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Mahinda Rajapaksa

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Mahinda Rajapaksa
මහින්ද රාජපක්ෂ
President of Sri Lanka
Assumed office
19 November 2005
Prime MinisterRatnasiri Wickremanayake
D. M. Jayaratne
Preceded byChandrika Kumaratunga
Prime Minister of Sri Lanka
In office
6 April 2004 – 19 November 2005
PresidentChandrika Kumaratunga
Preceded byRanil Wickremasinghe
Succeeded byRatnasiri Wickremanayake
Leader of the Opposition
In office
9 December 2001 – 2 April 2004
Prime MinisterRanil Wickremasinghe
Preceded byRanil Wickremasinghe
Succeeded byRanil Wickremasinghe
Ministry of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources
In office
1997–2001
Minister of Labour
In office
1994–1997
Member of Parliament
for Hambantota
In office
1989–?
Member of Parliament
for Hambantota
In office
1970–1977
Personal details
Born (1945-11-18) 18 November 1945 (age 78)
Weerakatiya, British Ceylon
Political partyUnited People's Freedom Alliance
Freedom Party
Spouse(s)Shiranthi Rajapaksa
(nee Wickremesinghe)
ChildrenNamal
Yoshitha
Rohitha
Alma materRichmond College
Nalanda College Colombo
Thurstan College
Sri Lanka Law College
ProfessionPolitician, Lawyer
WebsiteOfficial website

Percy Mahendra "Mahinda" Rajapaksa (Sinhala මහින්ද රාජපක්ෂ, pronounced [maˈhində ˈraːɟəˌpakʂə]; Tamil மகிந்த ராசபக்ச; born November 18, 1945) is the 6th and current President of Sri Lanka and Commander in Chief of the Sri Lankan Armed Forces. A lawyer by profession, Rajapaksa was first elected to the Parliament of Sri Lanka in 1970, and served as prime minister from April 6, 2004 until his victory in the 2005 Presidential election. He was sworn in for a six-year term as president on November 19, 2005. He was re-elected for a second term in office on January 27, 2010.[1] .

Early life and career

Rajapaksa was born in Weerakatiya in the southern rural district of Hambantota.[2] 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.[2]

Rajapaksa was educated at Richmond College, Galle before moving to Nalanda College Colombo and later Thurstan College, Colombo.[2] He also had a few cameo roles as a movie actor in Sinhalese movies and worked as a library assistant at Vidyodaya University.[3]

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 the age of 24.[3] Later he studied law at the Sri Lanka Law College and took oaths as an attorney-at-law in November 1977.[4] Throughout his parliamentary career, except for the period from 1994-2001 when he was a minister, he continued his law practice in Tangalle.[2]

Member of Parliament

In Opposition

Losing his parliamentary seat in the landslide defeat of the SLFP in 1977,[2] 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'.[2]

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.[2]

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.[2]

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 April 6, 2004.[2] While Rajapaksa was the Prime Minister, he also held the Ministry of Highways.

President

Presidential styles of
Mahinda Rajapaksa
Reference styleHis Excellency President Mahinda Rajapaksa
His Excellency Mahinda Rajapaksa, President of Sri Lanka
Spoken stylePresident Rajapaksa
Alternative styleH.E.

Mahinda Rajapaksa was chosen by Sri Lanka Freedom Party to contest with former Prime Minister and Opposition Leader, Ranil Wickremasinghe, 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 Wickremasignhe and his UNP party in the said election.[5] 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 November 23, 2005.

Dispute with Sarath Fonseka

File:Rajapakse after-election 2010.jpg
After-election poster put up by the government

A rift between Rajapaska and his former Armed Forces Chief Sarath Fonseka has recently surfaced. It mainly involves a dispute over which of the two, the political leader or the military leader, were in fact responsible for the defeat of the LTTE and the reconquering of the North and East. In fact, according to Fonseka and the Sri Lankan government, he was asked by the Department of Homeland Security to give evidence against the president and administration on war-crimes charges. The government was quick to issue a press conference in which they stated that he was not allowed to give out any confidential information. Many say that this is solid proof of that the President and his General are currently on very bad terms.Cite error: The <ref> tag has too many names (see the help page).

