Namal Rajapaksa says war heroes are being targeted while government failures, fraud claims, taxes and public anger grow.
Namal Rajapaksa has accused the government of targeting war heroes while failing to address corruption, rising taxes, fraud claims, and public hardship.
The National Organizer of the Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna made the remarks while addressing a war heroes’ commemoration held at the Avissawella War Heroes’ Village.
Speaking at the event, Rajapaksa said that if the war heroes had not ended the war, the current President would not simply be able to travel to Jaffna.
He said the President would have had to seek permission from LTTE leader Velupillai Prabhakaran even to go jogging.
Rajapaksa said the war may be over, but the revenge against those who gave leadership to end it without separatist agendas has not ended.
He described that as both regrettable and unfortunate.
He said that while the country celebrates freedom on May 18, thousands of war heroes who made that freedom possible are still living with disabilities.
He also said officers who provided leadership during the war are still in prison, including intelligence officers.
According to Rajapaksa, the government is now intervening to fulfil the wishes of LTTE terrorists instead of the wishes of the people.
He alleged that soon after the current government came to power, former Navy Commander Nishantha Ulugetenne was imprisoned on false charges.
He also claimed that former intelligence chief Suresh Sallay remains in prison.
Rajapaksa alleged that those who buried the Easter Sunday attack files are receiving promotions without doing their duty.
“If you lie, if you bury files, you get promotions. If you work, you are branded a thief and sent to jail. That is the JVP agenda,” he said.
He praised intelligence officers, saying they sacrificed their youth for the nation and risked their lives while serving the country.
He said the information gathered by intelligence officers created the environment for war heroes to plan and fight.
But today, he alleged, those officers have been imprisoned according to a political agenda.
Rajapaksa also referred to the LTTE diaspora and said the war was never fought against the Tamil people.
“We did not fight against the Tamil people. We fought against the LTTE,” he said.
He said the problem was not with Tamil citizens, adding that communities are now working together with cooperation and brotherhood.
He noted that many Sinhalese families also have Tamil relatives.
However, he said the problem was with the LTTE, which he described as a globally banned terrorist organization.
Rajapaksa said the LTTE assassinated the Prime Minister of India, killed leaders in Sri Lanka, murdered innocent civilians, promoted separatism, and attempted to create a separate state.
He said the fight was against LTTE terrorism, which was defeated under the leadership of former President Mahinda Rajapaksa.
He warned that forces linked to that defeat are still waiting to take revenge.
Addressing the families of war heroes, Rajapaksa said their honour, commitment, and sacrifice would never be forgotten.
He said wives, parents, children, and disabled war heroes were present at the commemoration.
He pledged that the SLPP would continue to intervene to ensure justice for them.
He said one day, their children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren would speak of them with respect, love, and devotion.
Rajapaksa said the country must be transformed into a place where the names of war heroes are written in golden letters for generations.
He said the freedom enjoyed today was created because of the sacrifices made by war heroes.
He added that if the current President wants to travel to Jaffna and observe sil, that freedom exists because LTTE terrorism was eliminated.
“Otherwise, Your Reverence, the current President would not go to Jaffna, but would have to go jogging only after asking Prabhakaran’s permission,” he said.
Rajapaksa then accused the government of taking revenge to cover up its incompetence.
He said May is the month in which the war ended, and claimed that the current government has removed the position of Chief of Defence Staff through a gazette.
He questioned for whose pleasure such a decision was made.
Rajapaksa said the people must be reminded that they should never hesitate to pay tribute to war heroes and their families.
He also referred to the recent questioning of Mahinda Rajapaksa by the CID.
He alleged that the former President was brought before the CID because of a statement that had been forcibly recorded.
Rajapaksa said the President speaks of equality before the law.
However, he argued that if the law is truly equal, the first investigation should be into the officer who allegedly recorded a forced statement.
He questioned whether police could forcibly record a statement from any lawyer in the same way.
He claimed that the person who gave the statement later died by suicide and had informed court through a sworn affidavit about pressure and influence.
Rajapaksa said if the law is equal for everyone, that officer should have been questioned.
Instead, he said, Mahinda Rajapaksa was questioned before May 18.
He then alleged that the government was using Rajapaksa-related investigations to distract from its own failures.
He said when questions were raised about Namal Rajapaksa’s degree, it later emerged that the Speaker did not have a degree.
To bury that issue, he alleged, they began investigating Namal.
He also referred to the release of 323 containers from the port, claiming that the issue was pushed towards the Rajapaksas to bury the real matter.
Rajapaksa then linked the government’s conduct to several other controversies, including a bus transaction investigation, the SriLankan Airlines wrong-account payment, and funds allegedly sent to incorrect accounts.
He said money had been sent from SriLankan Airlines to a different name and described such errors as “wonderful mistakes.”
He claimed that when money was sent to the wrong account, officials said a hacker had intervened.
