UK

Britain has become the third Western country to sanction select Sri Lankans for war crimes committed during the civil war in the island nation which ended 16 years ago. One can say with certainty that the decision will help neither Sri Lanka nor its Tamil minority.

Clearly, brazen hypocrisy coupled with domestic political factors are the main reasons the United Kingdom has moved against former Sri Lankan army commanders Shavendra Silva and Jagath Jayasuriya, former navy commander Wasantha Karannagoda and former LTTE leader Vinayagamoorthy Muralitharan alias Karuna.

The sanctions consist of asset freezes and travel bans. The action follows years of sustained pressure mounted by rights activists in Sri Lanka and abroad as well as Tamil activists, particularly those still allied to the separatist ideology of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE).

Silva, who led the 58th