Former President Mahinda Rajapaksa today rejected allegations that the decision to sell the Hambantota Port was first made during his government in 2014 and asserted that while he was in power they only took back what was already sold.
“We never decided to sell anything during our time. I took back what had been sold. I can list all that we got back,” he told reporters after attending the Avurudu celebrations of the Carlton Preschool in Maligawatta.
He stated that what his government wanted was establishing a company for the port and split the shares with the foreign investor while holding on to the administration side of the port.
“We wanted to create a company and give its shares to both parties and keep the administration with the government. The administration was always with us.”
Responding to a question regarding bringing international courts to Sri Lanka, he stated that there is no need for an international court as the judiciary here is more than enough for the government to “get what it wants”.
