On Thursday 19th December, Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa announced that Sri Lanka’s civil aviation authority will develop the southern airport in Mattala, near the strategically located Hambantota port. Whilst he has effectively ruled out all earlier proposals of a joint venture with India, he has invited Indian companies, especially in the IT sector, to invest in Sri Lanka. He said,
“There is no discussion with India on this project. There is a lot of worry about Chinese involvement in this region... the best thing is for other countries like India, Singapore, Japan, Australia, and ASEAN countries to invest here... that is how you can counter, just complaining won’t do.”
The President also alleged that the kidnapping of a Swiss Embassy staffer had been concocted to discredit his election victory. Rajapaksa, who was elected president last month said that he was the real “victim” of the saga. This had earlier triggered a diplomatic spat between Colombo and Bern.
A Sri Lankan national working for the Swiss mission in Colombo was arrested for allegedly falsely claiming she had been abducted and sexually assaulted by unidentified attackers on Nov. 25. The alleged abduction happened a day after a Sri Lankan police inspector investigating cases involving the Rajapaksa family sought asylum in Switzerland. He said,
“In this case, the victim is me because immediately after my election, this story came up.
“It is very clear it is a planned thing to discredit me and the government.”
Rajapaksa said he did not believe the Swiss Embassy itself had any role in making the allegations, and insisted he did not want anyone to create tensions between the two countries.
Switzerland on Monday criticized the embassy worker’s arrest and “lack of due process in the case,” and asked for evidence that she had faked her claims.
Swiss Foreign Minister Ignazio Cassis also spoke to his Sri Lankan counterpart, Dinesh Gunawardena, about the case. Cassis informed Gunawardena that Bern had sent an experienced diplomat, Jorg Frieden, to oversee the efforts to clarify the facts and resolve the situation, the foreign ministry said in a statement.
Rajapaksa also said that he would dissolve Parliament early March, signalling the likely conduct of general elections in late April.
