Accused War Criminal Wasantha Karannagoda Appointed as Governor of North-Western Province in Sri Lanka

Accused War Criminal Wasantha Karannagoda Appointed as Governor of North-Western Province in Sri Lanka
Justice in conflict/AFP, 2020

10-12-2021

Sarah Thanawala

Sri Lanka and Human Rights Researcher, 

Global Human Rights Defence.

On 9 December 2021, Wasantha Karannagoda, former Sri Lankan Navy Commander, was newly appointed as the governor of the North-Western province (Tamil Guardian, 2021a). Karannagoda was indicted under the Penal Code in the “NAVY 11” case - the case of abduction and disappearance of 11 Tamil youth during the years 2008 and 2009 (Colombo Gazette, 2021). On 4 August 2021, the current Attorney General (AG) Sanjay Rajaratnam’s department announced its decision to drop charges against Karannagoda with respect to abduction, torture, wrongful confinement, extortion, and conspiracy (Tamil Guardian, 2021b, Colombo Gazette, 2021); and finally on 13 October 2021, the Court of Appeal was informed by the AG to not proceed with the charges (Colombo Gazette, 2021). 

The “Navy 11” case is symbolic of the current government’s failure to honor justice for the wartime forced disappearances. Moreover, Karannagoda’s appointment as a governor signifies the Sri Lankan Government’s action of not only absolving war criminals of their charges, particularly enforced disappearances, but also “rewarding” them for their atrocities (Tamil Guardian, 2021a). 

Sources and further reading:

Tamil Guardian (2021a, December 9). Impunity reigns in Sri Lanka as accused war criminal Wasantha Karannagoda appointed as governor of North-Western province. Tamil Guardian. https://www.tamilguardian.com/content/impunity-reigns-sri-lanka-accused-war-criminal-wasantha-karannagoda-appointed-governor-north 

Colombo Gazette (2021, October 13). Court of Appeal told to drop charges on Karannagoda. Colombo Gazette. https://colombogazette.com/2021/10/13/court-of-appeal-told-to-drop-charges-on-karannagoda/, accessed 13 October 2021.

Tamil Guardian (2021b, August 4). Sri Lanka to not Prosecute Former Navy Commander Charged with Abduction of Tamil Youth. Tamil Guardian. https://www.tamilguardian.com/content/sri-lanka-not-prosecute-former-navy-commander-charged-abduction-tamil-youth, accessed 24 November 2021.