Press Release
The Sri Lanka Monitoring and Accountability Panel (“MAP”) notes with great concern the appointment on 9 February 2016 of Field Marshall Sarath Fonseka to parliament as a national list member.
Field Marshall Fonseka was the commander of the Sri Lankan army in May 2009 and was in that capacity responsible for the actions of troops who are widely believed to have carried out war crimes and crimes against humanity. Successive governments in Sri Lanka have failed to investigate those allegations, and whilst the present regime has made apparent commitments to do so, the current appointment casts serious doubt on the partiality of any process it initiates or undertakes.
No proper and impartial investigation of the events of May 2009 could fail to examine the acts and omissions of Mr Fonseka. His appointment as an MP sends a chilling signal to the victims of the crimes allegedly committed by his subordinates. No less significant is the timing of this appointment. Made as it was during the visit of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights to Sri Lanka, it is an affront not only to the victims but also to the United Nations and the international community.