Though those in the Government are currently denying the existence of this dispute between the two, there is much proof to the contrary. In a speech that the General gave to the army on the occasion of its 60th anniversary, he repeatedly stressed his personal role in the recent military victory of the army over the LTTE.[6]

On the 15th of November 2009, Rajapaksa ordered Fonseka to leave his post and the army with immediate effect through a letter from his secretary.[7]

The following day, the President named Air Force Chief Roshan Goonatilake as the new Chief of Defence Staff.[8]

With all these disputes, Rajapaksa called for a Presidential Election. The General ran against Rajapaska in the Presidential Elections as a consensus opposition candidate.[6] consisting of almost all the opposition parties.

See also: Sarath Fonseka

Development of Hambantota

Mahinda is planning to develop his constituency of Hambantota into South Asia's hub port. He first went to India to get help with building a port, then went to USA and China.[9] China offered him the best deal.

Controversies

Nepotism

Mahinda Rajapaksa has been accused of nepotism, apointing three brothers to run important ministries and other political positions for relatives, reguardless of their merit. Rajapaksa holding the offices of he ministries of Defence finance, defence, ports and aviation, highways and and road development public works. This includes his brother Gotabhaya Rajapaksa, who was given the post of Defence Secetary, 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.[10][11]

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, whom is the ambassador to Russia. Dozens of nephews, nieces, cousins and in-laws have also been appointed as heads of banks, boards and corporations.[12]

Media Freedom

During the Rajapaksa administration the Reporters without borders index, ranked Sri Lanka 165th among 173 countries in its annual worldwide press freedom index.[13] The Human Rights Watch research alleged that the Sri Lankan government is responsible for widespread abductions.[14]. Rajapaksa has promised to give more protection to journalist, but at least one prominent journalist Lasantha Wickrematunge was assassinated and dozens have been beaten, arrested or forced to flee the country during his time in office.[15][16]

Alleged Election Frauds

2005 Presidential Elections
Main article: Sri Lankan presidential election, 2005

Opposition parties 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.[17]

2010 Presidential Elections
Main article: Sri Lankan presidential election, 2010

Opposition parties accused Rajapaksa of manipulating election results using computers.[18]

Alleged War Crimes

Wiki Leaks the whislteblowing website made public of secret US cables, stating that American diplomats including Patricia Butenis believe that Mahinda Rajapaksa was responsible for the massare towards the end of 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 and his brothers and opposition candidate General Fonseka.[19]

Domestic policy

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. [1]

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.[20] Following the closure by the LTTE of a reservoir supplying water to 15,000 people named "Mavil Aru" in government controlled areas on July 21, 2006,[21] 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.[22][23][24][25]

Ethnic relations

The content of the President's historic speech in Tamil at the UN was an effort to establish that he is a people's leader representing all the peoples of Sri Lanka, including the Tamil minority.

“While my mother tongue is Sinhala, let me elaborate a few thoughts in Tamil. Sinhala and Tamil are the two languages of the people of Sri Lanka. Both these have been used through the centuries, are rich in literature, and are widely used in my country, with recognition as Official Languages.” He said in Tamil adding,

“With the widening of democracy in our country, the bonds between the Sinhala and Tamil people of Sri Lanka will grow stronger and remain a major force for its future development. We will march towards a richer freedom and lasting unity that await us as a nation.”[citation needed]

Other Controversies

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] 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.[26]

Decorations

He was conferred with two Honorary Doctorates. The first one is a Doctor of Law from the University of Colombo on September 6, 2009.[27] The second degree was awarded by the Peoples’ Friendship University of Russia on February 6, 2010 for his contribution for world peace and outstanding success in defeating terrorism.[28]

He was also awarded an Honorary Doctorate by the Peoples’ Friendship University of the Russian Federation in February, 2010 at its 50th anniversary celebrations.[29][30]

The Visva Bharati University of Calcutta in India conferred on him the title Professor Emeritus for his record on human rights.[31]

