![]() ![]() This went on to affirm a 75 year relationship between the US and Sri Lanka and express a commitment “to working with the Sri Lankan government on advancing justice, accountability, and reconciliation, including promoting security reform that maintains human rights at the forefront.” By designating Wasantha Karannagoda, the United States reaffirms its commitment to upholding human rights, ending impunity for human rights violators, acknowledging the suffering of victims and survivors, and promoting accountability for perpetrators in Sri Lanka.” “The allegation that Wasantha Karannagoda committed a gross human rights violation, documented by NGOs and independent investigations, is serious and credible. As a result of today’s action, Karannagoda and his wife, Srimathi Ashoka Karannagoda, are ineligible for entry into the United States. In a statement the US said, “The United States is designating Wasantha Karannagoda, Governor of North Western Province in Sri Lanka, pursuant to Section 7031(c) of the Department of State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs Appropriations Act, 2023, due to his involvement in a gross violation of human rights during his tenure as a Naval Commander. Congress has oversight of how this is put into practice periodic reports must be made to Committees on Appropriations and on the Judiciary, unclassified portions of which must be posted on the State Department website. Records of who will be refused entry are not ordinarily confidential. The persons concerned need not have a pending US visa application. Under Section 7031(c) of the Department of State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs Appropriations Act, renewed periodically, the Secretary of State can forbid entry to foreign officials and their immediate family members if there is credible evidence that they “have been involved in significant corruption, including corruption related to the extraction of natural resources, or a gross violation of human rights.” Over the years, the US and some other countries have introduced certain restrictions on people committing serious offences abroad. On May 7, it was reported that he was one of four governors fired following complaints by parliamentarians representing the provinces. Perhaps afraid of the fallout, the authorities are distancing themselves from him. The controversy will intensify debate about the extent to which those who are well connected can escape justice and the ways in which draconian laws and repressive practices can actually serve as a front for criminality. ![]() It is questionable however whether legal action on this issue would succeed and possible that this might further affect his reputation by reminding people of the details of the scandal. According to him, the US Ambassador Julie Chung’s announcement that he had been barred was defamatory and hence violated his own human rights. The government expressed its unhappiness at the US entry ban and Admiral Karannagoda has threatened to take legal action. Unsurprisingly controversy continued, with demands that all suspected perpetrators be brought to justice. Then, unexpectedly, charges were dropped. On April 26, on behalf of Secretary of State Anthony Blinken, it was announced that he had been “designated” and hence forbidden entry, along with his wife, because of “his involvement in a gross violation of human rights during his tenure as a Naval Commander.”Ī couple of years previously, he had been awaiting trial in a sensational case which shocked many, even against the backdrop of a brutal civil war, for alleged complicity in multiple kidnap, extortion and murder. On human rights grounds, the US government has banned Admiral Wasantha Karannagoda, the most senior officer in Sri Lanka’s navy from 2005 to 2009 and now a provincial governor, from entering the country.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |