Sri Lanka, Sept. 9 -- Former Sri Lanka Army Commander and Chief of Defence Staff General Shavendra Silva has criticised sanctions imposed on him by Western governments, claiming that he is not a war criminal and questioning why military personnel who fought on the front lines continue to face international sanctions while thousands of former LTTE combatants who carried out attacks, including the bombing the Airport and the attack on the sacred Relics of Lord Buddha, were pardoned and allowed to travel overseas.

"I have been sanctioned by the United States of America, and I was sanctioned recently by the United Kingdom. I've been asking: tell me what I have done wrong. I'm not a war criminal. I fought for my country. What I've been taske...