http://www.defence.lk/new.asp?fname=20120210_02
War crime case against Gen Shavendra Silva dismissed

The District Court for the Southern District of New York has
dismissed a lawsuit filed by relatives of LTTE Senior member accusing Maj Gen
Shavendra Silva for alleged war crimes.
The U.S. federal court on Wednesday, (08 Feb) dismissed the case
against Major General Shavendra Silva, Sri Lanka's deputy Permanent
Representative to the UN, on the grounds of diplomatic immunity granted to him.
The plaintiffs, Vathsala Devi, the widow of a senior Tamil Tiger
terrorist leader Ramesh, and Seetharam Sivam have allegedly accused that their
relatives were tortured and wrongfully killed by the Sri Lankan military.
Major General Silva has filed a motion to dismiss the law suit
filled against him on the grounds that he is a currently serving, accredited
diplomat entitled to immunity from civil jurisdiction in the United States under
federal statute and the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations.
U.S. District Judge J. Paul Oetken concluded the case deciding
that the diplomatic immunity precludes the Court from considering the merits of
the palintiffs' claims against Major General Silva, "at least while he is
cloaked with immunity as a United Nations representative."
Maj Gen Silva has recently been selected as an advisor for U.N.
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon's Senior Advisory Group on Peacekeeping
Operations. Further he led the 58th Division of the Sri Lanka Army that took
part in the final battle with the Tamil Tiger rebels.
Ruling
of the case Vathsala Devi vs Silva