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ECONOMYNEXT – Sri Lanka’s former president Mahinda Rajapaksa in a desperate move reminded his achievements during the war and economic development claims under his leadership in at the first convention of the party since 2022 public protests ousted most of his party members from the power.
Rajapaksa-led Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) has its own president and more than two-third majority in the parliament after 2020 general election.
However, an unprecedented economic crisis and sovereign debt default triggered mass public protest ousted the SLPP government after then president Gotabaya Rajapaksa fled the island under threat to his life.
The SLPP, an ultra nationalist party, still has the control in the parliament, but had been silent from active politics due to fear after the houses and properties of most of its legislators were burnt following the party supporters attacked unarmed protesters in Colombo on May 9 last year.
“In 2005, people asked us to protect the country from division. No leader was able to end the war,” he told the party supporters in Colombo at the convention.
“Some leaders have arms to LTTE,” he said referring to Tamil Tiger rebels, popularly known as Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE).
“The LTTE used the same arms to kill our military and innocent people. We did not allow such a war to continue for another leader.”
“There current youth were kids when the war was ended in 2009. They even don’t know that both parents of them did not go together in bus for jobs and lived in death fears.”
“There is a group which tries to hoodwink these youth.”
“We sustained a 6 percent economic growth from 2006 to 2009 when we were fighting a war. We tripled the country’s per capital income.”
Thousands of party supporters joined the convention despite being ridiculed in social media.
Many social media posts ridiculed SLPP supporters comparing them to cattle.
In some area of the country, the rivals of SLPP kept grass below the party flags as feed is ready for cattle.
The convention comes at a time when the SLPP is facing an imminent split with some have opted to be independent in the parliament while some have indirectly started to back President Ranil Wickremesinghe’s policies.
it was also held a month after Sri Lanka’s Supreme Court issued a symbolic ruling that the powerful Rajapaksa brothers – including ex-presidents Mahinda and Gotabaya – were guilty of triggering the island’s worst financial crisis by mishandling the economy.
Sources from SLPP said the convention was to test the water on the public support to the party and responses from the public. (Colombo/Dec 15/2023)
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