The regime change in Sri Lanka – a Caesarian analogy

Rajapaksa’s political opposition threw almost identical charges against him, ostensibly frustrated by their inability to make a dent in his popularity to win an election by foul means or fair. The opposition accusations of “triumphalism” and populism of Rajapaksa were followed by charges of overt plans to become the eternal ruler, usurping the ‘love’ of a largely “unsophisticated” rural Sinhala-Buddhist populace. Sections of the urban middle classes with a smattering of English became the group that seemed to dislike Rajapaksa the most.

by Dr. Kamal Wickremasinghe

( November 25, 2015, Colombo, Sri Lanka Guardian) The memory of the key event that led to the 2015 regime change––the defection of Maithripala Sirisena from the SLFP a year ago last week––appears to have sunk without trace in the humdrum, moral-free politics of Sri Lanka. The defection that marked the pinnacle of the project to assassinate former president Mahinda Rajapaksa politically is yet to see its completion. Notwithstanding that, the event that was made spicier by revelations that Sirisena had shared a meal of hoppers with Rajapaksa the previous night, giving rise to howls of ‘traitor’ from Rajapaksa loyalists deserves a bit more attention.

The Regime Change in Sri Lanka – a Caesarian Analogy by Thavam Ratna