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Monk requests Ranil to invite Gota back to SL 

04 Aug 2022

  • Writes seeking Prez intervention to provide Gota with privileges and security afforded to a fmr Prez
BY Buddhika Samaraweera Chief Incumbent of the Rajopawanaramaya Temple in Gatambe Ven. Kappitiyagoda Siriwimala Thera has requested President Ranil Wickremesinghe to personally intervene and invite former President Gotabaya Rajapaksa to return to Sri Lanka, and give the latter all the privileges and security to which he is entitled to as a former President. In a letter dated Monday (1) and addressed to the President, the monk said that Rajapaksa sacrificed his dual citizenship in the hope of rendering an honest service to Sri Lanka. He also said that it is unfortunate that a peaceful person like Rajapaksa, who did not do any wrong, has to pay for the wrongdoings committed by many politicians for 74 years. “It is not necessary for Rajapaksa to leave the country, without even getting the privilege of living in the country that even an ordinary citizen has. We should not forget that he is an honourable citizen as well as a war hero who saved the country. It is because of him that the people of all races and ethnicities, such as the Sinhalese, Tamils, and Muslims live today without fear or suspicion,” he further claimed. The letter further read that the country lost foreign exchange revenue due to the Covid-19 pandemic situation at the beginning of Rajapaksa's regime. It is said that due to this, the people had to be given relief and that the production was disrupted. The monk further claimed that the country’s economy has seriously collapsed due to tax concessions, and the global war situation. “At this time, it is proven by the events of the people’s struggle (‘aragalaya’) that a struggle to force Rajapaksa to step down was an extreme and opportunistic act. It appears that the conspirators have led the people into a struggle, and camped around it. There was a plan to create anarchy in the country. Facts are coming to light that religious extremists and certain political parties were active in it,” he also claimed. He also mentioned that it is a great departure for Rajapaksa to give up power in the face of the current situation without ever exercising his Executive power against the people. He further requested President Wickremesinghe to provide the necessary security for Rajapaksa to come back to Sri Lanka and live. In addition, he has requested the President to give him all the privileges he should be entitled to as a former President, and to personally intervene and invite him to return to Sri Lanka. Amidst the most serious economic collapse that the country has witnessed since Independence, Rajapaksa fled the island on 13 July following the massive protest demanding his resignation, which was attended by millions of people on 9 July in Colombo. During the protest, the people occupied the President’s House, and the Presidential Secretariat in Colombo. Rajapaksa had then been taken to a safe location by the Security Forces, and he had left for the Maldives in an aircraft belonging to the Air Force on 13 July. From the Maldives, he had left for Singapore on a temporary visitor visa.


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