Addressing the fifth anniversary of the Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP), Sri Lankan President, and accused war criminal, Gotabaya Rajapaksa claimed that the country was ‘open to fair and just criticism’.
This comes as the UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights Defenders expressed concern over Sri Lanka's inaction to respond to threats against human rights defenders.
Read more here: UN Special Rapporteur 'particularly concerned' by inaction by Sri Lanka to respond to threats against human rights defenders
In his address, Rajapaksa slammed the previous administration led by Sirisena claiming that it “deliberately undermined national security” and “by creating an environment for extremist religious groups to nurture”. In November 2019, Rajapaksa secured the presidency on a wave of fervent Sinhala Buddhist nationalism and invoking fear following the Easter Sunday bombings. Despite repeat claims of prosecuting the perpetrators of the attack, his administration has faced criticism over its investigation into the attack. Since coming to power, the has been a surge in arbitrary detentions of Tamils and Muslims under the draconian Prevention of Terrorism Act.
Rajapaksa went on to defend his decision to ban chemical fertilisers stating that this was “for the benefit of the future generations”. This policy has faced severe criticism as it has resulted in significantly reduced crop yields further exacerbating Sri Lanka’s food shortage and pushing Tamil villagers in the North-East to the brink of starvation. Farmers from across the island have staged protests urging the president to reverse this decision.
The President also criticised the previous administration for the Central Bank bond scam, a financial laundering scam, which caused Sri Lanka to lose over $11 million US dollars. However, with the leaked reporting from the Pandora Papers, members of Rajapaksa’s own family have also come under scrutiny for financial fraud and embezzlement.
Read more here.