{"id":137007,"date":"2015-01-14T14:51:25","date_gmt":"2015-01-14T09:21:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/?p=137007"},"modified":"2015-01-20T19:41:38","modified_gmt":"2015-01-20T14:11:38","slug":"ive-received-death-threats-allegations-against-me-are-baseless-namal","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/ive-received-death-threats-allegations-against-me-are-baseless-namal\/","title":{"rendered":"I&#8217;ve Received Death Threats, Allegations Against Me Are Baseless: Namal"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/?s=Namal+Rajapaksa&amp;x=9&amp;y=5\"><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Namal Rajapaksa<\/span><\/a> has issued a statement in response to the allegations that are being leveled against him by the common Opposition, stating they \u2018have no basis\u2019.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/12\/Namal-and-Mahinda.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-135225\" src=\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/12\/Namal-and-Mahinda-225x300.jpg\" alt=\"Namal and Mahinda\" width=\"225\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/12\/Namal-and-Mahinda-225x300.jpg 225w, https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/12\/Namal-and-Mahinda.jpg 600w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 225px) 100vw, 225px\" \/><\/a>Member party of the common Opposition movement, Jathika Hela Urumaya (JHU) during a press conference earlier this week charged the former President\u2019s son with various <a href=\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/rajapaksa-princes-crimes-to-be-exposed-including-rape-of-young-girls\/\"><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">allegations including rape and sexual harassment<\/span><\/a> of young girls.<\/p>\n<p>While claiming the accusations are baseless in a blog post that he tweeted off his official Twitter handle (@RajapaksaNamal) this morning, he has said that he is more saddened than being angry.<\/p>\n<p>He has gone on to state that although they never claimed to be \u2018perfect\u2019 they have always had the \u2018best interests of the country and Sri Lankan people in mind. . .\u2019<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThis is true not only of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/?s=Mahinda+Rajapaksa&amp;x=5&amp;y=4\"><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Mahinda Rajapaksa<\/span><\/a> but of us as his children as well. We were brought up to take responsibility for our actions. As such, if I have done any wrong, I am fully prepared to face the consequences,\u201d he has noted.<\/p>\n<p>In his blog post, he has also expressed concern over harassment of Rajapaksa supporters, stating it is okay to \u2018come after him\u2019 but not those who supported his father as they have not broken any law.<\/p>\n<p>He has also appealed to the new President to safeguard his supporters and take action against those carrying out the harassment.<\/p>\n<p>Meanwhile, local media reported that he has lodged a complaint with the Tangalle Police last evening about death threats that he has been receiving via phone calls, demanding his resignation from politics.<\/p>\n<p>We publish below the statement in full;<\/p>\n<p><strong>BASELESS ALLEGATIONS<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Dear supporters and friends,<\/p>\n<p>As you may have already heard, certain individuals are coming after me with a vengeance, trying to implicate me in a number of alleged wrongdoings. We expected this. Those who are older than I am will remember well that this is the usual fate that members of the SLFP must suffer whenever we lose elections. It has happened in the past, and the same is happening this time also.<\/p>\n<p>I want to tell all my supporters that these allegations have no basis. More than being angered, I am saddened. While we never claimed to be perfect, we always had the best interest of the country and the Sri Lankan people in mind. This is true not only of Mahinda Rajapaksa but of us as his children as well. We were brought up to take responsibility for our actions. As such, if I have done any wrong, I am fully prepared to face the consequences. However, I am certain of my innocence with regard to the outrageous allegations that have been put forth against me.<\/p>\n<p>As a politician, coming after me is OK because I have the strength and support system to face it. But unfortunately, I\u2019m not the only one. Many of our strong supporters \u2013 ordinary citizens \u2013 from around the country have also undergone various types of harassment. Most of these individuals didn\u2019t break the law \u2013 they only supported Mahinda Rajapaksa, and they are being punished for that choice.<\/p>\n<p>I appeal to the new President to take measures to safeguard our supporters around the country and to take action against those who are carrying out this harassment. I hope he will remember that these supporters of Mahinda Rajapaksa were once strong supporters of his as well, so please ensure their safety.<\/p>\n<p>We welcome the new government\u2019s initiatives of \u201cgood governance,\u201d but we make a strong appeal not to allow certain individuals misuse this initiative to fulfill personal vendettas under the guise of \u201cgood governance.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p> [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":22,"featured_media":135225,"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-137007","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 v26.3 - 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