She said she decided to place the country before her party at this moment.

In a lengthy statement issued to the media, she said a silent revolution took place on January 8 in the country, and it was a victory for the establishment of democracy. Identifying herself as someone who contributed to it, she said it was her duty to explain her standpoint at this moment.

She said, “Patriotic citizens who respect freedom and democracy rose against the cruel suppression of the Rajapaksa regime in a harmless struggle. It enabled them to unseat the suppressive regime with the use of ballots. Mr. Rajapaksa participated in this election exploiting state resources and the armed forces,”

She accused Mr. Rajapaksa of spreading racism and using the religion for political ends.

Asserting that Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) is a party founded on valued democratic principles, she said the party had stood for the formation of people friendly governments.

Ms. Kumaratunga noted that she decided, at this juncture, to pay attention to requests by political party leaders and civil society movements.

“A majority wanted to bring about a change under me. Yet, I did not intend to stay in politics continuously. It is a disgraceful act for anyone to retain politics after serving in the highest echelons. Unfortunately, the person defeated was taking time to scuttle political reforms,” she said.

(dailymirror.lk)