Gotabaya Rajapaksa
Gotabaya Rajapaksa Minister of Technology | |
---|---|
In office 26 November 2020 – 14 July 2022 | |
President | Himself |
Prime Minister | Mahinda Rajapaksa Ranil Wickremesinghe |
Preceded by | Susil Premajayantha |
Succeeded by | Ranil Wickremesinghe |
Secretary to the Ministry of Defence and Urban Development | |
In office 9 November 2005 – 8 January 2015 | |
President | Mahinda Rajapaksa |
Minister | Mahinda Rajapaksa |
Preceded by | Asoka Jayawardena |
Succeeded by | B. M. U. D. Basnayake |
Personal details | |
Born | Nandasena Gotabaya Rajapaksa 20 June 1949 Palatuwa, Dominion of Ceylon |
Citizenship | Sri Lanka (1949–2003, 2005–present)[1][2][3] United States (2003–2019)[4][5] |
Political party | Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna |
Spouse |
Ayoma Rajapaksa (m. 1980) |
Children | 1 |
Parent(s) | Don Alwin Rajapaksa (father) Dandina Samarasinghe née Dissanayake (mother) |
Relatives | Chamal (brother) Lieutenant Colonel |
Unit | Gajaba Regiment |
Commands | 1st Gajaba Regiment General Sir John Kotelawala Defence Academy |
Battles/wars | Sri Lankan Civil War 1987–1989 JVP insurrection |
Awards | |
Nandasena Gotabaya Rajapaksa, RWP, RSP (Sinhala: නන්දසේන ගෝඨාභය රාජපක්ෂ; Tamil: நந்தசேன கோட்டாபய ராஜபக்ஷ; born 20 June 1949) is a former Sri Lankan politician and military officer, who served as the eighth President of Sri Lanka from 18 November 2019 until his resignation on 14 July 2022 due to months of public anger.[6] He previously served as Secretary to the Ministry of Defence and Urban Development from 2005 to 2015 under the administration of his elder brother former President Mahinda Rajapaksa, during the final phase of the Sri Lankan Civil War.
Born to a
Rajapaksa took early retirement from the army and moved into the field of information technology, before immigrating to the United States in 1998. He returned to Sri Lanka in 2005, to assist his brother in his presidential campaign and was appointed Defence Secretary in his brother's administration. During his tenure the Sri Lankan Armed Forces successfully concluded the Sri Lankan Civil War defeating the
Rajapaksa emerged as the
Early life and education
Nandasena Gotabaya Rajapaksa[10] was born in Palatuwa in the Matara District,[11] as the fifth of nine siblings, and was brought up in Weeraketiya in the southern rural district of Hambantota. 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, Deputy Speaker and Cabinet Minister of Agriculture and Land in Wijeyananda Dahanayake's government. His elder brother, Mahinda Rajapaksa was first elected to parliament as a member of the Sri Lanka Freedom Party at the age of 24 in 1970, who gradually rose through the party ranks becoming the Leader of the Opposition in 2001, Prime Minister in 2004 and the President of Sri Lanka in 2005. Two of his other brothers, Chamal Rajapaksa and Basil Rajapaksa, are also current Members of Parliament. He obtained his primary and secondary education at Ananda College, Colombo.[12]
Military career (1971–1991)
Early career
This section of a poorly sourced must be removed immediately from the article and its talk page, especially if potentially libelous. )Find sources: "Gotabaya Rajapaksa" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (April 2020) |
Rajapaksa joined the
Gajaba Regiment
While Rajapaksa was at staff college in India, the Rajarata Rifles were amalgamated with the
Immigration to the United States
Following his return to civilian life, Rajapaksa read for a postgraduate diploma in information technology from the
Secretary to the Ministry of Defence and Urban Development (2005–2015)
In order to assist his brother's presidential election campaign, Rajapaksa returned to Sri Lanka from the United States in 2005. He re obtained citizenship of Sri Lanka but kept his US citizenship. Gotabaya Rajapaksa was appointed to the post of
With his position, Rajapaksa also pursued projects like the Colombo Beautification Project, which revitalised public centers and parks in
Assassination attempt
