Sri Lanka’s government has hit out at foreign criticism of its appointment of a general accused of war abuses as the new army commander.
The foreign ministry said Tuesday that attempts by foreign entities to influence government decisions are unwarranted and unacceptable.
President Maithripala Sirisena on Monday appointed Lt. Gen. Shavendra Silva as the new army commander. Silva was in charge of the army’s 58th Division in the final stages of the country’s civil war with separatist Tamil Tiger rebels.
An investigation by the office of the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights cited witnesses as saying that the division shelled a hospital and U.N. buildings.
The U.N. chief’s spokesman and the U.S. Embassy in Colombo expressed concern about Silva’s selection.