Ahimsa Wickremetunge's appeal to the public

COLOMBO (News 1st):- Ahimsa Wickrematunge, the daughter of late veteran journalist Lasantha Wickremetunge has issued a public appeal to the people of Sri Lanka, ahead of the upcoming Presidential election. In her appeal, Ahimsa stated that she sees this election not as a simple choice between democracy or dictatorship, but as a more personal one. She states that the events that shaped Sajith Premadasa into who he is today resonate strongly with her because the same experiences and challenges made her who she is. Ahimsa states that one choice for the election is a man forged in the same fires that moulded my own soul, while the alternative is a coward who celebrated her father’s murder on television. In her letter, Ahimsa claims that Gotabaya Rajapaksa never promised to investigate her father's death when evidence emerged linking the military to the murder. She writes that instead, Rajapaksa vowed to shield the perpetrators from justice adding that "only cowards meet words with bloodshed." The letter goes on to state that in her lifetime she cannot recall a challenge that Gotabaya Rajapaksa did not flee from pointing out that he has wriggled out of court cases, or used violence against those who opposed him. She also claims that Rajapaksa has avoided debating or confronting his opponent at all costs during the election campaign, adding that all his appearances have been "carefully scripted and choreographed by the media moguls whose families need him as President so they can escape their own trysts with justice." She adds "in times of adversity, he has fled to America, returning to Sri Lanka only when his family safely rolls out the red carpet." Claiming that she has never met or spoken with Sajith Premadasa, Ahimsa claims that he has been fighting his way in the political process since 2000 and was serving as the Deputy Minister of Health in 2003 when Gotabaya Rajapaksa "was renouncing Sri Lanka, pledging allegiance to the American flag and living the American dream." Ahimsa Wickremetunge states that she is terrified because if Gotabaya Rajapaksa becomes President, many brave police officers, prosecutors, witnesses, judges and journalists who have crossed his path in the line of duty will find themselves on the firing line. She warns the general public saying that "ten years ago it was her own father who died all for the sake of trying to warn an entire nation about Gotabaya's wrath but in time to come, it could even be one of our own family members." She closes her appeal to the people with these final words;

"I would feel safer under the presidency of a man who suffered horrifically at the hands of terrorists, not one who took a page out of their book and made others suffer for his own personal gain"