Sri Lanka summons Canadian diplomat over sanctions on Rajapaksa brothers

Sri Lanka's Foreign Ministry on Wednesday summoned Canada's top diplomat here and expressed its displeasure over his country's decision to impose ''unilateral sanctions'' on its four citizens, including two former presidents.

Canada on Tuesday imposed sanctions on four Sri Lankans, including former presidents Gotabaya Rajapaksa and Mahinda Rajapaksa, for committing what it called ''gross and systematic violations of human rights'' during the country's civil war.

Sanctions were also imposed on Staff Sergeant Sunil Ratnayake and Lt Commander Chandana P Hettiarachchithe.

Reacting to the sanctions, the foreign ministry summoned Canada's Acting High Commissioner in Colombo and expressed the government's displeasure over the move.

''Foreign Minister Ali Sabry summoned the Canadian Acting High Commissioner Daniel Bood to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs,'' the foreign ministry said in a tweet.

He ''expressed the deep regret of the Government on the announcement of unilateral sanctions brought against four individuals including two former Presidents of Sri Lanka by the Government of Canada based on unsubstantiated allegations,'' it added.

''Foreign Minister Sabry emphasised that such unilateral action by the Canadian Government, motivated by domestic political compulsions in Canada, sets a dangerous precedent and is inimical to Sri Lanka's interests, especially when national unity and reconciliation are of paramount importance,'' the statement said. ''It was also stressed that the announcement by Canada is detrimental to the Government's ongoing efforts towards national unity, reconciliation, and stability,'' it said, adding that the foreign minister asked Canada to review the decision and engage constructively with Sri Lanka.

This is the first time that Rajapaksa brothers have been banned by any country despite long held accusations of rights abuses and corruption.

In a separate statement, the Foreign Ministry said it is ''unfortunate that this action by the Canadian Government could polarise communities and have a detrimental impact on ongoing processes in place to secure socio-economic stability.'' Earlier, State Minister of Foreign Affairs Tharaka Balasuriya said that the sanctioning of former presidents was "untimely" and was intended to pacify domestic elements in Canada.

He said Canada's decision to impose sanctions on the Rajapaksa brothers came at a time when Sri Lanka was attempting to take forward the post-war reconciliation process.

''This shows who our friends really are and who are not,'' he was quoted as saying by the Colombo Gazette newspaper.

The sanctions target former president Gotabaya, who resigned in July last after a massive protest against his government, and his elder brother Mahinda, who has held the titles of president and prime minister.

Gotabaya temporarily fled his country last summer after mass protests over the country's economic crisis, while Mahinda resigned from his post as prime minister last spring.

Sri Lanka's majority Sinhalese population had praised the brothers for defeating Tamil separatists after a 26-year civil war, which took place from 1983 to 2009.

The LTTE ran a military campaign for a separate Tamil homeland in the northern and eastern provinces of the island nation before its collapse in 2009 after the Sri Lankan Army killed its supreme leader V Prabhakaran.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)