On 1 December 2006, at approximately 10:35 an assassin attempted to drive an explosive-laden auto-rikshaw into Rajapaksa's motorcade as it traveled through Kollupitiya, Colombo. The Sri Lanka Army Commandos guarding him obstructed the vehicle carrying the explosives before it reached Rajapakse's vehicle and two commandos were instantly killed. Rajapaksa escaped unhurt.[25] The LTTE were blamed for the attack.[25]
Karuna defection
Gotabaya is credited with using the
Criticism of the United Nations and western countries
In June 2007, Rajapaksa was severely critical of the United Nations (UN) and of western governments. He accused the UN of having been infiltrated by terrorists "for 30 years or so", and as a result the UN was fed incorrect information. He also alleged that Britain and the EU were bullying Sri Lanka, and concluded that Sri Lanka "does not need them", and that they don't provide any significant amount of aid to the country.[27] Critics pointed out that in 1990 his brother Mahinda Rajapaksa was caught attempting to bring evidence of human rights violations in Sri Lanka to the United Nations Commission on Human Rights and the evidence was confiscated by the government during which Rajapaksa justified foreign intervention in Sri Lankan affairs. Mahinda Rajapaksa had also demanded western nations to limit and put conditions on foreign aid to Sri Lanka.[28][29]
Legal dispute with Lasantha Wickrematunge
In August 2007,
On 5 December 2008, a judge ordered Leader Publications not to publish any reports about Gotabaya Rajapaksa, for two weeks.[35][36]
Several weeks later, Wickrematunge was assassinated days before he was to testify and give evidence in court regarding the MiG deal.[37]
Wickrematunge's daughter has publicly held Rajapaksa responsible for the assassination.[38]
Alleged human rights violations
On 3 February 2009, Defence Secretary Gotabaya Rajapaksa stated to the international media (in reference to the only hospital in the war front being shelled), that everything was a legitimate target if they were not within the government designated No Fire Zone and that all persons subject to attack by the armed forces were legitimate LTTE targets as there were no independent observers, only LTTE sympathisers.[39][40]
General Sarath Fonseka who led the war against LTTE had accused Rajapaksa of ordering at the end of the war the shooting of any LTTE leaders who might try to surrender under flags of truce.[clarification needed] Rajapaksa is alleged to have threatened to execute Fonseka if he revealed any war secrets.[41][42][43]
In an interview on the Sri Lanka TV channel Ada Derana on 16 March 2015, Rajapaksa stated that he was a citizen of the United States but couldn't travel to the United States because of alleged war crimes charges against him.[44] Rajapaksa however visited the United States in 2016 and two Tamil groups urged the United States government to arrest and prosecute him.[45] Sri Lankan government rejected the call to arrest Rajapaksa by Tamil groups.[46]
As reported by
Investigations on the 2008 abduction of journalist Keith Noyahr resulted in a White Van being discovered in 2017 March from a house at Piliyandala with connections to an Army Major that was believed to have been used for the abduction. Police believes that the van may have been used for other crimes as well as being part of the operation to murder Lasantha Wickrematunge.[50] A few weeks after the Noyahr abduction in 2008, Namal Perera, a course coordinator at the Sri Lanka College of Journalism, was violently attacked by a gang that came in the same White Van with a fake number plate and attempted to abduct him after attacking his car but was foiled by residents and heavy traffic. Namal Perera identified two of his would-be-killers Duminda Weeraratne and Hemachandra Perera in April 2017.[51]
