Sri Lanka's top military official detained over mass murder cover-up

COLOMBO: Sri Lanka´s military chief was remanded by court Wednesday after weeks evading arrest over the alleged cover-up of the abduction and murder of 11 young men during the island´s civil war.

Admiral Ravindra Wijegunaratne is the highest-ranking military officer ever held by a court over alleged crimes from Sri Lanka´s wartime past, when the armed forces were accused of grave abuses against civilians.

The powerful Chief of the Defence Staff was detained after revelations he attempted to abduct a key witness over the weekend and have a police detective removed from the case.

"I am denying bail because in your position you are able to influence witnesses and disrupt the investigations," Magistrate Ranga Dassanayake told a packed courthouse in Colombo.

Wijegunaratne, who arrived at court flanked by military personnel, has denied protecting the chief suspect in the high-profile murders — a navy intelligence officer — or attempting to cover-up the crimes.

Wijegunaratne, who was chosen by the president, appeared in full military regalia, earning a rebuke from Magistrate Dassanayake who suggested he was trying to intimidate the court.

Earlier, his entourage attacked journalists trying to photograph Wijegunaratne as he arrived at court. A navy officer was later arrested by police for assault.

Three arrest warrants were issued for Wijegunaratne this month but the top military appointee refused to surrender, even travelling to Mexico as an envoy for the president.

Senior military figures have been accused of serious crimes and civilian abuses during Sri Lanka´s decades-long war, but have broadly enjoyed impunity from prosecution.

Grave abuses

Investigators told the court that Wijegunaratne helped the chief accused in the murders — Chandana Prasad Hettiarachchi, a naval intelligence officer.

He was accused of abducting and killing the wealthy men in their late teens and early 20s for ransom in the final days of the war that ended in 2009. Their bodies were never found.

Wijegunaratne, who is not directly tied to the murders, allegedly helped Hettiarachchi travel to Malaysia to evade arrest. The naval officer returned and was detained in August.

Military officials were accused of kidnapping and holding civilians for cash ransom during the war, among other major abuses documented by rights groups.

Several intelligence officers are facing prosecution over the murder of journalists critical of Mahinda Rajapakse, the former president whose tenure was marred by allegations of war crimes and grave rights abuses.

His recent controversial appointment as prime minister by Sri Lanka´s president has plunged the country into crisis, with parliament twice voting against the war-era strongman ruler taking over government.

Rajapakse, who has refused to step aside as Sri Lanka drifts in a power vacuum, and several members of his family, are being investigated for fraud and murder during his 10-year presidency.

But those inquiries were thrown into doubt after his surprise return to the helm of government in an alliance with President Maithripala Sirisena.

Rajapakse led Sri Lanka as government troops crushed the Tamil insurgency in May 2009, ending 37 years of bitter and brutal fighting.

The final days of the offensive were marked by major abuses, according to rights groups. A UN panel has said 40,000 civilians may have been killed in the final stages of the war.

Opening Kartarpur does not imply outset of bilateral talks with Pakistan: Indian minister

As an Indian delegation is currently in Pakistan, attending the ground-breaking ceremony of Kartarpur corridor, Indian Minister for External Affairs Sushma Swaraj announced Wednesday that India will not partake in the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (Saarc) conference if it is held in Pakistan.

Brushing off all chances of improvement in ties between the arch-rivals, Indian minister categorically said, “Until and unless Pakistan stops terrorist activities in India, there will be no dialogue and we will not participate in Saarc [conference].”

The unprecedented event of Kartarpur border opening can be termed as another achievement of Pakistan on diplomatic and moral grounds against India, which has continued its hostility with Sushma Swaraj declaring that “opening of Kartarpur corridor does not imply beginning of any bilateral dialogue with Pakistan.”

While talking to journalists in Indian Hyderabad, the Indian foreign minister further claimed that “India had been asking for many years to open Kartarpur corridor but Pakistan gave a positive response just now.”

The Indian official, nevertheless, did not mention the period of time when her country put up this suggestion.

Swaraj on November 23 excused herself from attending the groundbreaking ceremony of the Kartarpur Border, without giving any specific reason.

In a series of tweets, Sushma Swaraj, thanked her Pakistani counterpart Shah Mehmood Qureshi for inviting her to attend the ceremony, but she said she was unable to travel to Kartarpur border on the scheduled date.

In a historical event today, Prime Minister Imran Khan has laid the foundation stone of Kartarpur Corridor which will link Gurdwara Darbar Sahib in Pakistan with India’s Gurdaspur district.

PM Khan invites India to move forward by leaving past experiences behind

NAROWAL: Prime Minister Imran Khan on Wednesday said that Pakistan and India should move forward by leaving ‘bitter’ experiences of past behind, ARY News reported.

Addressing the groundbreaking ceremony of Kartarpur Border aimed to facilitate Sikh pilgrims in performance of their rituals, the prime minister said, both [Pakistan and India] committed mistakes in the past but “we need to stop living in the past for the better and prosperous future of the people of both the countries.”

Highlighting the Kashmir issues, the prime minister said, the issue can be resolved, if India sits together on decades long unresolved issues, “Pakistan will take two steps forward, if India takes ones”, he continued.

Ruling out the chances of war between the two countries, he said “its foolish to think that there will be a war between the two nuclear countries, issues can be resolved on the table of talks, he maintained.

On the occasion, PM Imran thanked the Indian minister and foreign delegates for attending the historic event. “The happiness that Muslims feel after arriving in Medina, the same I can see on the faces of Sikh community today,” PM said to the Sikh delegates.

Mr. Khan said, we will keep improving Kartarpur corridor and in the next year, you will see all facilities will be available there,” he vowed.

The prime minister underlined the need of opening of the borders in order to eradicate poverty from both the countries.

Speaking about his cricketing days, PM Imran said, “There were two kinds of cricketers — one who were afraid of losing and took no chances and the others who took risks and were always successful.”

The premier continued that when he entered politics he also came across two kinds of politicians. “One who sacrificed the public good for their own benefit and the other who thought about the society, did not spread hate, took chances and big decisions as well.”

Earlier today, Prime Minister Imran Khan had laid the foundation stone of Kartarpur Corridor which will link Gurdwara Darbar Sahib in Pakistan with India’s Gurdaspur district.

The ground-breaking ceremony was attended by Chief of the Army Staff Gen Qamar Javed Bajwa, Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi and other government officials.