Sri Lanka's politically under-siege Rajapaksa family will return to dominate once again by forming a new alliance, Namal Rajapaksa, the son of the former president and prime minister Mahinda Rajapaksa, said on Friday. "We will form a new political alliance under the leadership of Mahinda Rajapaksa," he told a political gathering of the ruling Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) in the southwestern province of the crisis-hit country.
The SLPP has been at the receiving end of public anger when the island plunged deep into the current economic crisis, leading to street protests in late March, blaming the government for its incompetence. A continuous public protest which lasted over three months saw the ouster of Gotabaya Rajapaksa, the then president. Namal Rajapaksa said Gotabaya Rajapaksa's inability to crack down on the protests, which he claimed had turned violent, was the reason for the ousted president's downfall.
Sri Lanka is at a critical juncture in its political life, a UN report has said, noting that impunity for the past and present human rights abuses, economic crimes and corruption were the underlying causes for the collapse of the island nation's economy. The UN report also suggested fundamental changes to address the current challenges and to avoid repetition of the human rights violations of the past.
Interestingly, it comes ahead of the 51st session of the UN Human Rights Council Session, to be held in Geneva from September 12 to October 7, where a resolution on Sri Lanka is expected to be tabled. This is also the first time that the top UN body has linked the economic crisis with Sri Lanka's gross human rights violations.
For sustainable improvement to take place, it is vital to recognise and assist Sri Lanka to address the underlying factors, which have contributed to this crisis, including embedded impunity for past and present human rights abuses, economic crimes and endemic corruption, the report said.
The broad-based demands by Sri Lankans from all communities for accountability and democratic reforms presented an important starting point for a new and common vision for the future, it said.
Fundamental changes will be required to address the current challenges and to avoid repetition of the human rights violations of the past, the report said.