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Mahinda Rajapaksa
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Honorable
Mahinda Rajapaksa
MP
Mahinda Rajapaksa.jpg
6th President of Sri Lanka
In office
19 November 2005 – 9 January 2015
Prime Minister Ratnasiri Wickremanayake
D. M. Jayaratne
Preceded by Chandrika Kumaratunga
Succeeded by Maithripala Sirisena
Prime Minister of Sri Lanka
In office
6 April 2004 – 19 November 2005
President Chandrika Kumaratunga
Preceded by Ranil Wickremesinghe
Succeeded by Ratnasiri Wickremanayake
Leader of the Opposition
In office
6 February 2002 – 2 April 2004
President Chandrika Kumaratunga
Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe
Preceded by Ratnasiri Wickremanayake
Succeeded by Ranil Wickremesinghe
Chairman of the Sri Lanka Freedom Party
In office
19 November 2005 – 15 January 2015
Preceded by Chandrika Kumaratunga
Succeeded by Maithripala Sirisena
Ministry of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources Development
In office
1997–2001
President Chandrika Kumaratunga
Minister of Finance
In office
23 November 2005 – 9 January 2015
President Himself
Preceded by Sarath Amunugama
Succeeded by Ravi Karunanayake
Minister of Labour
In office
1994–1997
President Chandrika Kumaratunga
11th Chairperson-in-office of the Commonwealth of Nations
In office
15 November 2013 – 9 January 2015
Preceded by Tony Abbott
Succeeded by Maithripala Sirisena
Member of the Sri Lanka Parliament
for Kurunegala District
Incumbent
Assumed office
17 August 2015
Member of the Sri Lanka Parliament
for Hambantota District
In office
15 February 1989 – 19 November 2005
Member of the Sri Lanka Parliament
for Beliatta
In office
27 May 1970 – 21 July 1977
Preceded by D.P. Atapattu
Succeeded by Ranjit Atapattu
Personal details
Born Percy Mahendra Rajapaksa
18 November 1945 (age 71)
Weerakatiya, Southern Province, British Ceylon
(now Sri Lanka)
Nationality Sri Lankan
Political party Sri Lanka Freedom Party
Other political
affiliations United People's Freedom Alliance
(2004 – Present)
People's Alliance
(1994 – 2004)
Spouse(s) Shiranthi Rajapaksa
(née Wickremesinghe)
Children Namal
Yoshitha
Rohitha
Alma mater Richmond College
Nalanda College Colombo
Thurstan College
Sri Lanka Law College
Profession Politician, Lawyer
Website Official website
Percy Mahendra "Mahinda" Rajapaksa, MP (Sinhalese: මහින්ද රාජපක්ෂ (පර්සි මහේන්ද්ර රාජපක්ෂ), pronounced [maˈhində ˈraːɟəˌpakʂə], Tamil: மகிந்த ராசபக்ச; born 18 November 1945[1]) is a Sri Lankan politician who served as the sixth President of Sri Lanka from 19 November 2005 to 9 January 2015. A lawyer by profession, Rajapaksa was first elected to the Parliament of Sri Lanka in 1970, and he served as prime minister from 6 April 2004 until his victory in the 2005 presidential election. He was sworn in for his first six-year term as president on 19 November 2005. He was re-elected for a second term on 27 January 2010. He was defeated in his bid for a third term in the 2015 presidential election by Maithripala Sirisena and left office on 9 January 2015.[2]
Several months after leaving office, Rajapaksa unsuccessfully sought to become prime minister in the 2015 parliamentary election, where the United People's Freedom Alliance was defeated. He was, however, elected as Member of Parliament for Kurunegala District.[3]
Contents [hide]
1 Early life and career
2 Legislative career
2.1 Sri Lankan Parliament
2.2 Appointment as cabinet minister
2.3 Leader of the Opposition
2.4 Prime minister
3 Presidency
3.1 Sri Lankan Civil War
3.2 Infrastructure development projects
3.3 Relations with Sarath Fonseka
3.4 Controversies and criticisms
4 Post-presidency
4.1 Election defeat
4.2 Alleged coup d'état attempt
4.3 Corruption investigations
4.4 Prime Ministerial candidate
5 Return to legislature
6 Domestic policy
6.1 Ethnic relations
7 Recognition and public image
8 Family and personal life
9 See also
10 References
11 External links
Early life and career
