Sri Lanka: ex-strongman Rajapakse tries to return to legislative elections

In Sri Lanka, polling stations closed on Monday at 4 p.m. local time, after legislative elections placed under enhanced protection. 74,000 police and gendarmes monitored the ballot. With these elections, the country’s former strongman, Mahinda Rajapakse, president for nearly ten years until his failure in the January presidential election, is trying to return to center…

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Sri Lanka: arrest of ex-army chief and unsuccessful presidential candidate

A dramatic turn in Sri Lanka. The unsuccessful presidential candidate Sarath Fonseka was arrested on Monday by the police, on charges of “military offenses”. The authorities suspect the former head of the armed forces of wanting to instigate a coup d’état. Ally last spring to the outgoing president in the fight against the Tamil rebels,…

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