The re-emergence of Mahinda Rajapaksa has led to fears from rights activists of curbs on “free speech and human rights,” said The Economist in Thursday’s print edition.
Under the headline "Back to the bad old days", The Economist said that Rajapaksa “remains a hero to many among the island’s 70% Sinhala-speaking, Buddhist majority; his populist rule brought a ruinous quarter-century-long civil war to a brutal close”.
“Earlier this year his new political party won crushingly in local elections,” it added.
“Mr Rajapaksa’s swift re-emergence, following an abrupt exit only three years ago, has left the country sharply polarised. The large Tamil and Muslim minorities fear a resurgence of Sinhalese nationalism, and an end to already hesitant efforts at post-war national reconciliation. Civil-rights activists fear curbs on free speech and human rights.”
See more from The Economist here.
