire conduct of the final phase of the war during which Tamil civilians were indiscriminately shelled and bombed and hospitals targeted.

He oversaw the offensive from one of Sri Lanka’s most notorious torture sites, known as Joseph Camp.

The ITJP has collected testimony from 14 survivors of torture and/or sexual violence in this camp that occurred while Gen Jayasuriya was in command of the site.

Joseph Camp had purpose-built torture chambers, equipped with manacles and chains, pulleys for hoisting detainees upside down, bars for handcuffing them to the ceiling and underground holding cells.

Victims describe hearing other detainees screaming at night, which the general would also have been able to hear from his house in the camp. The lawsuit also alleges Jayasuriya, who went on to become Sri Lankan army commander, had command responsibility for acts of extrajudicial execution and the enforced disappearance of hundreds of those who surrendered at the end of the conflict. The Sri Lankan government, for its part, rejected the charges against one of the country’s war heroes and described them as part of the Tamil diaspora’s ‘propaganda’ against Colombo and its forces. It has also said it is happy to investigate any credible charges of such crimes.

Having read through the details of testimonies of some of the survivors a picture of immense horror emerges of brutal torture and sex crimes against the detainees before their summary execution. In many cases, soldiers involved in the actions were making videos of the whole exercise on their phones, lending credence to charges that this was an orchestrated effort. One is, of course, not naïve about how vicious this war was and how nearly insane was the LTTE’s founder-leader Vellupillai Prabhakran as his quest for a separate Tamil homeland in the north of the country included using child soldiers and deploying suicide bombers.

He also spurned a credible peace effort a few years before being killed in the final phase of the conflict.

But that a country’s trained armed forces would so systematically disregard the law and trample on human rights is shocking to say the least. Whether Jayasuriya is ever brought to court anywhere in the world one can’t say. What one can say is that such cases should serve as a warning to other autocratic governments and officials that one day their horrible crimes will chase them and leave them with no

http://www.thestatesman.com/opinion/hasty-departure-ex-general-1502486572.html[05/09/2017 15:48:27]

Hasty departure of an ex-General - The Statesman

place to hide.

Look at the Sri Lankan general’s fate. From representing his country in several countries in South America, he will now live the rest of his days on his small island state, too fearful to step out let alone travel abroad for fear of facing justice.

(Dawn/ANN)

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http://www.thestatesman.com/opinion/hasty-departure-ex-general-1502486572.html[05/09/2017 15:48:27]

Sri Lanka defends General accused of war crimes against LTTE

THE NEWS SCROLL 30 AUGUST 2017 Â Last Updated at 6:12 PM

Sri Lanka defends General accused of war crimes against LTTE

Colombo, Aug 30 The Sri Lankan government today came out in defence of a former Army Commander accused of committing war crimes during the brutal civil war against the LTTE, saying every death in the three-decade long conflict cannot be treated as a human rights abuse case.

Government spokesman Rajitha Senaratne said the government was prepared to probe any specific charges made against the military and Commander Jagath Jayasuriya.

Senaratne, who is also the Health Minister, said the accusations against Jayasuriya were of a general nature.

"Every death which occurred during the civil war could not treated as a case of human rights abuse as we were conducting a war against terrorism," he added.

The Army spokesman Brigadier Roshan Seneviratne said the allegations were baseless.

The International Truth and Justice Project, a human rights group had filed war crimes charges in Brazil and Colombia against Jayasuriya, who was the Sri Lankan Ambassador to Brazil.

He was also accredited to four more countries in the Latin American region.

The lawsuit filed in Brasilia and Bogota on Monday alleged that General Jayasuriya bore individual criminal responsibility as the Commander of units that committed repeated attacks on hospitals, acts of torture and sexual violence, enforced disappearances and extra-judicial killings.

Jayasuriya was commanding the Sri Lankan Army's Wanni brigade in the north of the country where conflict raged during the last phase of the war with the LTTE.

https://www.outlookindia.com/newsscroll/sri-lanka-defends-general-accused-of-war-crimes-against-ltte/1135313[06/09/2017 11:28:12]

Sri Lanka defends General accused of war crimes against LTTE

He later succeeded war wining commander Sarath Fonseka as the overall Army chief.