Bandara Bulathwatte, a key suspect in the murder of Lasantha, was given a diplomatic post in Thailand at the request of Gotabaya Rajapaksa near the 2010 presidential election. The letter sent by Gotabaya was prepared in haste and even the biodata of Bulathwatte was not attached despite it being a requirement for him to get his visa and have the appointment regularised by the Foreign Ministry. But after the elections, Rajapaska requested his departure to be postponed, claiming an urgent matter regarding national security. Technical evidence and telephone records have placed Bulathwatte at the location where Lasantha was killed and in the places where other journalists were attacked.[52] Investigations on assassinations, abductions and assaults on journalist after the fall of the Rajapaksa government revealed that Gotabaya directed a death squad to attack journalists that was outside the Army command structure. During this time 17 journalists and media workers were killed and others were either assaulted or abducted.[53][54][55][56]
Nadarajah Raviraj, a well-known human rights lawyer and a parliamentarian, was shot and killed in Colombo on 10 November 2006. At a magisterial hearing in Colombo on 26 February 2016, Liyanarachchi Abeyrathna, a former police officer attached to the State Intelligence Agency, stated that Gotabaya Rajapaksa paid Rs.50 million to an organisation led by Karuna Amman to murder Raviraj.[57][58]
On 10 January 2023, Gotabaya and his brother and former president Mahinda Rajapaksa were sanctioned by Canada for "gross and systematic violations of human rights" during the Sri Lankan civil war. In an exceedingly rare move, the former heads of state have been barred from entering the western country.[59][60]
Relationship with the media
Rajapaksa has been accused of threatening journalists on several occasions, including telling two journalists attached to the state-owned Lake House Publications that unless they stop criticising the armed forces "what will happen to you is beyond my control". When asked by the two journalists if he was threatening them, he replied "I am definitely not threatening your lives. Our services are appreciated by 99 per cent of the people. They love the Army Commander (General
A 5 December 2008 story from The New York Times quoted his news reporting position as "he insists that journalists should not be allowed to report anything that demoralises the war effort".[66]
In an editorial titled "A brother out of control" (16 August 2011), The Hindu raised the observation, "President Rajapaksa would be well advised to distance himself swiftly from his brother's stream-of-consciousness on sensitive issues that are not his business. This includes an outrageous comment that because a Tamil woman, an "LTTE cadre" who was a British national, interviewed in the Channel 4 documentary was "so attractive" but had been neither raped nor killed by Sri Lankan soldiers, the allegation of sexual assault by soldiers could not be true. For this statement alone, Mr. Gotabaya Rajapaksa must be taken to task."[67]
In May 2015, The Sunday Leader tendered an unconditional apology to Gotabaya Rajapaksa for a series of articles regarding the purchase of MIG 27 airplanes for the Sri Lanka Air Force.[68][69]
Alleged corruption
Personal life
Gotabhaya Rajapaksa is married to Ioma and has one son. Rajapaksa had dual Sri Lankan and US citizenship but had to renounce his US citizenship prior to running for president in 2019. His wife and son retain their US citizenship.[81][82]
Alleged assassination plot
In September 2018 Director of the Anti Corruption Movement revealed a conspiracy to assassinate President Maithripala Sirisena and former Defence Secretary Gotabaya Rajapaksa because the duo are against the drug trade. CID of Sri Lanka Police investigated the issue.[83][84]
2019 presidential campaign
It was widely speculated and even claimed by several politicians that Gotabaya Rajapaksa would be contesting the 2020 elections. However, this was denied by Rajapaksa but claimed that he will accept if he was offered the candidacy.[85][86] Fuelling speculation even more, Rajapaksa appointed a communications strategist and activist, Milinda Rajapaksha, as his official media spokesperson in August 2018.[87]
United States lawsuit
In April 2019, Lasantha Wickrematunge's daughter Ahimsa Wickrematunge filed a civil lawsuit against Gotabaya Rajapaksa in the state of California. Wickrematunge's daughter's lawsuit alleged that Rajapaksa was behind his death.
