Former President Gotabaya Rajapaksa announced the release of a book titled “The conspiracy to oust me from the Presidency”.
He said the book reveals the political campaign to oust him from the presidency.
“I wish to announce the publication of my book titled “The conspiracy to oust me from the Presidency”. Foreign intervention has weighed heavily on Sri Lanka since we won the war against the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam in 2009. From the time I was elected President in November 2019, certain foreign and local parties were intent on removing me from power,” he said in a statement.
Rajapaksa said that the entirety of his two and a half year tenure in power was spent combating the Covid-19 pandemic that swept through Sri Lanka and the whole world soon after he took office.
“Conspiratorial forces commenced the political campaign to oust me from the presidency at the end of March 2022 after the pandemic had been brought under control and the vaccination campaign had been concluded and just when the economy was beginning to recover,” he said.
Rajapaksa said that foreign intervention and the manipulation of internal politics has become a fact of life in Sri Lanka today in a manner never experienced in the first sixty years of independence of this country.
“The political campaign to oust me brought in a new element into the politics of Sri Lanka which has since independence experienced only peaceful transfers of power following elections,” he said.
Rajapaksa said the events of 2022 are fraught with serious implications for the future of this country.
“What this book explains is the first hand experience of an internationally sponsored regime change operation. As such I believe this book will be of interest not only to Sri Lankans but also to foreigners,” he said.
Rajaoaksa said that his book will be available in both English and Sinhala at leading book stores from Thursday the 7th of March 2024.
Gotabaya Rajapaksa was removed from power in 2022 following major street protests.