Mahinda Rajapaksa, Sri Lanka’s former president and credibly accused war criminal, celebrated his birthday surrounded by friends and family last week, including current Sri Lankan president Ranil Wickremesinghe.
In video footage shared widely across social media, the elder Rajapaksa is seen cutting a birthday cake adorned with sparklers.
Amongst those around him are his younger brother and former defence secretary Gotabaya Rajapaksa, who also stands accused of war crimes, and Wickremesinghe, who has refused to investigate them.
Rajapaksa turned 78 years old last week.
In January 2023, Canada sanctioned both Rajapaksa brothers for committing gross and systematic violations of human rights during the armed conflict.
Mahinda and Gotabaya oversaw the military campaign that saw hospitals indiscriminately shelled and tens of thousands of Tamils killed in the final months of the armed conflict.
The offensive was launched as Sri Lanka withdrew from peace talks with the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), after Rajapaksa won presidential elections in 2005 on a hard-line Sinhala nationalist campaign. He was up against Wickremesinghe at the time.
In 2022, in the aftermath of Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s resignation as president, Wickremesinghe came to power through a parliamentary vote with the backing of Rajapaksa's SLPP party.