Rajapaksa arrived back to Sri Lanka from the United States[91] and was greeted by his supporters and members of the Buddhist Clergy who came to the Bandaranaike International Airport[92] to stand in solidarity with Rajapaksa. Due to the case filed against him, Rajapaksa's ability to renounce his citizenship was stalled. Rajapaksa alleged that the case filed against him by Wickrematunge's daughter was "politically motivated"[93] by the United National Party to stop him from contesting the presidential election that year.
On 21 October 2019, the United States District Court for the
On 27 February 2020, the
On 11 August 2019,
Citizenship row
During the campaign, several political parties including then ruling United National Party accused him of having American citizenship and claimed that he stayed and lived in America for more than ten years and revealed that he was not a Sri Lankan citizen. Gotabaya was also pressured to not to contest at the presidential elections because of holding dual citizenship. Further he was alleged to have carried a duplicate Sri Lankan passport with him and court cases were pending against him over the citizenship issue and the issue regarding his passport.[97] Former President and the elder brother of Gotabaya, Mahinda Rajapaksa was also accused of using his executive powers to grant his brother, the Sri Lankan citizenship after commencing his first term as president in November 2005. The judge of the Court of Appeal gave verdict on the former's pending court cases on 4 October 2019, dismissed the petition challenging Gotabaya's citizenship.[98][99] He was also allowed to contest at the elections but did not take part in the debate among presidential candidates which was held on 5 October 2019, was also historically Sri Lanka's first-ever debate to have been conducted among presidential candidates for an upcoming election.[100] Rajapaksa's name was included in the Quarterly Publication of Individuals Who Have Chosen to Expatriate for Q2 2020.[101]
Presidency (2019–2022)
Rajapaksa's inauguration took place at the
COVID-19 pandemic
The
2020 Sri Lankan parliamentary election
General Election was held on 5 August 2020. Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) was able to secure a landslide victory in the election claiming the majority winning 145 seats out of 225 seats. The main opposition party Samagi Jana Balawegaya won just 54 seats. SLPP victory is mainly owing to the predominant success in curbing the COVID-19 pandemic and due to the negative publicity about the UNP-led government, which was accused of a major intelligence failure triggered by the aftermath of the 2019 Easter attacks.[115][116]
Environmental Policy and Deforestation
The Sri Lankan government under President Gotabaya transferred the administration of non-protected forests, known as "other state forests" (OSF), to regional authorities, in a controversial circular,[117][118] with a view to releasing them for agriculture and development. The move was claimed to be a part of government efforts to boost domestic food production, but has been criticized by environmental activists as government-backed deforestation and implied permission-granting for unregulated logging concessions in high biodiversity areas.[119][120][121]
Agricultural catastrophe
In April 2021, Rajapaksa "declared that the entire country would immediately switch to organic farming", yet as of February 2022, still "a majority of farmers say they received no training in organic techniques".[122] The 2021 rice harvest failed, leading to a $1.2 billion emergency food aid program, a $200 million income-support program, and "huge sums to import hundreds of thousands of tons of rice".[122] Rajapaksa's "sudden and disastrous turn toward organic farming" was panned in international media and the policies were scaled back before the year was over.[123][124] By April 2022, the government had reversed its decision and was seeking a US$700 million loan from the World Bank to revive the agricultural sector by providing it with imported agrochemicals following a massive drop production in the "Maha" season.[125]
Economic crisis and downfall
Rajapaksa administration introduced massive tax cuts in late 2019,
On 18 April, Rajapaksa appointed 17 new cabinet members, selected among his party members. This move was seen as a sign of Rajapaksa's lack of willingness to listen and adhere to the protesters' demands.[135]
Resignation and exile
On 9 July 2022, Rajapaksa fled his official residence in Colombo prior to protesters breaking through police barricades and entering the premises.[136] Protesters were seen occupying the mansion, even swimming in the president's pool.[137] Later that evening the Speaker of the Parliament confirmed that the president would resign his office on 13 July 2022.[138] On 11 July, the Prime Minister's Office also reconfirmed it.[139] On 9 and 10 July, Rajapaksa's whereabouts were unknown to the public until Sri Lankan military sources told the BBC on 11 July, that the President was on a Navy vessel in Sri Lankan waters.[140][141][142] Later that day, the Speaker of the Parliament announced that the President was still in the country.[143] It was later revealed that Rajapaksa and his wife were evacuated from the President's House on the morning of 9 July by the Sri Lanka Navy and had boarded SLNS Gajabahu which then departed Colombo harbour and sailed within Sri Lankan territorial waters allowing Rajapaksa to maintain communications while being safely out of reach of the protesters.[144] On 12 July, it was reported that Rajapaksa was blocked from leaving the country by immigration staff at Bandaranaike International Airport[145] and his visa request for United States was rejected.[146][147]
In the morning of 13 July, Rajapaksa left Sri Lanka via an
In his resignation letter which was formally read out at the parliament on 16 July, he had stated:
"It is my personal belief that I took all possible steps to address this crisis, including inviting parliamentarians to form an all-party or unity government."
