PENANG deputy chief minister II Dr P. Ramasamy has criticised the Singapore Government for providing a social visit pass to former Sri Lankan president Gotabaya Rajapaksa who fled his home country after protesters overran his palace on the weekend as the country grapples with a dire economic crisis.
The Perai assemblyperson was responding to news that Rajapaksa, his wife and their two bodyguards flew to Singapore’s Changi Airport from the Maldives where he had made a brief stop after leaving Sri Lanka on Wednesday (July 13) aboard a military aircraft.
Singapore’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs confirmed in a statement that Rajapaksa has been allowed entry into Singapore for a private visit. It said he has not asked for asylum and neither has he been granted asylum.
“The infamous brothers Gotabaya and Mahinda Rajapaksa ruthlessly and mercilessly launched the civil war against the Tamils in the north and east of Sri Lanka,” Ramasamy said.
“In the name of defeating the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), more than one hundred thousand Tamil civilians including women, children and the elderly were massacred. Hundreds of women were sexually assaulted and raped by the bloodthirsty soldiers while many Tamils were abducted, never to be seen again.
“Following LTTE’s defeat no attempts were made to take responsibility for the war and for the atrocities that were committed.”
Ramasamy said that the Sri Lankan Government under Rajapaksa’s political dynasty simply defied the United Nations’ (UN) human rights agencies that called for accountability and transparency in the investigation into the violation of human rights that had occurred during the war.
Meanwhile, massive corruption by family members and relatives, heavy foreign borrowings and gross mismanagement had brought Sri Lanka to a standstill while skyrocketing prices of essential items and currency devaluation brought about the collapse of the regime.
“Former Singapore prime minister and later minister mentor Lee Kuan Yew used to deplore the unhealthy racial situation in Sri Lanka,” Ramasamy recalled.
“He used to warn countries in Southeast Asia to avoid the disastrous path of Sri Lanka. If he had been alive, he would not have allowed Rajapaksa to seek a social visit or an asylum in Singapore.
“Leaders in Singapore who came after Lee might not understand the grave consequences of allowing the perpetrator of genocide against Tamils to enter into Singapore, even for a short stay.”
Calling Rajapaksa a “butcher” who was responsible for the massacre of innocent Tamil civilians in the last stage of the civil war, Ramasamy insisted that the Singapore Government should not have allowed him to stay in Singapore.
“I will be personally leading a delegation to the Singapore High Commission in Kuala Lumpur early next week to present a memorandum as to why Rajapaksa should not be allowed to stay in Singapore,” he said.
“Singapore has a good reputation in safeguarding the rights of all citizens irrespective of their ethnicity or religion and the vibrant country should not be tarnished by allowing the war criminal to stay – even briefly – in the republic.”
According to Sri Lankan security sources, Rajapaksa is expected to stay in the city-state for some time before potentially moving to the UAE. – July 15, 2022
