Ousted Sri Lankan Leader Angles for a Comeback
Ex-President Rajapaksa leads ethnically charged campaign, vows closer ties to China
Former Sri Lankan president and parliamentary candidate Mahinda Rajapaksa greeted supporters during the launch of his party election manifesto in Colombo on Tuesday. PHOTO: LAKRUWAN WANNIARACHCHI/AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE/GETTY IMAGES
By GORDON FAIRCLOUGH-July 28, 2015
NAULA, Sri Lanka—Flanked by saffron-robed Buddhist monks, former Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa exhorted a crowd of more than a thousand supporters at a weekend election rally, saying: “We saved this country. Don’t let it be divided again.”
The 69-year-old politician, ousted by voters earlier this year, is seeking a return to office—this time as prime minister—in an ethnically charged campaign mixing economic promises with warnings of resurgent terror by minority Tamils, defeated six years ago after a long civil war.
