China's strong support in various fields has enhanced Sri Lanka's ability to resume work and production. Sri Lanka will continue to firmly support China, welcome more Chinese enterprises to invest and do business in Sri Lanka, and look forward to further strengthening humanistic exchanges between the two sides. This site All sites. Following the election of his brother as President in November , Gotabaya Rajapaksa was entrusted with the position of Secretary to the Ministry of Defence.
In this capacity, he rendered yeoman service to the nation by overseeing the defeat of the brutal LTTE terrorist organization that had been active in the country since the mids. In December , he narrowly escaped assassination in the course of his duties when an LTTE suicide bomber drove an explosives laden vehicle into his car. Unbowed, he continued to play a pivotal role in strategizing, planning, coordinating and providing the wherewithal to the Armed Forces and the Police to combat the LTTE until its defeat in May , which brought peace to the country after nearly thirty years.
In recognition of his contribution to Sri Lanka through his role as the Defence Secretary, he was conferred an Honorary Doctorate from the University of Colombo. At the conclusion of the conflict, Gotabaya Rajapaksa was instrumental in the swift restoration of normalcy to the conflicted affected areas. Strengthening flood control and drainage management, provision of quality housing to those in underserved settlements, increasing the availability and quality of public open spaces, restoration of heritage buildings, rapid improvements to roads and pavements, the development of public amenities, and efficient garbage disposal were amongst his many accomplishments during this period.
Alleged war crimes are not the only time Mr Rajapaksa has made the headlines for the wrong reasons. Ahead of the election, questions were raised by political opponents over his eligibility but he has repeatedly maintained that he has given up his US citizenship. In August , he was charged with corruption involving the illegal transfer of state-owned weapons. He denied any wrongdoing.
And then there is the question of who is really in charge: analysts feel that a Gotabaya presidency is likely to become a Rajapaksa family affair, and will bring Mahinda - who could not contest the election due to Sri Lanka's presidential term limits - back into the limelight.
The signs certainly seemed to be there. Although Gotabaya was the candidate, Sri Lanka watchers noted that Mahinda featured prominently during his brother's election campaigning - including in publicity material - and even answered questions at press conferences.
But behind the celebrations, many are worried about what Gotabaya Rajapaska's election will mean for Sri Lanka. The prospect of an alleged war criminal still wedded to extrajudicial methods becoming president rightly terrifies minority groups, the media and civil-liberties advocates," writer and analyst Brahma Chellaney said.
Others have warned "the Rajapaksa political playbook is based on mining ethnic fault lines ". Author Ana Pararajasingham, writing in The Diplomat, warned that a victory for Rajapaksa was "bound to have consequences for democracy in Sri Lanka".
State-owned Sunday Observer newspaper published a front-page editorial on 10 November titled "We fear Gotabaya" , highlighting grave potential consequences to media freedom if he was elected. His alleged violent rule, is what makes him their champion," it wrote. Reporting by Upasana Bhat with input from Maryam Azwer.
Sri Lanka's inter-provincial travel ban, which was imposed in May due to the raging third wave of the Covid pandemic, ended on Sunday despite warnings from medical professionals. The travel ban was continued despite the government ending the quarantine curfew on October 1, which was continuously in force from August Transport services would come into operation from Monday.
Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa on Friday ordered frontline workers and tourism staff to be given a third booster shot of Covid vaccine next month, part of a bid to reopen the travel industry and revive the economy.
The meeting took place a day after the President Rajapaksa returned from the US. The foreign secretary also interacted with the Indian high commission officers at the mission premises. To attract Indian investments, the Island nation needs to resolve the Tamil ethnic issue and for this President Rajapaksa needs to do what he promised in the UN speech.
President Gotabaya Rajapaksa in his first-ever address at the 76th UN general assembly session on September 22 spoke about transitional justice and reconciliation.
But his widely reported readiness to have a dialogue with Tamil expatriates to address post-war reconciliation did not find a place in the speech.
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