The new prime minister Ranil Wickremasinghe reiterated these assurances, stating that Rajapaksa and his brother, Gotabhaya Rajapaksa would continue to receive the same level of security, the paper added.
"Rajapaksa congratulated Sirisena over the telephone and the latter in turn assured his former leader and friend for many years, until they fell out recently, that the former and his family need not worry about security since maximum state protection would be provided to them," The Island reported.
Quoting 'senior UPFA sources', the paper also said that Ranil had made this offer when he met Rajapaksa on Friday to ensure the transfer of power went smoothly.
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