Mahinda Rajapaksa was born in Weeraketiya in the southern rural district of Hambantota.[4] He hails from a well-known political family in Sri Lanka. His father, D. A. Rajapaksa, was a prominent politician, independence agitator, Member of Parliament and Cabinet Minister of Agriculture and Land in Wijeyananda Dahanayake's government. D. M. Rajapaksa, his uncle, was a State Councillor for Hambantota in the 1930s who started wearing the earthy brown shawl to represent kurakkan (finger millet) cultivated by the people of his area, whose cause he championed throughout his life. It is from his example that Rajapaksa wears his characteristic shawl.[4]
Rajapaksa was taught at Richmond College in Galle, before moving to Nalanda College Colombo and later Thurstan College, Colombo.[4] Mahinda Rajapaksa was presented with Nalanda Keerthi Sri award in 2004 by his alma mater Nalanda College, Colombo.[5] He also had a few cameo roles as a movie actor in Sinhalese movies and worked as a library assistant at Vidyodaya University.[6]
Following the death of his father in 1967, Rajapaksa took over as the SLFP candidate for Beliatta constituency and was elected to Parliament in 1970 as the youngest Member of Parliament at just 24.[6] Later he studied law at the Sri Lanka Law College and took oaths as an attorney-at-law in November 1977.[7] Throughout his parliamentary career, except for the period from 1994–2001 when he was a minister, he continued his law practice in Tangalle.[4]
Legislative career
Sri Lankan Parliament
Losing his parliamentary seat in the landslide defeat of the SLFP in 1977,[4] he was re-elected in 1989 to Parliament to represent Hambantota District under Proportional Representation. He came into prominence as a leader, together with Manorani Saravanamuttu, of the Mothers Front, which organised the mothers of the "disappeared" in the white terror of 1988–90 instigated by a rebel group that called themselves Deshapremi Jathika Vyaparaya or 'Patriotic National Movement'.[4]
During this time he frequently attempted bring third party intervention and frequently complained about Sri Lanka in Geneva and has claimed it is neither treacherous nor unpatriotic to seek third party intervention to restore democratic ideals. He also demanded in the parliament that United Nations alongside NGOs such as amnesty international be allowed to come to Sri Lanka and investigate. He also requested foreign nations to put conditions on Sri Lanka when giving aid. On 25 October 1990 he said “If the government is going to deny human rights, we should go not only to Geneva, but to any place in the world, or to hell if necessary, and act against the government. The lamentation of this country’s innocents should be raised anywhere.” [8][9]
Appointment as cabinet minister
In 1994, following the election victory of the People's Alliance a political front led by Sri Lanka Freedom Party and headed by Chandrika Kumaratunga, Rajapaksa was appointed Minister of Labour. He held this post until 1997 when, following a cabinet reshuffle, his portfolio was changed to Minister of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources.[4]
Leader of the Opposition
When the United National Party (UNP) defeated the People's Alliance in the 2001 elections, Rajapaksa lost his position in the Government. He was however appointed as Leader of the Opposition in March 2002.[4]
Prime minister
After the Parliamentary Elections of 2004, in which the United People's Freedom Alliance gained a slim majority in Parliament. Rajapaksa was sworn in as Sri Lanka’s 13th Prime Minister on 6 April 2004.[4] While Rajapaksa was the Prime Minister, he also held the Ministry of Highways.
Presidency
Mahinda Rajapaksa was chosen by Sri Lanka Freedom Party to contest with former Prime Minister and Opposition Leader, Ranil Wickremesinghe, the leader of the United National Party in this Presidential Election held on 17 November 2005. Despite the huge election campaign led by UNP, Mahinda Rajapaksa was able to gain a narrow victory by 190,000 votes. The Opposition claimed that LTTE calling for a boycott of the polls in the North and East from Tamil voters in areas within their control lead to their defeat. Most voters in these areas were forcibly restrained from voting, and it is said that they would have favored Ranil Wickremasinghe and his UNP party in the said election.[10] Rajapaksa received 50.3% of the vote.
After becoming President of Sri Lanka, Rajapaksa reshuffled the cabinet and took the portfolios of Defence and Finance in the new cabinet, which was sworn on 23 November 2005.
