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‘Terminator’ Rajapaksa storms to victory in Sri Lanka
COLOMBO, Nov 17, 2019 (BSS/AFP) – Gotabaya Rajapaksa, who spearheaded the
brutal crushing of the Tamil Tigers 10 years ago, stormed to victory Sunday
in Sri Lanka’s presidential elections, seven months after Islamist extremist
attacks killed 269 people.
Rajapaksa conducted a nationalist campaign with a promise of security and
a vow to crush religious extremism in the Buddhist-majority country following
the April 21 suicide bomb attacks blamed on a homegrown jihadi group.
His triumph will, however, alarm Sri Lanka’s Tamil and Muslim minorities
as well as activists, journalists and possibly some in the international
community following the 2005-15 presidency of his older brother Mahinda
Rajapaksa.
Mahinda, with Gotabaya effectively running the security forces, ended a
37-year civil war with Tamil separatists. His decade in power was also marked
by alleged rights abuses, murky extra-judicial killings and closer ties with
China.
Gotabaya, a retired lieutenant-colonel, 70, nicknamed the “Terminator” by
his own family, romped to victory with 51.9 percent of the vote, results from
the two-thirds of votes counted so far showed.
“I didn’t sleep all night,” said student Devni, 22, one of around 30
people who gathered outside Rajapaksa’s Colombo residence. “I am so excited,
he is the president we need.”
Rajapaksa’s main rival, the moderate Sajith Premadasa of the ruling party,
trailed on 42.3 percent, The 52-year-old conceded the race and congratulated
Rajapaksa.
On Sunday three cabinet members resigned — including Finance Minister
Mangalar Samaraweera.
The final result was expected later on Sunday with Rajapaksa due to be
sworn in on Monday. Turnout was over 80 percent.
Premadasa had strong support in minority Tamil areas but a poor showing in
Sri Lanka’s Sinhalese heartland, a core support base where Rajapaksa won some
two-thirds of the vote.
– Intelligence failure –
Saturday’s poll was the first popularity test of the United National Party
(UNP) government of Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe.
Wickremesinghe’s administration failed to prevent the April attacks
despite prior and detailed intelligence warnings from India, according a
parliamentary investigation.
Premadasa also offered better security and a pledge to make a former war
general, Sarath Fonseka, his national security chief, projecting himself as a
victim seeking to crush terrorism.
He is the son of assassinated ex-president Ranasinghe Premadasa who fell
victim to a Tamil rebel suicide bomber in May 1993.
But Gotabaya is adored by the Sinhalese majority and the powerful Buddhist
clergy for how he and Mahinda ended the war in 2009, when 40,000 Tamil
civilians allegedly perished at the hands of the army.
Under his brother, Gotabaya was defence secretary and effectively ran the
security forces, allegedly overseeing “death squads” that bumped off rivals,
journalists and others. He denies the allegations.
This makes the brothers detested and feared among many Tamils, who make up
15 percent of the population. Some in the Muslim community, who make up 10
percent, are also fearful of Gotabaya, having faced days of mob violence in
the wake of the April attacks.
Under Mahinda, Sri Lanka also borrowed heavily from China for
infrastructure projects and even allowed two Chinese submarines to dock in
Colombo in 2014, alarming Western countries as well as India.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi tweeted on Sunday that India looked forward
to “deepening the close and fraternal ties… and for peace, prosperity as
well as security in our region”.
The projects ballooned Sri Lanka’s debts and many turned into white
elephants — such as an airport in the south devoid of airlines — mired in
corruption allegations.
Unlike in 2015 when there were bomb attacks and shootings, this election
was relatively peaceful by the standards of Sri Lanka’s fiery politics.
The only major incident was on Saturday when gunmen fired at two vehicles
in a convoy of at least 100 buses taking Muslim voters to cast ballots. Two
people were injured.
According to the Election Commission the contest was, however, the worst
ever for hate speech and misinformation.
BSS/AFP/RY/1546 hrs