MR safe if he retires or loses: Wijedasa

Incumbent President Mahinda Rajapaksa will be safe from international forces when he retires from politics soon, United National Party (UNP) Leadership Council Member Wijedasa Rajapakshe said yesterday.

He told a media briefing that President Rajapaksa would be safe if he either retired now or was defeated at the presidential elections because international forces won’t hound him with any charges when he is out of office.

Mr. Rajapakshe said common opposition candidate Maithripala Sirisena and the government he would form if elected to office at the January 8 elections would have no hesitation in going to the electric chair should such a situation arise.

He said the government should not keep mentioning the fairy tale about the electric chair whenever an election is around after paving the way for such a situation.

Mr. Rajapakshe recalled that it was the present regime that paved the way for an international inquiry by signing a document in 2009 with the United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon agreeing to carry out an inquiry.

He accused this government of keeping quiet when the European Union was working towards the removal of the LTTE ban so as to take political advantage of such a situation.

“It is interesting to see the government talking of an international threat after providing an opportunity for international forces to work against Sri Lanka,” Mr. Rajapakshe said.

When asked by journalists whether there was any agreement with the Tamil National Alliance (TNA), Mr. Rajapakshe said there was no such thing and the common opposition would allow the TNA to make its own decision.

Former Panadura Mayor Nandana Gunatilleke said it was the government which had made a backdoor attempt to enter into an agreement with the TNA to force the people in the North to boycott the election.(Yohana Perera)