Sri Lankan Civil War
Although styling himself as a man of peace and a willing negotiator, Rajapaksa signaled his intention to end the peace process once in power by forging an alliance with the Sinhalese nationalist Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna and the Jathika Hela Urumaya. The JVP had opposed the original 2002 peace process as treasonous.
President Mahinda Rajapaksa at the World Economic Forum session in Jordan on May 15, 2009 just 3 days before the death of LTTE head Vellupillai Prabhakaran
The agreement made with Rajapaksa included provisions which called for a revision of the ceasefire agreement to give the military broader powers against the LTTE, as well as ruling out of any devolution of power to the Tamil people. Furthermore, the cessation of aid to the tsunami struck LTTE occupied areas, and the sidelining of the Norwegian facilitators due to their alleged bias were included.[11]
Immediately following his election victory, a series of mine blasts blamed on the LTTE in the country claimed the lives of many off-duty servicemen and civilians, pushing the country back to the brink of war.[12] Following the closure by the LTTE of a reservoir supplying water to 15,000 people named "Mavil Aru" in government controlled areas on 21 July 2006,[13] the Sri Lankan military launched an offensive against the LTTE, bringing the entire reservoir under government control. Further military engagements have led to the LTTE been driven out of the entire Eastern Province of Sri Lanka and loss of 95% of the territory they controlled.[14][15][16][17] The Sri Lanka government declared total victory on 18 May 2009. on 19 May 2009 President Mahinda Rajapaksa delivered a victory address to the Parliament and declared that Sri Lanka is liberated from terrorism.[18][19]
Infrastructure development projects
His presidency after ending the Civil war in 2009 is known for the initiating the large scale infrastructure projects such as the, Colombo Lotus Tower,[20]Magampura Mahinda Rajapaksa Port,[21]Colombo Harbour South Container Terminal, Mattala Rajapaksa International Airport, Colombo - Katunayake Expressway, Mahinda Rajapaksa International Cricket Stadium.
Sri Lanka also made it into the "high" category of the Human Development Index during this time.[22] Initiating, completing and development of many Highways, Roads, Colombo beautification project, Rural infrastructure development projects are some several major projects.[23] However the roadways are known for extremely high costs and is suspected of corruption and the large amount of Chinese loans tripled the countries foreign debt and created an economic crisis.[24][25] Rajapaksa claimed that under him Sri Lanka started to experienced a rapid economic growth and the GDP growth rate reached over 7%[26] However this has been disputed and after his fall the successor government revealed that GDP growth was inflated by using the year 2002 as the base year; which is usually revised once in five years. GDP growth for 2013 and 2014 which was 7.2% and 7.4% using 2002 as base year was reduced to 3.4 and 4.5 percent respectively.[27][28]
An forsenic audit was launched with IMF help on various projects initiated by Rajapaksa.[29] The audit confirmed that Sri Lanka has an additional liabilities of 1.3 Trillion rupees [30]
Relations with Sarath Fonseka
Sri Lankan Presidential Election 2010 – Winners of Districts
Immediately following his election in 2005, Rajapaksa extended the term of the Commander of the Sri Lanka Army Sarath Fonseka, less than 30 days before he was scheduled to retire. Over the next three and a half years Fonseka and Rajapaksa's brother and Defense Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa led the country's armed forces in their battle against the LTTE, ultimately defeating the Tigers and killing their leader Velupillai Prabhakaran.
Following the end of the conflict, a rift emerged between Rajapaksa and Fonseka, over reasons which are still disputed. On 15 November 2009, Rajapaksa ordered Fonseka to leave his post as Chief of the Defence Staff with immediate effect through a letter from his secretary.[31] Fonseka then joined opposition as the candidate against Rajapaksa in the 2010 Presidential election, at which Rajapaksa emerged victory. Fonseka was subsequently sentenced to two years in jail for various offenses by a military court martial. President Rajapaksa signed the order documents for the release of Fonseka in May 2012.
