Mahinda Rajapaksa: Sri Lanka's saviour or war criminal?
As host of next month's Commonwealth heads of state meeting, the president's human rights record is under close scrutiny. For some he's a robust leader dealing with the bitter legacy of civil war. For others he's a brutal despot
Sri Lanka's Mahinda Rajapaksa is the controversial host of the Commonwealth heads of state meeting in November 2013. Photograph: Andrew Caballero-Reynolds / R/Reuters
Jason Burke-Sunday 27 October 2013
Down in the deep south of Sri Lanka, where life usually moves at a leisurely pace, there is one small town that is less tranquil. Hambantota – population 20,000 – is expanding fast. There is a vast new deep-water port, built with $360m of borrowed Chinese cash; a new 35,000-seater cricket stadium; a huge convention centre; and a $200m international airport. A broad-gauge railway is under construction. Powerful people have ambitions for Hambantota. None is more powerful or more ambitious than President Mahinda Rajapaksa, born nearby in 1945.