Facebook icon
Twitter icon
e-mail icon

Mangala 'accuses' Mahinda of having links to Tamil diaspora

Foreign Minister Mangala Samaraweera has 'accused' former president Mahinda Rajapaksa of making "secret deals" with the LTTE and the diaspora, The Island reported.

Mr Samaraweera brought pictures to the parliament, which showed Mr Rajapaksa with some diaspora Tamils.

"I would like to give these photographs to my friend in the opposition, MEP leader Dinesh Gunawardena. I have heard that Dinesh Gunawardena has a Rajapaksa shrine at his home and he is worshipping the Rajapaksa’s pictures. So, Dinesh can take these, too, and put them up there in that shrine," he said.

"Look at this photograph taken on Dec. 17, 2014. The one next to President Rajapaksa is Dharmalingam Yogeswaran. Then I have another picture of Rajapaksa hugging KP," the minister said.

The minister showed further printouts of online news stories, which alleged that former defence secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa had also met members of the Tamil diaspora.

"They met all the members of Tamil diaspora in secret now finding fault with us when we try to usher in peace. We are accused of being sympathetic to the LTTE," Mr Samaraweera charged.

We need your support

Sri Lanka is one of the most dangerous places in the world to be a journalist. Tamil journalists are particularly at threat, with at least 41 media workers known to have been killed by the Sri Lankan state or its paramilitaries during and after the armed conflict.

Despite the risks, our team on the ground remain committed to providing detailed and accurate reporting of developments in the Tamil homeland, across the island and around the world, as well as providing expert analysis and insight from the Tamil point of view

We need your support in keeping our journalism going. Support our work today.

For more ways to donate visit https://donate.tamilguardian.com.