Controversies and criticisms
Nepotism & cronyism
Mahinda Rajapaksa has been accused of nepotism, appointing three brothers to run important ministries and other political positions for relatives, regardless of their merit. Rajapaksa holding the offices of he ministries of Defence finance, defence, ports and aviation, highways and road development public works. This includes his brother Gotabhaya Rajapaksa, who was given the post of Defence Secretary, without holding any elections for the post. He also controls the armed forces, the police and the Coast Guard, he is in charge of immigration and emigration. Rajapaksa appointed his brothers Basil Rajapaksa as minister of Economic Development. His oldest brother Chamal Rajapaksa is also the current Speaker of the Parliament of Sri Lanka, and has held many other posts before. Together, the brothers Rajapakse control over 70% of Sri Lanka's budget.[32][33]
Others includes his nephew, Shashindra Rajapaksa, who is the Chief minister of Uva. His cousins the Sri Lanka's ambassador to the United States, Jaliya Wickramasuriya as well as Udayanga Weeratunga, who is the ambassador to Russia. Dozens of nephews, nieces, cousins and in-laws have also been appointed as heads of banks, boards and corporations.[33]
Media freedom
Media groups have alleged that media freedom has been curtailed in Sri Lanka during Rajapaksa's term as president.[34] In 2008 Reporters Without Borders ranked Sri Lanka 165th among 173 countries in its annual Worldwide Press Freedom Index.[35] The next year, the country was ranked 162. By 2010, following the end of the war, the RSF ranking was 158th. However, these ranking have been questioned by independent Sri Lanka newspapers.
RSF’s 2010 Press Freedom Index has Sri Lanka at number 158, nearly tied with Saudi Arabia. This makes the rankings somewhat suspect. In Saudi Arabia, all newspapers are owned by the royal family or their associates. All TV and radio stations are government owned. Saudi journalists are forbidden by law to criticise the royal family or religious authorities and writers and bloggers are routinely arrested. Sri Lanka is obviously not this bad. – Indi Samarajiva, The Sunday Leader[36]
Alleged Election Fraud
Main articles: Sri Lankan presidential election, 2005 and Sri Lankan presidential election, 2010
During the 2005 presidential election opposition parties have accused Rajapaksa of bribing LTTE for avoiding People in North and East from voting. Most voters in these areas were forcibly restrained by LTTE from voting, and it is said that they would have favored opposition candidate Ranil Wickremasinghe.[37] In the 2010 election he was accused of manipulating election results using computers.[38]
Allegations of war crimes
WikiLeaks made public secret US cables (Contents of the United States diplomatic cables leak (Sri Lanka)) from 2009–10, stating that American diplomats including Patricia A. Butenis believed that Mahinda Rajapaksa was responsible for the massacres of Tamil civilians and captured LTTE fighters at the end of the war with the LTTE. The cable also states the responsibility for many of the alleged crimes rests with the country's senior civilian and military leadership, including President Rajapaksa, his brothers and General Fonseka.[39]
In April 2011, Ban Ki-moon published a report by a UN-appointed panel of experts, which concluded that as many as 40,000 people were killed in the final weeks of the war between the Tamil Tigers and government forces. A number of foreign journalists and news teams, such as the UK's Channel Four News, have reported and filmed evidence of targeted shelling of civilians, executions and atrocities.[40] Dead female Tamil fighters appeared to have been raped or sexually assaulted, abused and murdered.[41]
For their part, Rajapaksa and his government have denied all allegations of war crimes.[42] Former Sri Lankan Army chief Sarath Fonseka was later prosecuted for an interview which he gave to Frederica Jansz, editor of the Sunday Leader, in which he is stated to have said that he is aware of a rumor that surrendering LTTE fighters were executed on the orders of Defence Secretary at the time, Gotabaya Rajapaksa.
Helping Hambantota case
Mahinda Rajapaksa has been accused of corruption by the opposition before his election as president, citing the "Helping Hambantota" case, where he was accused of appropriating close to USD 830,000 into a Treasury approved private fund, known as Helping Hambantota, to help the victims of the Boxing Day tsunami in Hambantota - his hometown and electoral district. Before the election, the Supreme Court of Sri Lanka put a hold on the case. Later dismissing the case, Chief Justice Sarath Silva said the court case had been brought as soon as Rajapaksa was nominated as a presidential candidate. "The court sees this as an attempt to get political mileage for [UNP leader] Ranil Wickramasinghe and to discredit Mahinda Rajapaksa." It was said in parliament that the cabinet was aware of the existence of the Helping Hambantota fund.[citation needed][verification needed] His office said he had held donations in Helping Hambantota fund to speed up the rate at which aid money was being handed out to victims of the 26 December 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami. The money in question had been put in a state account and Rajapaksa had not taken "even a cent" for his use, then Prime Minister's secretary Lalith Weeratunga told the AFP news agency at the time.[43]
