Sri Lanka’s opposition candidate for the upcoming presidential elections escaped injury after stones were thrown at him, whilst he addressed an election rally in the south of the island. Maithripala Sirisena was addressing a rally in Pelmadulla on Friday when an unknown group of people threw stones towards the stage. Sirisena’s security guards and Sri Lankan troops stepped in to ensure he escaped unharmed but approximately 20 of his supporters who were present at the rally suffered injuries. See footage of the incident, released by Sirisena, below.
Incumbent Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa warned that he will not allow anyone to “take the country back” after victory against separatism, in his New Year’s message. “The separatism that was defeated with great commitment and sacrifice is raising its head again in different forms,” said Rajapaksa, in a statement released on Thursday. “All those who value national unity and the sovereignty of the country should look far ahead with single-minded determination to protect the nation.”
Sri Lanka’s common opposition presidential candidate Maithripala Sirisena, dismissing allegations that a future government under him would allow ‘terrorism’ to rise again, said that he would not remove any military camps from the North. Addressing a public rally in Puttalam on Wednesday, Sirisena said that his government would keep army bases in the North to ensure an environment conducive to all Sinhala, Tamil and Muslims. "One of Mahinda’s allegations is that if I became President, I would withdraw the army from Jaffna. But it’s a blatant lie since I have never said such a thing," he told voters in Puttalam. “We will not remove any army barriers from North. However, we will make an environment for the Sinhalese, Tamils and the Muslims to live peacefully,” he added . Earlier in the week Sirisena had stressed that common opposition was supported by people responsible for the defeat of the separatists militants, the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE).
A second Tamil National Alliance (TNA) councillor of the Northern Province has publicly stated he will not be backing the common opposition's presidential candidate, Maithripala Sirisena at the election on January 8. "I cannot campaign endorsing any of them," Councillor Ravikaran told the Uthayan . "I cannot vote or sing praise to them, stepping on the emotions of our people who died. I am not going to campaign for anyone, except those who honestly speak for Tamils from the Tamil homeland. This is my decision based on my aspirations."
The Sri Lanka Muslim Congress (SLMC), which recently defected from the ruling government to endorse the common opposition's presidential candidate, Maithripala Sirisena in the election on January 8, rejected the government's allegations that the party wanted a separate Muslim district in the East. “The government is making allegations that the SLMC and the TNA have secret agreement to amalgamate the North and the East. We strongly reject that allegation and regret even the President is making such allegations on stage. We do not have any hidden agendas between us. We left the government to uphold good governance in the country,” the SLMC leader and former government minister, Rauf Hakeem was quoted by the Daily Mirror as saying.
Here is our look back at 2014 and some of the year's most significant images: Tamils remember Murugathasan Varnakulasingham, who self-immolated outside the UN Human Rights Council five years ago, protesting against the international community's inaction at the genocide of Tamils in Sri Lanka. 5 years since self-immolation of British Tamil in Geneva (12 Feb 2014)
Sri Lanka's ruling United People’s Freedom Alliance (UPFA) has slammed UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon, after he stated he “strongly expects” the upcoming presidential elections to be “peaceful and credible” in a telephone conversation with Sri Lanka's External Affairs Minister GL Peiris. In a statement released on Wednesday the UPFA expressed “strong resentment” over the Secretary-General's comments , saying, “In fact this country has been enjoying democratic voting rights many decades before Mr Ban-Ki-moon’s country.”
Tamil National Alliance (TNA) provincial councillor Ananthy Sasitharan has announced she will be boycotting the upcoming presidential election, stating that she cannot support a candidate that has a hostile policy towards the Tamil people. Her comments come after the TNA announced its support for opposition candidate Maithripala Sirisena earlier this week. Speaking to BBC Tamil , Sasitharan said, “My decision is that I will not vote... in the Nothern Provincial Council (NPC) election I campaigned for TNA, on a platform of recognising the Tamil homeland, the Tamil nation and the right to self determination. The people voted for me in support of that.” “To vote for Maithripala Sirisena, whose stance is against that, is against my conscience. Therefore, I will withhold my vote in this election.”
The Tamil National Alliance (TNA) announced its decision to endorse the common opposition's presidential candidate, Maithripala Sirisena, at the election on January 8, in a press briefing this morning.
The common opposition's presidential candidate, Maithripala Sirisena, vowed this week that he would not let the LTTE rise again if he were to win the election and pointed to the presence of the former army general Sarath Fonseka within the opposition coalition as proof of this. Responding to government claims that the opposition would allow the Tamil diaspora to aid a resurgence of the LTTE, Maithripala was quoted by the Sri Lanka Mirror as emphasising that "many who were victimised by the LTTE and many powerful leaders who rose against the LTTE have joined his election campaign." "General Sarath Fonseka is one such leader in this battle. Would he allow the LTTE to rise? Would Ven. Sobhitha Thera, Ven. Rathana Thera like a war to return to the country?," Maithripala reportedly added.