Responding to crack down on protesters by Sri Lanka’s military, JVP General Secretary Tilvin Silva claimed that the act of was an “act of revenge”.
The attack on demonstrators saw an estimated thousand soldiers confront protesters, numbering fewer than a hundred. Soldiers reportedly assaulted a soldier and destroyed camps where protesters were camping.
The crackdown follows the burning of Ranil Wickremesinghe's house. In responding to the burning of his resident, Wickremesinghe stated, "only Hitlerists would do things like that".
Speaking at the media conference, Silva told journalists:
“Wickremesinghe wasn’t elected by the people but by Rajapaksa. After the peaceful protesters via Aragalaya movement forced the exit of President Gotabaya Rajapaksa and stepping down of Mahinda Rajapaksa as Prime Minister and Basil Rajapaksa as Finance Minister, they directly can’t take revenge but are doing so via Ranil Wickremesinghe”.
Ranil Wickremesinghe, a former Rajapaksa rival-turn ally, has disputed the claim telling reporters, “I’ve been opposing them all this time”. Mahinda Rajapaksa has also maintained that during the election, he had supported Wickremesinghe’s opponent, Dullas Alahapperuma.
Read more here.