As recognition for their services towards ending the 30 years long armed conflict some senior military personnel were given plum diplomatic postings, including Jayasuriya who was appointed as Sri Lanka's ambassador to Brazil.

Sri Lanka faced UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) resolutions for alleged human rights abuses during the last phase of the conflict.

Sri Lanka's human rights record, particularly over the impunity enjoyed by law enforcement officers, has been the subject of international condemnation.

The UNHRC demanded accountability mechanisms to probe rights abuses blamed on both the LTTE and the government forces that ended in 2009.

Sri Lanka is averse to setting up of an international hybrid court with local and foreign judges to investigate the alleged war crimes committed by the government troops and the LTTE in the last phase of the conflict.

Relatives of the missing Tamil people allege that the Lankan state - particularly its army, navy and police - were behind most of the disappearances.

According to the government figures, around 20,000 people are missing due to various conflicts including the civil war with Lankan Tamils in the north and east which claimed at least 100,000 lives.

The LTTE, which led the separatist war for a separate Tamil homeland, was finally crushed by the Lankan military in 2009 with the death its supremo Velupillai Prabhakaran.

https://www.outlookindia.com/newsscroll/sri-lanka-defends-general-accused-of-war-crimes-against-ltte/1135313[06/09/2017 11:28:12]

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Brazil lawsuit accuses Jagath Jayasuriya of war crimes | Brazil News | Al Jazeera

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BRAZIL YESTERDAY

Brazil lawsuit accuses Jagath Jayasuriya of war crimes Lawyers seek to expel Jagath Jayasuriya, ambassador to Brazil, over abuses in final phase of offensive against LTTE.

http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2017/08/brazil-lawsuit-accuses-jagath-jayasuriya-war-cimes-170829055025990.html[30/08/2017 15:05:15]

Brazil lawsuit accuses Jagath Jayasuriya of war crimes | Brazil News | Al Jazeera

Jayasuriya was commander of the Vanni Security Force from 2007 to 2009 [File: Reuters]

Human rights groups in South America have filed war crimes lawsuits against a former Sri Lankan general who is now his country's ambassador to Brazil.

The lawsuits against Jagath Jayasuriya allege he oversaw military units that attacked hospitals and killed, disappeared and tortured thousands of people in the final phase of Sri Lanka's civil war in 2009.

Jayasuriya has diplomatic immunity in Brazil and five other countries where he is ambassador - Colombia, Peru, Chile, Argentina and Suriname.

But the groups pursuing the suits hope they will compel regional governments to open investigations of Jayasuriya, remove his immunity and expel him.

Carlos Castresana Fernandez, the lawyer coordinating the effort, told the Associated Press news agency that suits have been filed on Monday in Brazil and Colombia.

READ MORE; Sri Lanka's leader backs arrests of 'official' killers Petitions will be filed in Argentina, Chile and Peru in the coming days, he said, adding that authorities in Suriname had refused to accept the

http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2017/08/brazil-lawsuit-accuses-jagath-jayasuriya-war-cimes-170829055025990.html[30/08/2017 15:05:15]

Brazil lawsuit accuses Jagath Jayasuriya of war crimes | Brazil News | Al Jazeera

petition.

"This is one genocide that has been forgotten, but this will force democratic countries to do something," Fernandez said. "This is just the beginning of the fight."

Jayasuriya's whereabouts were not immediately known.

Calls to the Sri Lankan embassy in Brazil's capital went unanswered Monday evening as did an email seeking comment.

The criminal suits were spearheaded by the human rights group International Truth and Justice Project (ITJP), an evidence-gathering organisation based in South Africa.

The suits say Jayasuriya was commander of the Vanni Security Force from 2007 to 2009, one of the bloodiest periods in a 26-year war that is estimated to have killed more than 100,000 people.

The UN estimates between 40,000 and 70,000 died in the final phase alone when Sri Lanka's military defeated the separatist armed group, the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam.

Sri Lanka to get first Tamil military leader in 50 years

According to the suits, Jayasuriya oversaw an offensive from Joseph Camp in the northern town of Vavuniya.Â

ITJP said it interviewed 14 people who survived torture or sexual violence at the camp.

