Education Minister Akila Viraj Kariyawasam says that the people living in Hambantota did not ask for an airport where planes don’t land or a harbour where ships don’t dock.

They only asked for stable employment and water during droughts, he said addressing a UNP press conference in Colombo today (5).

He said that the development of Hambantota is making the dreams of the Rajapaksas come true and that they had obtained massive loans for this purpose. 

Kariyawasam claimed that the former President decided to suddenly hold presidential elections because the time was up to pay back those loans and that had Rajapaksa won, the masses would have had to pay off the debt.

“As a government we decided to find a solution to this. We don’t like to burden the public.” He said that the government did not write off the Hambantota Port to the Chinese company as free hold land and that a decision was taken to reach a tax agreement.

The minister said that the benefit of this is that the Hambantota Port will see plenty of ships and that the Mattala airport will be filled with aircraft. 

Kariyawasam said that the Rajapaksas are afraid that if this happens they will lose their bastion and that the people of Hambantota will no longer need them. 

He alleged that the Rajapaksas not only wrote off the land to the Chinese they also wrote off the air space.