Sunday, September 6 2026
Sunday, September 6 2026
The 77-year-old politician marked the 80th anniversary of the founding of the UNP with a pledge to present a “modern party with a new face” by the end of the year.
He praised Don Alwin Rajapaksa, a founding member of the UNP who later broke away and joined Solomon West Ridgeway Dias Bandaranaike, himself also a founding member of the UNP. Both went on to form the rival Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP).
D. A. Rajapaksa’s sons – Mahinda and Gotabaya – have served as presidents, while another son, Chamal, was a former Speaker of Parliament. His grandson Namal, a former minister, is currently in remand custody over a bribery charge.
Wickremesinghe denounced Namal's arrest on Friday following allegations that he received US$800,000, part of a US$16 million bribe that Airbus Industrie had agreed to pay Sri Lankan politicians and officials over a US$2.3 billion aircraft deal in 2013 when Mahinda was president.
"I especially express our opposition to the arrest of Member of Parliament Namal Rajapaksa, the grandson of our founding member D. A. Rajapaksa, who is currently arrested and held at Welikada," Wickremesinghe said.
Notably, the 40-year-old Namal was arrested three times between 2016 and 2017 when Wickremesinghe was prime minister. In one of those cases, relating to money laundering, Namal was discharged in 2023 when Wickremesinghe was president.
Wickremesinghe said his UNP, which now holds just one seat in the 225-member legislature, would raise awareness about the service rendered to the country by its founders and would hold a convention in December.
"Based on today’s ideas, we hope to prepare a modern United National Party, shape its ideologies, and with a new face, prepare a Sri Lanka that is suitable for the 21st century," he said, adding that this would be done in December.
Wickremesinghe, who served as president for the balance of Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s term after he fled the country and resigned in July 2022 following months of street protests over corruption and economic mismanagement, accused the new government of destroying the opposition.
"They are attacking lawyers. Also, another huge problem is the campaign carried out against Buddhist monks. All of this is destroying our constitution and sovereignty," he said, without specifying the alleged campaign against the clergy.
"Just like we all united in 1946 to create a free Sri Lanka, today let's all work together to protect the sovereignty of this country," he added. (COLOMBO/Sept6/2026)
| 3 month bill | 9.22% | 22bp ▼ |
| 12-m bill | 9.91% | 10bp ▼ |
| Gold (Ounce) | $4602 | - - |
Comments
Be the first person to comment and join the debate