Colombo, Jan 24 (PTI) Sri Lanka’s former president Mahinda Rajapaksa has filed a petition in the Supreme Court, seeking its intervention to reinstate his security, which was significantly reduced by the government last month.
The government had slashed Rajapaksa’s security detail from over 350 personnel to just 60. In his fundamental rights application, the 80-year-old former president states that his life is under threat due to his role in ending the three-decade-long armed campaign by the LTTE (Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam) for a separate Tamil homeland.
He has named Prime Minister Harini Amarasuriya, the Cabinet, and the defence establishment as respondents in the case.
Rajapaksa served as the President of Sri Lanka from 2005 to 2015. The LTTE, which led a separatist war for a separate Tamil homeland, was crushed by the Lankan military in 2009 with the death of its supremo Velupillai Prabhakaran. The government has also initiated steps to evict Rajapaksa from his official residence, citing its policy of reducing public expenditure and curbing the privileges of former presidents.
While the government insists the measures are part of broader cost-cutting efforts, the opposition has criticised the actions as politically motivated, arguing that former presidents are legally entitled to certain privileges. PTI CORR SCY SCY
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