By Fazeena Saleem
DOHA: Sri Lankan expatriates in Qatar yesterday welcomed political changes in their country and said the electoral defeat of the long-time president Mahinda Rajapaksa is a positive step and will halt the excesses committed by his regime.
Facing a crucial poll on Thursday, Rajapaksa lost to a former ally, Maithripala Sirisena, who won 51.3 percent votes and was sworn in as the sixth executive president yesterday.
Sirisena quit Rajapaksa’s cabinet in November, saying Sri Lanka needed to end corruption and family rule. He was backed by a broad range of parties, including those representing ethnic and religious minorities.
Sri Lanka, with a majority of about 75 percent Sinhala Buddhists, has Tamils and Muslims as minorities.
Sri Lankan expatriates here hoped for good governance and not just because they have a new president but also because democracy has worked and there has been very few cases of poll-related violence compared to the past.
“People have voted for a change and given the responsibility to Sirisena to restore freedom, democracy, people power and rule of law for the current and future generations,” said Mohamed Hazeeb, a Sri Lankan Muslim.
“The Rajapaksa regime became increasingly authoritarian and the election was considered by the people an opportunity to end corruption,” he added.
Siva Ramakrishnan, a Sri Lankan Tamil from the northern region of the country, said, “People voted for a change and good governance. The new president has come to power with the support of the minorities and political parties; we hope it will lead to an end to the discrimination and oppression of the minorities.”
Some expatriates, however, had a different view about the defeat of Rajapaksa, especially as he was able to end the 30-year conflict with the Tamil rebels.
“Rajapaksa will be remembered for eliminating terrorism and making the country free from fear. But people decided to go for a change and elected a new president. We look forward to seeing how Sirisena will deliver what he has promised,” said George Bandula, President, Sri Lanka Coordinating Committee, Qatar.
Sri Lankans working in Gulf countries contribute at least half of the foreign exchange earnings of Sri Lanka, and are looking forward to the ‘pension scheme’ Sirisena promised in his election manifesto.
“The value of the Sri Lankan rupee has decreased, when we send money home it may look a big amount but the cost of living there is high and many of us hardly has any savings.
“Sirisena has promised a pension scheme for expatriates and I hope it will be given priority and implemented,” said Gayan Ratnayake, a Sri Lankan expatriate working here for over five years.
The Peninsula
Doha: The Emir H H Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani has sent a cable of congratulations to Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena on winning the election and wished him success.
The Deputy Emir H H Sheikh Abdullah bin Hamad Al Thani sent a similar cable to the president.
The Prime Minister and Interior Minister H E Sheikh Abdullah bin Nasser bin Khalifa Al Thani also sent a cable of congratulations to Sirisena. QNA
