Gotabaya Rajapaksa claims victory in Sri Lanka presidential election

News Network
November 17, 2019

Colombo, Nov 17: Sri Lanka's former wartime defence secretary Gotabaya Rajapaksa has been elected president, his spokesman said Sunday following a fiercely fought election seven months after terror attacks killed 269 people.

The 70-year-old retired lieutenant colonel had a 48.2 per cent share of the vote with close to three million ballots counted but results from Sinhalese-majority regions -- the Rajapaksas' core support base -- were expected to push this above 50 per cent.

"We got between 53 to 54 per cent," his spokesman Keheliya Rambukwella told news agency.

"It is a clear win. We envisaged it. We are very happy that Gota will be the next president. He will be sworn in tomorrow or the day after," Rambukwella said.

Sri Lanka's ruling party candidate Sajith Premadasa conceded the presidential poll on Sunday and congratulated his main rival, former wartime defence secretary Gotabaya Rajapaksa.

"It is my privilege to honour the decision of the people and congratulate Mr. Gotabaya Rajapaksa on his election as the seventh President of Sri Lanka," Premadasa said.

Election Commission chairman Mahinda Deshapriya said at least 80 percent of the 15.99 million eligible voters participated in Saturday's poll, which was marred by isolated violence that left several people injured.

Rajapaksa conducted a nationalist campaign with a promise of security and a vow to crush religious extremism in the Buddhist-majority country following the April 21 suicide bomb attacks blamed on a homegrown terror group.

Three luxury hotels and three churches were targeted in the coordinated bombings. ISIS too claimed responsibility for the attack which left 45 foreigners dead.

Saturday's poll was the first popularity test of the United National Party (UNP) government of Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe who stepped aside and allowed his deputy Premadasa to stand in the election.

Intelligence failure

Wickremesinghe's administration faced severe criticism for failing to prevent the attacks despite prior warnings from an intelligence agency of neighbouring India, according to findings of a parliamentary investigation.

Premadasa also offered better security and a pledge to make a former war general, Sarath Fonseka, his national security chief and projected himself as a victim seeking to crush terrorism.

He is the son of assassinated ex-president Ranasinghe Premadasa who fell victim to a tamil rebel suicide bomber in May 1993.

Gotabaya is credited with directing security forces to crush Tamil rebels and end a 37-year separatist war in May 2009 during the tenure of his elder brother Mahinda, who was president from 2005 to 2015.

The Rajapaksas are adored by Sri Lanka's Sinhalese majority, as well as the powerful Buddhist clergy, for defeating Tamil Tiger separatists and ending a 37-year civil war in 2009.

But they are detested and feared by many Tamils, who make up 15 percent of the population. The conflict ended with some 40,000 Tamil civilians allegedly killed by the army.

Some in the Muslim community, who make up 10 percent of the population, are also fearful of Gotabaya becoming president, having faced days of mob violence in the wake of the April attacks.

Under his brother, Gotabaya was defence secretary and effectively ran the security forces, allegedly overseeing "death squads" that bumped off rivals, journalists and others. He denies the allegations.

During that time Sri Lanka also borrowed heavily from China for infrastructure projects and even allowed two Chinese submarines to dock in Colombo in 2014, alarming Western countries as well as India.

The projects ballooned Sri Lanka's debts and many turned into white elephants -- such as an airport in the south devoid of airlines -- mired in corruption allegations.

China also offered Sri Lanka "international diplomatic protection" against criticism for its rights record, analyst Paikiasothy Saravanamuttu told news agency.

The Rajapaksas "spent and spent without giving any consideration to how it has to be paid back".

Unlike in 2015 when there were bomb attacks and shootings, this election was relatively peaceful by the standards of Sri Lanka's fiery politics.

The only major incident was on Saturday when gunmen fired at two vehicles in a convoy of at least 100 buses taking voters from the Muslim minority to vote. Two people were injured.

After a campaign that according to the Election Commission was the worst ever for hate speech and misinformation, final results could come by later Sunday.

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News Network
March 16,2024

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Ottawa, Mar 16: An Indian-origin couple and their teenage daughter were killed in a "suspicious" fire which tore through their home last week in Canada's Ontario province, police said on Friday.

A fire engulfed a home at the Big Sky Way and Van Kirk Drive area of Brampton on March 7, a press release by the Peel Police said.

After the blaze was put out, investigators located what was believed to be human remains within the gutted house, but the number of people killed couldn't be ascertained at the time.

The charred remains were on Friday identified as those of three family members: 51-year-old Rajiv Warikoo; his wife, 47-year-old Shilpa Kotha; and their 16-year-old daughter, Mahek Warikoo.

Police said that they resided at the address before the fire.

Peel police Constable Taryn Young on Friday said the fire had been deemed suspicious, the CTV news channel reported.

"At this time, we are investigating this with our homicide bureau, and we are deeming this as suspicious as the Ontario Fire Marshal has deemed that this fire was not accidental," the report quoted Young as saying.

"There's not much left to it," Young said when asked about the possible cause of the fire.

"Looking into something like that as a fire marshal, I'm sure it's very tough when there is not much left to look at. But we are exhausting all avenues," she said.

The deceased family's neighbour, Kenneth Yousaf, said that the family had lived on the street for about 15 years, and he never noticed any problems with them.

Yousaf said he was alerted to the fire last week by a family member, who heard a big "bang." "When we came out, the house was on fire. So sad. Within a few hours, everything was down to the ground," the report quoted Yousaf as saying.

In a press release, police said they are continuing to investigate the deaths of the three family members and urged anyone with information to come forward.

"The circumstances surrounding the house fire remains the focus of an active investigation, and anyone with information or video footage (dashcam or otherwise) is urged to contact Homicide detectives," police said.

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News Network
March 7,2024

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Iran has seized a US oil cargo over a lawsuit filed by patients with a rare skin disease, whose lives are at risk due to inhumane US sanctions.

The US oil cargo was carried by the Marshall Islands-flagged Advantage Sweet in the Persian Gulf.

Reports said the confiscation took place upon a court ruling in favor of the patients afflicted with epidermolysis bullosa (EB) or butterfly patients.

In their compliant, the EB patients, who are characterized by extreme fragility of the skin and mechanically induced blistering, claimed damages against the US.

They said that the Western sanctions, especially those by the US, have prevented a Swedish company from selling medicines to Iran and caused severe physical and mental harm to them.

The United States reinstated its sanctions against Iran in May 2018 after leaving a United Nations-endorsed nuclear agreement with the Islamic Republic and five other countries.

Since then, Mölnlycke Health Care, a Swedish medical device company headquartered in Gothenburg, has stopped selling pharmaceuticals and medical equipment, including special bandages for EB patients, to Iranian companies, citing the unilateral US sanctions.

The move has deprived EB patients of essential medical items, killed many of them, and inflicted serious physical injuries such as amputation to some of the patients.

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