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Profiles of Sri Lankan presidential candidates | Following are the profiles of the two candidates contesting Sri Lanka's sixth presidential election on January 26 (Tuesday). They are as follows:
(1)President Mahinda Rajapaksa The 64-year-old made a name for himself as a
human
rights defender during Sri Lanka's 1987-1990 Marxist insurrection, which the
government
put down violently. In 1970 he became Sri Lanka's youngest MP. A lawyer by
training,
he comes from a long line of politicians from the southern district of Hambantota.
He won his first term as president in 2005, when Sri Lanka was in the middle of
a tenuous ceasefire agreement with the Tamil Tiger separatists. After fruitless
peace talks he turned to his brother Gotabaya Rajapaksa, a retired infantry officer
then serving as the defence secretary, to draw up a plan to defeat the Tigers
once and for all. His reputation has been seriously tainted by allegations that
the Sri Lankan committed war crimes during last year's military campaign against
the Tamil rebels. At the time, he dismissed international criticism and calls
for a last-minute ceasefire, which gave the military time to finish the war. Despite
promises to protect journalists and freedom of speech, at least one prominent
journalist was murdered and dozens have been beaten, arrested or forced to flee
the country. Watchdog Reporters Without Borders says Sri Lanka is one of the most
dangerous countries in the world for journalists. (2)Former army commander General
Sarath Fonseka General (retired) Fonseka, 59, is a career military officer who
joined the army in 1970 and served as army commander from 2005-2009. He led
last
year's victorious military campaign to crush the Tamil Tigers, with a mix of outright
firepower and counter-insurgency tactics using special forces "deep penetration"
units to attack the Tigers. After the war, General Fonseka became the first and
only serving officer to be promoted to the rank of four-star general. He was later
appointed the country's first chief of defence staff, but he quit in November,
complaining that the job was designed to sideline him. He also complained that
Rajapaksa wrongly suspected him of a coup plot and was taking too much credit
for last year's victory. A member of the Sinhalese ethnic majority, he has been
quoted as saying Tamils should not demand "undue things" since Sri Lanka belongs
to the Sinhalese, a quote he later said was taken out of context. He has pledged
to abolish the powerful executive presidency and return power to parliament in
six months, and to curb corruption. But according to The Guardian, few, including
the motley coalition of political parties backing him expect him to give up any
power. Fonseka holds a US "green card", which entitles him to permanent resident
status in America, but that status could be in jeopardy, given the allegations
of war crimes. |
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