Sri Lanka’s Minister of Economic Development Basil Rajapaksa warned that “powerful countries” were attempting to destroy Sri Lanka, in an apparent reference to the United States.
Rajapaksa, who is also brother of incumbent president Mahinda Rajapaksa, said “powerful countries always try to destroy countries which attempt to be sovereign by rejecting colonisation and slavery.”
Speaking at an event in Avissawella, Rajapaksa went on to reference events in Iraq, Korea and Vietnam, implying that the United States had attempted to “destroy” these countries.
“We saw this happening in Iraq during the Arab spring, this was same fate that befell Syria, Egypt, Libya and Latin American countries,” said Rajapaksa. “Likewise, they tried to do this to Vietnam, but the people defeated them. When they tried to do this in Laos and Cambodia, people defeated them.”
Rajapaksa went on to say,
“Today, when our country and our people are trying to develop by being self-sufficient they are trying to destroy them. It is the primary duty of the citizens of the country to defeat these forces.”
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