INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
Foreign Minister Tilak Marapone had notified the US that it would not be possible to implement the provision to exempt US forces from
criminal jurisdiction in Sri Lanka
Public Enterprise, Kandyan Heritage and Kandy Development Minister and Leader of the House Lakshman Kiriella responding to JVP MP Bimal
Ratnayake, noted that Foreign Minister Tilak Marapone had discussed with the US about the clause in the agreement which gives US forces
exemption from criminal jurisdiction of the host country.
&The third US partnership Dialogue held on May 16, 2019 in Washington was
co-chaired by the Sri Lankan Foreign Minister and the US Undersecretary of State for Political Affairs David Dale
During the meeting Minister Marapone had notified the US delegation that Sri Lanka would find it difficult to grant exemption to US forces
from criminal jurisdiction to US forces
He also stated that it would be difficult to implement the 1995 SOFA agreement through an exchange of notes
(CN,SM and AM)
So thereby, we have notified them that if the US soldiers commit a crime while on Sri Lankan soil, they will be liable to
come under Sri Lankan criminal jurisdiction
If they commit a crime here, they will have to be dealt with according to local laws.& He said that the Acquisition and Cross Services
Agreement (ACSA) was signed in 2007 during the period Gotabhaya Rajapaksa was the Defence Secretary
The Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA) was signed during President Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunge tenure in 1994.
&This is the
background of these agreements and these are not what we initiated,& he added
Responding to parliamentary questions he said, &Please note that we have no records to prove that any agreements or Memorandum of
Understanding have been signed by Sri Lanka with any country which infringes on the sovereignty or security or interfering with the internal
affairs of the country, either before or after April 21.&
The government of Sri Lanka signed the initial ACSA agreement with the USA in
2007 and the signatories to this agreement were the Ambassador to the US, Robert O
Blake and Gotabhaya Rajapaksa, Kiriella said
&Mahinda Rajapaksa said that two American citizens had signed the agreement.The validity of the agreement was for ten years and was due to
A new draft was proposed from the US side in July 2016 and in general the contents are similar.
