It is the first time in Sri Lankan history that two siblings have held the two top political positions, although Mahinda is only in charge of a caretaker government until parliamentary elections next year.
Gotabaya Rajapaksa was a defense secretary under his brother Mahinda was credited with military victory ending the 27-year civil war against the separatist Tamil Tigers.
The brothers are considered heroes among Sri Lanka’s Sinhalese majority and the powerful Buddhist clergy, but Gotabaya has been accused of war crimes in connection with the alleged killing of around 40,000 Tamil civilians in the final stages of the conflict. Rights groups have long called for investigations into alleged rights abuses committed during the Rajapaksas’ previous terms in power.
INTERNAL FACTORS FOR GOTABAYA’S VICTORY
The expected victory of Gotabaya Rajapaksa has evoked fear among the minority Tamil and Muslim population who largely voted for his main rival Sajith Premadasa. The Hindu writes “If Tamils blamed the Rajapaksas for the death of thousands of civilians at the end of the civil war in 2009, and the subsequent reluctance to probe war crimes and disappearances, Muslims were worried about being targeted by majoritarian elements backed by Gotabaya Rajapaksa.”
Conceding there were other factors behind Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s impressive performance, the paper states these included “anxieties arising from the state of the economy, revulsion towards unabated corruption and fears set off by the Easter Sunday bombings. Events since President Maithripala Sirisena dismissed Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe in October 2018, leading to a constitutional crisis, made this election a referendum on the failures of the power-sharing arrangement between the two leaders.”
This story is from the November 25, 2019 edition of News behind the News.
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This story is from the November 25, 2019 edition of News behind the News.
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TROUBLED TIME FOR MODI
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MUST-WIN FOR BJP IN DELHI POLLS
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