Opinion |
Having swept to power in a landslide victory in late 2019, Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa wasted no time declaring unequivocally that his would be a Sinhalese ethno-nationalist state. He chose to be inaugurated at the island’s ancient Buddhist capital, Anuradhapura, the military and Buddhist clergy in heavy attendance.
In the shade of the grand Ruwanwelisaya stupa, built by a legendary Sinhalese conquerer who had vanquished a Tamil to ‘unite’ the island, Mr. Rajapaksa said this in the first three minutes of his address: “We knew from the outset that this country’s Sinhalese population… primarily contributed to this victory. I knew that I could win the presidency through Sinhalese votes alone. I asked the Tamil and Muslim populations to share in that victory. But I did not receive the response I anticipated.”