"There is no way General Jagath Jayasuriya can claim not to have known that torture routinely occurred in his camp; there were purpose built underground torture chambers, equipped with manacles, chains and pulleys for hoisting victims upside down," Yasmin Sooka, the ITJP's executive director, said in March.

"If the detainees could hear each other screaming at night from

http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2017/08/brazil-lawsuit-accuses-jagath-jayasuriya-war-cimes-170829055025990.html[30/08/2017 15:05:15]

Brazil lawsuit accuses Jagath Jayasuriya of war crimes | Brazil News | Al Jazeera

adjacent buildings, so could he."

Human rights groups have long been after Jayasuriya, but the Sri Lankan government has refused to try him or others allegedly involved in war abuses.

A few years after the war ended, he retired from the military.

Jayasuriya was appointed ambassador to Brazil in 2015 and the other countries were added to his purview over the following two years.

The Sri Lankan army has denied committing war crimes.

Fernandez, the lawyer coordinating the lawsuits against Jayasuriya, has worked on international cases against war criminals in Guatemala, Argentina and Chile.

In the case of Chilean General Augusto Pinochet, he ended up being arrested and held for a time in England because of international lawsuits filed against him.

Sri Lanka seeks more time for war crimes probe

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http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2017/08/brazil-lawsuit-accuses-jagath-jayasuriya-war-cimes-170829055025990.html[30/08/2017 15:05:15]

Sri Lanka leader to shield general from war crimes case | Sri Lanka News | Al Jazeera

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SRI LANKA YESTERDAY

Sri Lanka leader to shield general from war crimes case President says he will not allow 'anyone in the world' to touch Jagath Jayasuriya after rights groups sue ex-army chief.

http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2017/09/sri-lanka-leader-shield-general-war-crimes-case-170903193335527.html[05/09/2017 13:04:33]

Sri Lanka leader to shield general from war crimes case | Sri Lanka News | Al Jazeera

The lawsuits are based on Jayasuriya's role as a commander in the war's final phase [File: Reuters]

Sri Lanka's president has vowed to protect a former army chief accused of crimes committed in the bloody final phase of the country's civil war.

"I state very clearly that I will not allow anyone in the world to touch Jagath Jayasuriya or any other military chief or any war hero in this country," President Maithripala Sirisena said on Sunday, addressing a convention of his Sri Lanka Freedom Party.

Sirisena's statement came a week after rights groups filed criminal lawsuits in South America against Jayasuriya, who until last week served as the country's envoy to Brazil, Argentina, Chile, Colombia, Peru and Suriname.

The lawsuits are based on Jayasuriya's role as a commander in the final phase of Sri Lanka's civil war in 2009.

They allege he oversaw military units that attacked hospitals and killed, disappeared and tortured thousands of people.

Sri Lanka seeks more time for war crimes probe

The suits had been filed in Brazil and Colombia, and more were to

http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2017/09/sri-lanka-leader-shield-general-war-crimes-case-170903193335527.html[05/09/2017 13:04:33]

Sri Lanka leader to shield general from war crimes case | Sri Lanka News | Al Jazeera

come in Argentina, Chile and Peru. Suriname had refused to accept the petition.

Sri Lanka's military has also denied the allegations against Jayasuriya.

Sirisena's comments are seen as an attempt to woo majority ethnic Sinhalese, most of whom oppose action against military personnel accused of crimes in the fight against minority Tamil rebels.

Sirisena is being painted as anti-Sinhalese by hard-line sections of the community.

More than 100,000 people are believed to have been killed in Sri Lanka's 26-year civil war, including 40,000 to 70,000 in the final phase alone.

In a joint resolution in 2015 at the UN Human Rights Council, Sri Lanka promised, among other things, a truth-seeking mechanism, a judicial mechanism to prosecute those accused of human rights abuses and a new constitution that covers the island nation's varied ethnicities and religions.

However, little progress has been made.

READ MORE: UN condemns Sri Lanka over war probe Sri Lanka had agreed to allow foreign judges, but backtracked later, insisting that only local courts could investigate the allegations.

The criminal suits, reviewed by the AP news agency, were spearheaded by the human rights group International Truth and Justice Project, an evidence-gathering organisation based in South Africa.

