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Namal Rajapaksa released his manifesto as he vies to become president of Sri Lanka this month, pledging to continue the legacy of his father, accused war criminal Mahinda Rajapaksa.
The younger Rajapaksa asserts that the "Mahinda Chinthana," the title of his father’s 2005 manifesto, had set a progressive plan for Sri Lanka.
"By integrating sustainable solutions for the challenges of the 21st century and the modern technological revolution with Mahinda Chinthana, let us start again from where the development of this country was stopped," he stated, promising to rescue the country from its economic crisis, much like how his father "liberated and united a country torn apart by war."
He referred to his manifesto as the "3rd Edition of Mahinda Chinthana".
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Rajapaksa’s manifesto makes only two brief references to the Tamil community, dedicating a far more substantial section to the protection of Buddhism.
“Our civilisation which has a historical development of over two and a half millennia was founded upon the principles of Buddha Dharma,” it states.
“To protect and nurture the Buddha Sasana, we plan to enrich the young monks with Bauddha Philosophy and proficiency in English, French, German, Korean, and Italian languages in addition to the oriental languages as well as with Information and Communications Technology. We believe that this is the way to take the Buddha Dharma to the future world. We plan to train 5,000 monks in the first phase.”
He avoids mentioning any strategies for the North-East or acknowledging issues such as land grabs, Sinhalization, Buddhization, or the ongoing intimidation and arrests affecting the daily lives of Eelam Tamils.
“A museum and a library will be established for future generations to learn about the humanitarian war against terrorism that hindered the development of this country for 30 years,” it adds, but makes no mention on the need for justice and accountability for the atrocities committed by the Sri Lankan state.
The manifesto can be found here.
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