Sri Lankan backs former army chief

COLOMBO, Sri Lanka — Sri Lanka’s president on Sunday vowed to protect his former ambassador to six South American nations, an ex-army chief accused of crimes in the bloody final phase of his country’s civil war.

“I state very clearly that I will not allow anyone in the world to touch Jagath Jayasuriya or any other military chief or any war hero in this country,” President Maithripala Sirisena said Sunday, addressing a convention of his Sri Lanka Freedom Party.

Sirisena’s statement came a week after a human-rights group filed criminal lawsuits in South America against Jayasuriya, who until last week served as the country’s envoy to Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Peru and Suriname.

The lawsuits are based on Jayasuriya’s role as a commander in the final phase of Sri Lanka’s civil war in 2009. They allege he oversaw military units that attacked hospitals and killed, abducted or tortured thousands of people.

The suits had been filed in Brazil and Colombia, and more were planned in Argentina, Chile and Peru. Suriname had refused to accept the petition.

Sri Lanka’s military has denied the allegations against Jayasuriya.

More than 100,000 people are believed to have been killed in Sri Lanka’s 26-year civil war, including 40,000 to 70,000 in the final phase.

The criminal lawsuits were spearheaded by the human-rights group International Truth and Justice Project, an evidence-gathering organization based in South Africa.