He also said Rs. 13 billion had been fraudulently taken from a private bank.
According to him, neither the Ministry of Finance, the Central Bank, nor the Minister of Finance knew about it.
He claimed that more than Rs. 800 million from the Ministry of Finance had been paid into a wrong account.
Rajapaksa said that under the Public Finance Management Act, the President, as Minister of Finance, must be responsible.
He added that the Secretary to the Ministry of Finance must also be responsible under the law.
“If the law is not above them, they must be responsible. That is the law,” he said.
Rajapaksa accused the government of burying these matters.
He alleged that substandard coal was being imported and said the government was now starting investigations from 2009.
He said he had no objection to investigations because he also wanted such allegations to end.
However, he warned the government not to cover up allegations regarding substandard coal brought by the current administration.
Rajapaksa described the government’s method as the “pickpocket theory.”
He said the government runs after committing the pickpocketing, shouting “there’s a pickpocket,” while the real pickpocket quietly escapes with the loot.
He said this is what had happened to the Rajapaksas.
He accused the government of constantly shouting “Rajapaksas are thieves” while sending the police, CID, and Bribery Commission after them.
He said the Good Governance government did the same, and the current government is also doing the same.
But, he said, during this time containers were released, Rs. 800 million from the Ministry of Finance was sent to another account, Rs. 600 million from a government bank was transferred elsewhere, and oil was bought at what he described as the highest price ever paid in the world.
He also alleged that substandard coal was imported, causing losses worth crores of rupees.
Rajapaksa said the government is covering those losses by increasing taxes on the people.
He added that while all this is happening, the government continues shouting that the Rajapaksas are thieves.
He said investigations against them should continue if necessary.
“I said we will come for any investigation, Your Reverence. We are not afraid. We have done nothing wrong,” he said.
But he urged the government to also investigate the “pickpockets” within its own administration.
He said large-scale frauds are happening now and warned the government not to bury them.
Rajapaksa then turned to the difficulties facing farmers.
He said there is still no fertilizer for farmers.
He said that when the farming community raises its voice over the lack of fertilizer, they are told to complain to the police.
He questioned whether farmers are expected to say there is fertilizer simply because they fear the police.
Rajapaksa said the government may not feel the problem, but the problem is clear when one goes to the village.
He said farmers face a problem with paddy prices, while businessmen face a problem with taxes.
He also referred to vehicle prices, saying the government had once promised a car for Rs. 120,000, but had now increased prices by 150 percent.
He accused the government of following only the IMF agenda.
He said the government must decide whether it will make decisions for the people of Sri Lanka or to please international organizations that supported it.
Rajapaksa said the government has placed an unbearable cost of living on the people.
He said neither the government nor ordinary people can bear the present burden.
He questioned whether the government understands this situation or even wants to understand it.
He urged the government to understand the people’s suffering at least now.
He warned that taxes are being increased again and called on the government to make decisions on the side of the people.
Rajapaksa also referred to a recent incident where a group of young people allegedly went and forcibly took over a land claiming it belonged to Basil Rajapaksa.
He said if the government, or even he himself, wanted to put up a party office there in his uncle’s name, the allegations would be different.
He said some claimed his uncle had large coconut plantations there.
However, when checked, someone else was harvesting coconuts on that land.
He said he had asked whether it was Basil Rajapaksa’s coconut plantation, and the person responded by saying it was his own coconut plantation.
Rajapaksa said this has now become state property.
He questioned what kind of government cannot resolve a problem by speaking with its own student organization or university and providing a building.
He said if students have to forcibly take over buildings, it reflects badly on the government.
He said the government should be ashamed if it cannot listen to its own student organizations or provide solutions.
He also said the students who bring shame to the government should be ashamed if they cannot get a building from the government they helped appoint.
Rajapaksa warned that if this becomes a precedent, anyone who does not get what they want from the government could forcibly take over land.
He said if a community hall is not given, people may take another land.
If land is not given for a hospital or school, he warned, people may take over a neighbour’s land.
If university students do not get a building, he said, they may enter buildings in Colombo and seize them.
He questioned where the equality before the law is if such a precedent is allowed.
Rajapaksa said when the government cannot work, it brings repression.
He asked what use there is in a government that cannot solve matters even by talking to its own student organizations.
He claimed that after the takeover, police had said it was government land.
But he questioned whether government land can be forcibly occupied without the law being enforced.
He said if that is allowed, talk about the rule of law becomes meaningless.
Rajapaksa concluded by saying the opposition must become strong.
He said they must organize at village level.
He claimed that when they now visit a village, 1,000 to 1,500 people gather in one division.
He said many who voted for them, and many who did not, are now gathering with them because of disappointment in the government.
According to Rajapaksa, people who did not vote for the SLPP are now understanding the reality and coming together with them.
He said people now accept them.
Just as they accept the people with love, he requested supporters to take this message to the village.
“Let us become strong. Let us build ourselves up,” he said.