Sri Lankan task force rules out war crime pardon

They had three central aims: push local authorities to open investigations of Jayasuriya, remove his diplomatic immunity and

http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2017/09/sri-lanka-leader-shield-general-war-crimes-case-170903193335527.html[05/09/2017 13:04:33]

Sri Lanka leader to shield general from war crimes case | Sri Lanka News | Al Jazeera

expel him.

However, Jayasuriya left Brazil last week to return to Sri Lanka after completing his two-year tour of service.

The petitions can be amended to ask for arrest warrants in case he returns, according to the lawyer who filed the suit.

The civil war in Sri Lanka, an island off the southern tip of India, raged intermittently between 1983 and 2009.

Fueled in part by ethnic tensions between ethnic majority Sinhalese and minority Tamils, the fight against the government was led by a group called the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam.

They fought to establish a separate Tamil state in the northeastern part of the island.

Talk to Al Jazeera: Sri Lankan president - No allegations of war crimes

Source:Â AP news agency

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http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2017/09/sri-lanka-leader-shield-general-war-crimes-case-170903193335527.html[05/09/2017 13:04:33]

Criminal suits vs Lankan envoy - Groups cite 2009 war crimes - ARAB TIMES

Criminal suits vs Lankan envoy – Groups cite 2009 war crimes  17 hours ago

RIO DE JANEIRO, Aug 29, (AP): Human rights groups in South America are alleging war crimes violations in lawsuits filed against a former Sri Lankan general who is now his Asian nation’s ambassador to Brazil and five other countries in Latin America.

The suits against Jagath Jayasuriya are based on his role as a commander in the final phase of Sri Lanka’s civil war in 2009.

They allege Jayasuriya oversaw military units that attacked hospitals and killed, disappeared and tortured thousands of people.

Jayasuriya has diplomatic immunity in the countries where he is ambassador: Brazil, Colombia, Peru, Chile, Argentina and Suriname. But the groups pursuing the suits hope they will compel regional governments to expel him.

Carlos Castresana Fernandez, the lawyer coordinating the effort, told The Associated Press on Monday night that suits were filed Monday in Brazil and Colombia.

Petitions also will be filed in Argentina, Chile and Peru in the coming days, he said, adding that authorities in Suriname refused to accept the suit.

Jayasuriya’s whereabouts were not immediately known. Fernandez said Brazilian justice officials told him Jayasuriya had left Brazil on Sunday. That couldn’t be independently confirmed.

The criminal suits, reviewed by the AP, were spearheaded by the human rights group International Truth and Justice Project, an evidence-gathering organization based in South Africa. The suits have three central aims: push local authorities to open investigations of Jayasuriya, remove his diplomatic immunity and expel him.

Many of the nations where Jayasuriya is ambassador have their own dark histories of military dictatorships and torture.

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Jagath Jayasuriya (en el centro) dirigió las tropas de Sri Lanka durante las últimas etapas de la guerra civil que atravesó su país en 2009.

Jagath Jayasuriya es embajador de Sri Lanka en Brasil y en otros cinco países de Latinoamérica. Pero su polémico papel como comandante del ejército durante la extensa guerra civil que vivió su país entre 1983 y 2009 parece haber puesto fin a su misión en tierras sudamericanas.

Grupos de derechos humanos interpusieron esta semana demandas ante tribunales de Brasil y en Colombia ­donde Jayasuriya ejerce de embajador concurrente, junto a Perú, Chile, Argentina y Surinam­ para que sea juzgado ahí por crímenes de guerra.

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Date: 30­Aug­2017 Reach: 1916376 Value: 51439

Los activistas alegan que Jayasuriya supervisó las unidades militares responsables de atacar hospitales, torturar, matar y hacer desaparecer a decenas de miles de personas de minoría tamil, durante la última fase del conflicto interno srilankés, entre 2007 y 2009.

Se calcula que durante los 26 años que duró la guerra de Sri Lanka murieron más de 100.000 personas.

Los últimos cinco meses de la guerra fueron especialmente sangrientos. Se calcula que más de 100.000 personas perdieron la vida durante el conflicto.

