WORRYING SIMILARITIES

This refers to the editorial, ‘Absolute fiasco’. Rajapaksa was elected democratically by a huge mandate on the image of a strong leader. After he won, the minorities in Sri Lanka like the Tamils and Muslims were targeted as those responsible for all what was wrong in the nation. The Sinhalese majority readily accepted this narrative. Even though the nation was slipping into an economic mess, the leader kept on pushing forth his schemes like organic farming. The Sinhalese were his biggest supporters but have now turned into his worst enemies baying for his blood. The parallels are too close for comfort. — ANTHONY HENRIQUES, MUMBAI via email