Sri Lanka’s president said yesterday his re-election was a perfect response to those who had criticized his handling of the war against Tamil rebels, even as his defeated rival rejected the result.
Mahinda Rajapakse swept back into a second term after results from Tuesday’s bitterly fought election gave him 57.9 percent of the popular vote, trouncing the challenge from his former army chief, Sarath Fonseka, who got 40.1 percent.
The 64-year-old president took a swipe at those “in Sri Lanka and abroad” who had condemned his handling of the final military offensive against Tamil Tiger rebels that ended the island’s decades-old civil war in May.
PHOTO: AFP
“The overwhelming mandate given in this election has given the answer to these critics,” he said in a statement. “The people of Sri Lanka, democratically and very clearly, have shown that they are now free of threats, free of fear, free of terrorism — and they have shown they support the measures which have freed them.”
The EU and the US have led calls for an investigation into possible war crimes arising from the final stages of the fighting, when the UN says 7,000 civilians were killed.
The Sri Lankan government and military have vehemently denied charges of indiscriminate heavy shelling of civilian areas, as well as extra-judicial killings.
The US said it was withholding judgment on the election, which was followed by a day of high drama with Fonseka spending much of Wednesday holed up in a luxury hotel in central Colombo surrounded by armed troops.
“We’re obviously aware that there have been claims of victory and counterclaims,” US State Department spokesman Philip Crowley told reporters, ruling out further comment for now.
UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon voiced relief that the presidential polls had been “relatively peaceful” despite some election-day bombings, and urged the opposing forces to abide by the official results.
“I truly hope that all sides will see the wisdom of acting with restraint and responsibility in the interest of the nation. This would bode well for future elections and national harmony,” he said.
Sri Lanka increasingly distanced itself from the West as it came under fire for its human rights record. It has built ties with China and Iran and last year hosted Myanmar’s reclusive military leader Than Shwe.
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