Family and personal life

Rajapaksa and his family are actively involved in politics, his brothers Gotabhaya Rajapaksa is defence secetary, Basil Rajapaksa is the current Economic Development Mininster and Chamal Rajapaksa is the current Speaker of the Parliament of Sri Lanka. Mahinda married former beauty queen Shiranthi Wickremasinghe, daughter of the Commodore E. P. Wickramasinghe, SLN and Mrs. Violet Wickramasinghe [32] and has three sons, Namal, Yoshitha and Rohitha. Namal Rajapaksa is active in politics while his brother Yoshitha was commissioned as an Acting Sub Lieutenant in the Sri Lanka Navy in March 2009 [33] and appointed a Aide-de-camp to the President in 2006.

See also

References

  1. ^ (BBC)
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i President's Fund of Sri Lanka, President's Profile
  3. ^ a b When Mahinda became the youngest MP Thilakarathne, Indeewara, The Sunday Observer
  4. ^ President Mahinda Rajapaksa, president.gov.lk
  5. ^ "Hardliner wins Sri Lanka election". BBC News. November 2005 18, 2005. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  6. ^ a b Haviland, Charles (November 10, 2009). "Trouble at the top in Sri Lanka?". BBC News. Retrieved May 12, 2010.
  7. ^ Haviland, Charles (November 16, 2009). "S Lanka army head leaves abruptly". BBC News. Retrieved May 12, 2010.
  8. ^ "Patriots turn traitors in politics: Rajapaksa". The Hindu. Chennai, India. November 17, 2009.
  9. ^ New York Times - article on Hambantota and Mahinda
  10. ^ http://www.economist.com/node/9299003?story_id=9299003
  11. ^ http://www.atimes.com/atimes/South_Asia/LK11Df02.html
  12. ^ http://www.atimes.com/atimes/South_Asia/LK11Df02.html
  13. ^ http://www.rsf.org/article.php3?id_article=19391
  14. ^ http://www.hrw.org/en/video/2008/03/06/sri-lankas-ghosts
  15. ^ http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/south_asia/country_profiles/1168427.stm#media
  16. ^ http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/asia/article5533104.ece
  17. ^ "Hardliner wins Sri Lanka election". BBC News. November 18, 2005.
  18. ^ http://www.adaderana.lk/news.php?nid=7507
  19. ^ http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/wikileaks/8175393/WikiLeaks-Mahinda-Rajapaksa-responsible-for-war-crimes.html
  20. ^ "How President decided on retaliation". The Sunday Times. April 30, 2006.
  21. ^ "Sri Lanka forces attack reservoir". BBC News. August 6, 2006.
  22. ^ "Fighting mars Lanka peace moves". BBC News. October 6, 2006. Retrieved May 12, 2010.
  23. ^ "Sri Lanka President swipes at U.N. record". REUTERS. September 25, 2007.
  24. ^ "President Mahinda Rajapaksa appeals to unnamed political elements not to betray motherland to foreign interests". Asian Tribune. August 13, 2007.
  25. ^ Sri Lankan troops search for rebel leader, Xinhua
  26. ^ "Lanka president wins tsunami case". BBC News. March 27, 2006. [dead link]
  27. ^ http://www.colombopage.com/archive_091/Sep1252248219RA.html
  28. ^ Lumumba University honors President Rajapaksa with a Doctorate in Moscow, Russia
  29. ^ http://www.president.gov.lk/mahinda_rajapaksa.php
  30. ^ http://www.priu.gov.lk/execpres/mr_profile_in_brief.htm
  31. ^ http://www.priu.gov.lk/execpres/mr_profile_in_brief.htm
  32. ^ First Lady of Sri Lanka
  33. ^ His Excellency the President Chief Guest at the Commissioning Parade held at the Naval and Maritime Academy
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Preceded by Prime Minister of Sri Lanka
2004–2005 		Succeeded by
Preceded by President of Sri Lanka
2005–present 		Incumbent
Diplomatic posts
Preceded by Chair of SAARC
2008–present 		Incumbent
Preceded by Chair of G-15
2010-present 		Incumbent

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