Participants look at Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa's pre-recorded speech shown on a screen at a session of the International Conference on "The Future of Asia" Thursday, May 26, 2022 in Tokyo. Canada is imposing sanctions on four senior leaders of Sri Lanka, including two recent presidents, accusing them of human rights violations during the civil war. THE CANADIAN PRESS/AP-Eugene Hoshiko
OTTAWA – Canada is imposing sanctions on four senior leaders of Sri Lanka, including two recent presidents, accusing them of human rights violations during that country’s civil war.
The sanctions target former president Gotabaya Rajapaksa, who resigned last July, and his older brother Mahinda Rajapaksa, who has held the titles of president and prime minister.
Gotabaya temporarily fled his country last summer after mass protests over living costs, 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, but they are now banned from any financial dealings in Canada.
Also sanctioned are two senior military officers, including Sunil Ratnayake, whom a court sentenced to death for his role in a massacre of Tamils in 2000.
Ottawa is also sanctioning navy commander Chandana Prasad Hettiarachchi, who has been accused of abducting civilians who were later killed.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 10, 2023.
