The Tigers refused to forgive Douglas Devananda and tried to assassinate him repeatedly. He later said: "(LTTE chief Velupillai) Prabhakaran cannot kill me." Destiny proved him right.
Wickremesinghe, 76, was arrested at the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) headquarters, where he was summoned to record a statement in connection with an investigation into the alleged misuse of government funds, police said.
'There is fear that the president and prime minister are dragging their feet and won't resign.'
Prime Minister Narendra Modi congratulated Rajapaksa and said he looks forward to further deepen relations between the two nations.
'This escalation was definitely not part of Gen Z's plan. It seems now that these external forces were keenly observing the initial developments from the sidelines and jumped into the fray, taking advantage of the situation, finding that the time was suitable for such acts'
Though dubbed as the "war hero", the role of Rajapaksa in ending the conflict with the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam with the death of its supremo Velupillai Prabhakaran in 2009 is quite divisive as he stands accused of violating human rights, a charge he vehemently denies.
Anura Kumara Dissanayake was sworn in as Sri Lanka's ninth president on Monday, amid hopes that he will bolster the country's economy and eliminate corruption.
Gotabaya Rajapaksa, ousted as the president of Sri Lanka in a popular public uprising in 2022, on Thursday hinted that India was keen on his continuation despite the growing public discontent against him at the behest of certain Western powers.
'Will President Dissanayake calibrate his foreign policy taking into account India's immediate security concerns? We need to watch.'
However, with the current advisory from India's Ministry of External Affairs against traveling to Bangladesh and considering the volatile situation, the ICC is preparing contingency plans.
'If there is a push towards a Marxist oriented government it will be dangerous.' 'We have seen this in Nepal and Myanmar and it will be a concern for India if it is surrounded by countries with such political dispensations.'
With Buddhist monks joining the protests against President Gotabaya Rajapaksa and his brother Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa -- who have long counted on the support of the Buddhist clergy -- the daily demonstrations against Rajapaksa rule have taken a new turn.
A delegation from former president Maithripala Sirisena's Sri Lanka Freedom Party met him in the morning to press for their demand on the formation of the interim government.
As the protests in Colombo against Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa continued on Tuesday, elsewhere on the island -- in southwestern Rambukkana -- police opened fire at anti-government protestors, killing at least one person and injuring 13 others.
Anura Kumara Dissanayake, the leader of the Marxist Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna's (JVP) broader front National People's Power (NPP), on Sunday consolidated his lead in the Sri Lanka's presidential election.
Glimpses of the continued protests in Sri Lanka against the worsening economic conditions and the Rajapaksas.
A video is being shared on social media showing the protesters counting the currency notes that were unearthed. The recovered money was said to be handed over to the security units, the Daily Mirror newspaper reported.
Thousands of irate anti-government protesters in Sri Lanka on Saturday stormed into embattled President Rajapaksa's official residence in central Colombo's high-security Fort area after breaking the barricades, as they demanded his resignation over the island nation's worst economic crisis in recent memory.
As the economic situation worsens in Sri Lanka with each passing day, Saturday saw the angriest protests against the Rajapaksas's government in Colombo.
A nationwide strike, April 28, 2022, demanded the resignation of Sri Lanka President Gotabaya Rajapaksa and his cabinet, amid the country's economic crisis.
MEA xpokesperson Arindam Bagchi said India continues to closely follow the developments in Sri Lanka and that it is aware of the many challenges that the country and its people have been facing.
Uttam Ghosh offers his take on Gota's flight in the middle of the night.
Rajapaksa's decision was to ensure public security and maintain essential services so as to ensure a smooth functioning of the country, the presidential media division said.
Thousands of demonstrators have hit the streets since April 9, as the government ran out of money for vital imports; prices of essential commodities have skyrocketed and there are acute shortages in fuel, medicines and electricity supply.
There have been reports that the Rajapaksa brothers, which dominates the current Sri Lankan government, are not on the same page. Gota, it is said, is not on the same wave length as his elder brother, Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa, the former president, or Finance Minister Basil Rajapaksa, who is seen to be the family's strategist.
'We have to keep a watch because India-Sri Lanka has a history that whenever there has been a change in government, either the connectivity projects have been questioned or cancelled or revived.'
Swamy, a close friend of the Rajapaksa family, also met with Gotabaya's brother Mahinda Rajapaksa on Wednesday evening and attended the Navratri pooja at his residence.
Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, who is under pressure to resign, was dealt a further blow on Wednesday when three more parliamentarians withdrew their support to the government.
The protests seem unlikely to end until the people's anger and grievances with the leaders who have brought Sri Lanka to economic ruin are redressed.
In recent months people have been blocking roads across the country in a desperate bid to force the government to address the issue of acute gas shortages.
"President of Sri Lanka Gotabaya Rajapaksa is still in the country, I made a mistake in the (BBC) interview," Speaker Abeywardena told ANI in a telephone call.
'The Indian government is better prepared this time and has reached out to all contenders and not putting all eggs in one basket.'
Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa became the only member of the family to retain a cabinet position in his younger brother Gotabaya Rajapaksa's new cabinet of 17 ministers appointed on Monday, as the island nation was facing the worst economic crisis.
After Gotabaya Rajapaksa e-mailed his promised letter of resignation as Sri Lanka's president shortly after arriving in Singapore, Sri Lankans celebrated on the streets of Colombo late on Thursday, July 14, 2022, night.
"No petrol, no gas, no milk powder, no electricity", "Go home Gota", placard carrying protestors were then seen walking towards the Rajapaksa private residence in Colombo at Pangiriwatte Lane.
Only 68 MPs voted in favour of the motion, it said, giving the 72-year-old President a comfortable victory.
"The High Commission categorically denies baseless and speculative media reports that India facilitated the recent reported travel of @gotabayar @Realbrajapaksa out of Sri Lanka," the High Commission of India in Sri Lanka tweeted.
A unique protest has been launched by protestors in Sri Lanka with underwear placed on the temporary metal barriers erected to block protesters at the main entrance to the island's parliament.
Sri Lanka's embattled President Gotabaya Rajapaksa would resign on Wednesday, Parliament Speaker Mahinda Yapa Abeywardena announced late on Saturday night, hours after thousands of protesters stormed the former's official residence, blaming his government for an unprecedented economic crisis that has brought the country to its knees.
Sri Lankan police on Monday came under pressure to arrest the Rajapaksa family loyalists involved in attacks on peaceful protesters last week, even as it arrested over 200 people on various charges following the violence that left nine people dead.
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