Following the recent release of a former Sri Lankan Army officer Sunil Ratnayake, convicted for killing seven ethnic Tamil, MDMK leader Vaiko on Thursday wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, urging him to ensure the safety and welfare of Tamils in the island nation.
He said that Mr. Ratnayake was awarded death sentence for the murder of seven refugees on December 19, 2000. However, the sentence was commuted and he has since been released from jail.
“Various governments and human rights organisations condemned this act by the Sri Lankan government which will set a bad precedent and encourage such perpetrators in the future,” Mr Vaiko said in his letter.
“They were waylaid by army personnel led by Mr. Ratnayake, blind-folded and taken to a location where their throats were slit. Their bodies were dumped in a drainage and the dead included children as young as 5, 13 and 15 years old,” Mr Vaiko said.
The Colombo High Court awarded death sentence to Mr. Ratnayake in 2015. “He has now been shockingly pardoned by President Gotabaya Rajapaksa. This decision is to convey the message to the Sinhalese masses that the government would safeguard and protect all those accused in the genocide of innocent Tamils” Mr Vaiko alleged.
