MS reveals how Mahinda thwarted powerful nation’s bid to save Prabhakaran

By Saman Indrajith

A powerful Western country had been bent on saving Velupillai Prabhakaran during the last stage of the war in the guise of sending a ship to evacuate civilians used by the LTTE as human shield, but the then President Mahinda Rajapaksa had prevented it, former Minister Mahinda Samarasinghe revealed in Parliament yesterday.

 Opening the third reading stage debate on budget 2021 from government ranks, parliamentarian Samarasinghe said that the former President had not been swayed by international presure and safeguarded the national interest. “When I was the Minister of Disaster Management and Human Rights I was summoned to Temple Trees for an urgent meeting as there would be a foreign delegation led by an Ambassador of the most powerful country then. I would not reveal the country’s name. The conclusion of the war was only days away. The then Defence Secretary Gotabaya Rajapaksa and Minister Basil Rajapaksa too were there. The meeting had been sought by the Ambassador’s country so the President asked what they needed. The Ambassador said many civilians were trapped in a small strip of land and the LTTE was using them as shields and if they could evacuate those civilians by ship if the President granted permission. The ambassador said that one of the ships belonging to their country was nearby and sought only the permission of the President to enter Sri Lankan waters. President Rajapaksa told the Ambassador that another powerful country in the region had also made the same request. Since the first country had not been given permission, he needed to discuss the matter with them first. When I asked him about the issue, the President put his hand on my shoulder and told me that if he allowed the evacuation, the LTTE leader Prabhakaran too would get into that ship and nobody would know what would happen in the middle of the sea. If Mahinda Rajapaksa had not stood up to that country, LTTE terrorism would have continued to plague the country.

MP Samarasinghe added that former President Rajapaksa had never hesitated to make the right decision for the sake of the country and never compromised the national interest.