{"id":111337,"date":"2013-10-24T00:20:53","date_gmt":"2013-10-23T18:50:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/?p=111337"},"modified":"2013-10-31T10:49:48","modified_gmt":"2013-10-31T05:19:48","slug":"mahinda-rajapaksa-was-strongly-opposed-to-casinos-as-mp","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/mahinda-rajapaksa-was-strongly-opposed-to-casinos-as-mp\/","title":{"rendered":"Mahinda Rajapaksa Was Strongly Opposed To Casinos As MP"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>President <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/?s=Mahinda+Rajapaksa&amp;x=12&amp;y=2\">Mahinda Rajapaksa<\/a><\/span> was vehemently opposed to <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/?s=casinos&amp;x=9&amp;y=5\">casinos<\/a><\/span> and gaming centres as a Parliamentarian, believing they would make Sri Lanka a hub for prostitution, homosexuality and even AIDS.<\/p>\n<p>In a speech made in August 1993, SLFP MP Mahinda Rajapaksa said casino kings fleeced the public making millions and transforming their black money into dollars.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIn the recent past casinos have become entertainment. Joschim was able to appear in photos with high profile politicians. People like Joschim worked to bring casinos and prostitutes from Thailand to Sri Lanka as a business,\u201d Rajapaksa said, referring to a gaming mogul in Sri Lanka in the 90s.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt is under these circumstances that prostitution, homosexuality and AIDS can come to this country,\u201d he is reported to have said.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/mahinda-rajapaksa-was-strongly-opposed-to-casinos-as-mp\/mahinda-11\/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-111363\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-111363 lazyload\" title=\"Mahinda\" data-src=\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/10\/Mahinda-.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"620\" height=\"392\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/10\/Mahinda-.jpg 620w, https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/10\/Mahinda--300x189.jpg 300w\" data-sizes=\"(max-width: 620px) 100vw, 620px\" src=\"data:image\/svg+xml;base64,PHN2ZyB3aWR0aD0iMSIgaGVpZ2h0PSIxIiB4bWxucz0iaHR0cDovL3d3dy53My5vcmcvMjAwMC9zdmciPjwvc3ZnPg==\" style=\"--smush-placeholder-width: 620px; --smush-placeholder-aspect-ratio: 620\/392;\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><em>*Picture courtesy Our Feelings Facebook page<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p> [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":22,"featured_media":111363,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3,1,6969,2375],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-111337","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-colombotelegraph","category-news","category-popular-stories","category-stories"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v28.2 - 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