Former president and parliamentary candidate Mahinda Rajapaksa vowed to protect Sri Lanka's unity and to not leave any room for separatist notions.
Speaking at an event marking the signing of an agreement with 61 Sinhala civil society organisations, Rajapaksa said the unitary character of the state would be compromised under a UNP government.
“As he pledged, Mr. Wickremesinghe will create a new country without the North and East in it. With the proposals of the TNA for a federal state, we are certain he would accomplish creating a new country. We are concerned that we might not be able to regain the country if this happened,” he said.
The agreement with the Buddhist grouping called Jathika Ekamuthuwa was based on five conditions, including measures to "protect Buddhist heritage", and “rectifying of false amendments of the 19th amendment to the constitution".
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