Former Sri Lankan presidents Mahinda Rajapaksa and Maithripala Sirisena have written to the Ministry of Public Security requesting the return of their bulletproof vehicles, citing “security concerns”.
According to ministry sources, both former leaders formally appealed for the vehicles’ reinstatement earlier this month. Their requests have been forwarded to a committee responsible for assessing potential security threats faced by VIPs.
A senior official from the ministry stated that once the committee completes its evaluation, the former presidents will be allocated vehicles deemed “necessary” based on their assessed security needs. However, the official did not confirm whether these would be the same bulletproof vehicles previously returned by the two former heads of state.
Rajapaksa and Sirisena’s requests come amid growing scrutiny over the use of public resources by former political leaders, particularly given Sri Lanka’s ongoing economic challenges.
The current regime has slashed perks and security benefits previously provided to former presidents. Earlier this month, Rajapaksa’s military protection was replaced with a police unit. His allies have claimed that the former president continues to face “serious threats,” including alleged warnings from the so-called Islamic State and remnants of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE). These claims, however, have been widely viewed as attempts to justify his continued access to state resources more than fifteen years after the end of the armed conflict.
Rajapaksa, an accused war criminal, and his allies have fiercely criticised the ruling administration, accusing it of engaging in “political terrorism” by targeting him and other members of the former regime. He ruled from 2005 to 2015, and presided over the final phase of armed conflict in 2009, during which tens of thousands of Tamils were massacred in what is being increasingly recognised as a genocide.
He has since faced calls for international accountability for war crimes, crimes against humanity, and genocide.
Sirisena, who succeeded him after a surprise electoral victory in 2015, was himself later implicated in governance failures, including the 2019 Easter Sunday attacks, for which a Supreme Court ruling held him personally responsible for negligence.
The decision on whether the two former presidents will regain their bulletproof vehicles now rests with the committee’s findings, which the Ministry of Public Security said will be announced “in due course.”
