Namal welcomes Fonseka’s statement on Mahinda Rajapaksa

Colombo, February 21 (Daily Mirror) - Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) National Organizer and Parliamentarian Namal Rajapaksa said that it is a positive development that Sarath Fonseka has publicly said that former President Mahinda Rajapaksa is not a murderer.

Rajapaksa made these comments in response to questions raised by journalists regarding a recent statement made by Fonseka.

Commenting further, Namal Rajapaksa said that although Fonseka can be controversial, it was Mahinda Rajapaksa who, during the final stages of the war, made a public media statement calling on Velupillai Prabhakaran to lay down arms and surrender.

He saidthat calls for surrender to the military were not unusual in the context of war, but alleged that Fonseka had at different times made conflicting claims regarding orders given during the conflict.

Namal Rajapaksa highlighted that the military campaign was not against the Tamil community but against the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE). He said thousands of war heroes sacrificed their lives to defeat terrorism and maintained that Mahinda Rajapaksa’s objective was to end terrorism with minimal loss of life and damage to property.

He thanked Fonseka for what he described as clarifying that Mahinda Rajapaksa was not, in his words, a “bloodthirsty killer,” as alleged by certain political groups and sections of the LTTE diaspora.

Namal Rajapaksa further said that the former President sought to be remembered as a leader who brought freedom to the country rather than one who caused destruction. 

He highlighted post-war infrastructure development projects, including highways and airports, as part of Mahinda Rajapaksa’s legacy, adding that his primary goal had been to secure peace and stability for the nation with the least possible loss of life.