But Tuesday’s rallies turned out be almost entirely about political messaging by leaders to their electorates, preoccupying observers with which leader’s rally drew the largest crowd. Much of this was centred on the rally organised by the Joint Opposition, a faction of the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) that supports former President Mahinda Rajapaksa, at Galle Face, Colombo’s iconic seafront. Mr. Rajapaksa, on the other hand, resolved to protect Sri Lanka, especially from foreigners whom he accused of taking over the people’s land. His supporter and parliamentarian Wimal Weerawansa even called for a black flag protest to oppose Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s upcoming visit, because “they [the Sri Lankan government] are trying to sell Sri Lanka to India”. “Also, the nationalists see this government as having made Sri Lanka a playground for geopolitics of countries like India and China.”Victor Ivan, former editor of Sinhala newspaper Ravaya, however, did not think much of the crowd.

Source: The Hindu May 02, 2017 16:18 UTC