Sri Lanka’s former president Mahinda Rajapaksa criticised his predecessor Chandrika Kumaratunga this week, rubbishing her claim that “75%” of the war against the LTTE had been completed under her government.
"The aristocrats can make all sorts of claims, but the people of this country know the truth,” said Mr Rajapaksa. “They are the best judges."
Ms Kumaratunga made the comments in 2014, when she questioned “How can one deny it?”
“Are our people a bunch of donkeys to believe in untruths?,” she asked. “Nearly 75 per cent of the areas controlled by Prabhakaran were liberated under my government.”
Ms Kumaratatunga, who was president of Sri Lanka from 1994 till 2005, faced extensive criticism by international human rights group for impunity and injustice over numerous incidents killings of Tamils by state forces during her long term in office. She also led a massive military offensive on Jaffna in 1995, leading to the exodus of half a million Tamil men, women and children from their homes.
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