Según la ONU, entre 40.000 y 70.000 perecieron durante la fase final ­una de las más sangrientas­ cuando las fuerzas del gobierno se enfrentaron a los rebeldes separatistas, los Tigres Tamiles. ¿Quiénes son los Tigres Tamiles?

También en Argentina, Perú y Chile Según Yasmin Sooka, del Proyecto Internacional de la Verdad y la Justicia (ITJP, por sus siglas en inglés) ­la organización que lidera las acusaciones­ el general también será acusado ante tribunales de Argentina, Perú y Chile.

Y aunque Jayasuriyane ya partió rumbo a Sri Lanka, Sooka dijo que todo indica que renunciará a su cargo de embajador nada más llegar a la capital, Colombo, donde se le espera este miércoles.

Grupos humanitarios llevan años buscando emprender acciones contra Jagath Jayasuriya.

"Su inmunidad diplomática cesará una vez que deje el puesto", explicó la activista, quien que el embajador había decidido tomar un vuelo a Dubai desde Brasil luego de haber sido puesto sobre aviso.

"Y lo que es maravilloso es que los países latinoamericanos entonces podrán presentar una orden de arresto, ponerlo en la lista roja de la Interpol y pedir su extradición, lo que significa que la práctica se convertirá en un prisionero de la isla de Sri Lanka".

La vocera del Ministerio de Asuntos Exteriores del país asiático, por su parte, le dijo por su parte a la BBC que la salida de Jayasuriyane de Brasil "ya estaba planeada".

"No ha huido, como comentan algunos medios", aseguró la vocera Mahishini Colonne.

Las acusaciones Según Yasmin Sooka "entre 2007 y 2009, Jayasuriya estuvo a cargo de lo que ocurrió en la región de Vanni (al norte del país) y una investigación de Naciones Unidas halló que el ejército no diferenció entre civiles y combatientes".

"Lo verdaderamente espantoso fue la infame conducta de poner a la gente en zonas libres de fuego y luego bombardearles, lo cual implicó muchas pérdidas de vidas humanas", dijo.

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Date: 30­Aug­2017 Reach: 1916376 Value: 51439 Los Tigres Tamiles llegaron a ser en su momento una de las organizaciones rebeldes más sofisticadas del mundo.

Si las fuerzas gubernamentales fueron acusadas de bombardearles de manera indiscriminada, a los Tigres Tamiles se les acusa de usar a los civiles como escudos humanos y de disparar a quienes trataban de escapar.

Y en 2012, la ONU admitió que podría haber hecho más para defender a los civiles.

Las organizaciones humanitarias, sin embargo, llevan años intentando emprender acciones legales contra Sri Lanka.

Cuando terminó la guerra, varias instituciones incluyendo la ONU, pidieron una investigación independiente sobre el número de civiles muertos en las semanas finales de la guerra civil en el norte del país.

Pero autoridades dijeron que no permitirían que los tribunales ni dentro ni fuera de sus fronteras investigaran a personal militar por supuestas violaciones "ficticias" de derechos humanos.

Sri Lanka veta indagar "crímenes de guerra"

¿Será juzgado?

Las leyes sobre demandas internacionales son complicadas.

Pero uno de los abogados que está coordinado las acusaciones contra Jayasuriya es el español Carlos Castresana Fernandez, quien trabajó en el caso contra Augusto Pinochet que obligó al expresidente chileno a pasar 18 meses bajo arresto en Londres, Reino Unido.

Pinochet regresó a Chile y nunca fue condenado.

Pinochet fue arrestado en 1998 por orden del juez Baltasar Garzón, también acusado de crímenes de lesa humanidad.

La Cámara de los Lores resolvió que Pinochet no gozaba de inmunidad y podía ser juzgado.

Pero los temores por su estado de salud permitieron que el exprimer ministro Tony Blair lo liberara y regresara a Chile.

Chile: los años menos conocidos de Augusto Pinochet

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Sri Lankan ambassador to Latin America accused of war crimes during final stages of civil war According to the lawsuits, Jayasuriya oversaw an offensive from Joseph Camp, also known as Vanni, which the papers claim was a notorious torture site PUBLISHED : Tuesday, 29 August, 2017, 3:56pm UPDATED : Tuesday, 29 August, 2017, 3:56pm

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Human rights groups in South America are alleging war crimes violations in lawsuits filed against a former Sri Lankan general who is now his nation’s ambassador to Associated Press Brazil and five other countries in Latin America.

