Sri Lanka’s former ambassador to the United States claimed that he was prevented from leaving the country by the Department of Homeland Security, who stopped him boarding a flight and questioned him on war crimes committed by Sri Lankan troops during the island’s armed conflict.
In an interview to The Island, Jaliya Wickramasuriya claimed that he had attempted to board a flight from Atlanata to Chile late last year, when he was stopped by Homeland Security officials.
"I got my boarding pass and was about to get in when Homeland Security personnel stopped me,” he said. “They wanted to question me at the airport. I was taken to a room where they explained the reasons for to my detention."
According to The Island, the former diplomat claimed “the US wanted him to cooperate on ongoing US investigations into alleged war crimes”. Tens of thousands of Tamil civilians were killed by Sri Lankan troops during the final phase of the armed conflict, in an offensive which the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights described was a composed of a “horrific level of violations and abuses”.
Mr Wickramasuriya served as Sri Lanka’s ambassador in Washington from July 2008 to May 2014. US officials “reminded Wickramasuriya they were fully aware of his communications with Colombo during the last six weeks of the war,” The Island added.
“I had no option but to obtain the services of a US lawyer,” he said.
The former ambassador claimed that as he is being held in the United States, he is unable to travel to Sri Lanka, where he is wanted by Sri Lanka’s Financial Crimes Investigation Division (FCID) over the alleged misuse of government spending. It is alleged that there were irregularities in the purchase of a building to house the Sri Lankan in Washington DC. He is also accused of accepting a US$ 332,000 “commission” during his tenure as ambassador, a transaction that US officials also spoke to him about.
Mr Wickramasuriya claimed that despite reassurances from Sri Lanka’s foreign ministry, US authorities continued to prevent him from leaving the country.
"Soon after receiving an assurance from Foreign Ministry, I booked air ticket to Colombo and was contacted by Homeland Security within 5 minutes,” he said. “I was warned in no uncertain terms that they would arrest me if an attempt was made to leave the US. I was flabbergasted.”
“This happened in August/Sept last year."
“Whatever the allegations, Wickramasuriya emphasized that he was really satisfied with his role during the war,” The Island reported.
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