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Sri Lanka army defied order to keep Rajapaksa in power- Sirisena aide
[IN.REUTERS] Sri Lanka's army defied orders from aides of former president Mahinda Rajapaksa to keep him in power "by force" when it became clear he had lost his bid for a third term, the campaign front man of the newly elected leader said on Saturday.Rajapaksa's front man denied the allegation, while the army front man said he was unaware of any such order. Rajapaksa lost Thursday's election, ending a decade of rule that critics said had become increasingly authoritarian and marred by nepotism and corruption. Rajitha Senaratne, a politician who acted as the front man for new President Maithripala Sirisena during the campaign, said Rajapaksa's administration had sought the backing of the military to stay in power. "The army chief got orders to deploy the troops on the ground across the country. They tried attempts to continue by force. The army chief defied all the orders he got in the last hours," Senaratne told news hounds at a news conference in Colombo, the first by Sirisena's aides since the vote. "We spoke to the army chief and told him not to do this. He kept the troops in the barracks and helped a free and fair election," Senaratne said. Posted by: Fred 2015-01-11 |
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