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Sri Lankan ambassador to Latin America accused of war crimes during final stages of civil war | South China Morning Post

The suits against Jagath Jayasuriya are based on his role as a commander in the final phase of Sri Lanka’s civil war SOUTH ASIA in 2009. They allege Jayasuriya oversaw military units Sri Lankan peacekeepers that accused of running child sexattacked hospitals and killed, disappeared and ring in Haiti tortured thousands of people.

26 May 2017

Jayasuriya has diplomatic immunity in the countries where he is ambassador: Brazil, Colombia, Peru, Chile, Argentina and Suriname. But the groups pursuing the suits hope they will compel regional governments to expel him.

Carlos Castresana Fernandez, the lawyer coordinating the effort, said suits were filed on Monday in Brazil and Colombia. Petitions also will be filed in Argentina, Chile and Peru in the coming days, he said, adding that authorities in Suriname refused to accept the suit.

“This is one genocide that has been forgotten, but this will force democratic countries to do something,” Fernandez said. “This is just the beginning of the fight.”

Calls to the Sri Lankan embassy in Brazil’s capital went unanswered as did an email seeking comment.

Jayasuriya’s whereabouts were not immediately known.

Fernandez said Brazilian justice officials told him Jayasuriya had left Brazil on Sunday. That could not be independently confirmed.

SS This is one genocide that has been forgotten, but this will force democratic countries to do something CARLOS CASTRESANA FERNANDEZ, LAWYER

The criminal suits were spearheaded by the human rights group International Truth and Justice Project, an evidence-gathering organisation based in South Africa. The suits have three central aims: push local authorities to open investigations of Jayasuriya, remove his diplomatic immunity and expel him.

Many of the nations where Jayasuriya is ambassador have their own dark histories

http://www.scmp.com/news/asia/south-asia/article/2108783/sri-lankan-ambassador-latin-america-accused-war-crimes-during[30/08/2017 14:53:17]

Sri Lankan ambassador to Latin America accused of war crimes during final stages of civil war | South China Morning Post

of military dictatorships and torture.

Fernandez, the coordinating lawyer, was one of the lawyers who worked on international cases against Argentine General Jorge Rafael Videla and Chilean General Augusto Pinochet. He has also helped indict many Guatemalan war criminals and organised crime members, including former president Alfonso Portillo.

While lawsuits across international jurisdictions can be tricky to sort out, such moves can also pay off. In the case of Pinochet, he ended up being arrested and held for a time in England because of international suits filed against him.

The civil war in Sri Lanka raged intermittently between 1983 and 2009. Fuelled in part by ethnic tensions between Sinhalese and Tamil citizens, an insurgency against the government was led by a group called the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam. They fought to establish a separate Tamil state in the northeastern part of the island.

The suits claim Jayasuriya was commander of the Vanni Security Force from 2007 to 2009, one of the bloodiest periods in a war estimated to have killed more than 100,000 people. The UN estimates between 40,000 and 70,000 died in the final phase alone.

According to the suits, Jayasuriya oversaw an offensive from Joseph Camp, also known as Vanni, which the papers claim was a notorious torture site. The International Truth and Justice Project said it interviewed 14 survivors of torture or sexual violence at the camp.

According to the group, victims described hearing the howls of detainees at night, which the suits contend Jayasuriya would have been able to hear.

Human rights groups have long been after Jayasuriya, but the Sri Lankan government has refused to try him or others allegedly involved in war abuses. A few years after the war ended, he retired from the military. Jayasuriya was appointed ambassador to Brazil in 2015 and the other countries were added to his purview over the following two years.

http://www.scmp.com/news/asia/south-asia/article/2108783/sri-lankan-ambassador-latin-america-accused-war-crimes-during[30/08/2017 14:53:17]

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Cartoon

Cartoon depicting Development Minister Field Marshal Sarath Fonseka and General Jagath Jayasuriya.

Fonseka said publicly he was ready to give evidence against his successor General Jagath Jayasuriya if he were tried for war crimes.