— Gotabaya Rajapaksa[157]
Post-presidency
Return to Sri Lanka
On 2 September 2022, Rajapaksa returned to Sri Lanka, ending his 52-day self-imposed exile.[158] On his return he was provided with a new official residence and security granted to a former president.[159]
Conviction of economic mismanagement
On 14 November 2023, following a case filed by Transparency International Sri Lanka (TISL) and other four activists, the Supreme Court of Sri Lanka found Rajapaksa, his brothers Mahinda and Basil and several other officials guilty of economic mismanagement between 2019 and 2022, stating that the respondents breached the fundamental rights to equal protection of the law in terms of Article 12(1) of the Constitution. While no order for compensation was made since the petitioners did claim any compensation, the court ordered that each petitioner was entitled to a legal cost of Rs.150,000 (USD450) by the respondents.[160][161][162]
Honours and awards
Decorations and medals
During his 20 years of military service, Rajapaksa has received medals from three Presidents of Sri Lanka,
Ribbon | Name | Date awarded |
---|---|---|
Rana Wickrama Padakkama (RWP) | 1994 | |
Rana Sura Padakkama (RSP) | 1994 | |
Desha Putra Sammanaya | 1994 | |
Eastern Humanitarian Operations Medal (with clasp) | 2010 | |
Northern Humanitarian Operations Medal (with clasp) | 2010 | |
Purna Bhumi Padakkama | 1984 | |
North and East Operations Medal | 1986 | |
Vadamarachchi Operation Medal | 1987 | |
Sri Lanka Armed Services Long Service Medal | 1984 | |
President's Inauguration Medal | 1978 |
Honorary degrees
Gotabaya Rajapaksa received an Honorary Doctorate, a Doctor of Letters from the University of Colombo on 6 September 2009, along with his brother President Mahinda Rajapaksa following public acclaim as a war hero.[164][165][166]
Environmental awards
In July 2020, he was awarded the
See also
- Eelam War IV
- List of attacks attributed to the LTTE
- List of attacks on civilians attributed to the Sri Lankan government forces
- List of political families in Sri Lanka
- List of Sri Lankan non-career Permanent Secretaries
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Further reading
- Army, Sri Lanka. (1st Edition – October 1999). Sri Lanka Army: 50 Years On, 1949–1999, Colombo: ISBN 955-8089-02-8
- The Broken Palmyra – The Tamil Crisis in Sri Lanka: An Inside Account. The Sri Lanka Studies Institute, Rajini Thiranagama. (Also available online, Note from the publishers & book review)
- War and Peace in Sri Lanka: With a Post-Accord Report From Jaffna. Institute of Fundamental Studies, Sri Lanka; 1 edition (1 October 1987), By Rohan Gunaratna.