Former Sri Lankan strongman’s brother to run for president
COLOMBO, Sri Lanka (AP) — Nandasena Gotabaya Rajapaksa, who was a livewire in Sri Lanka’s military campaign to end a long civil war but faces allegations of human rights violations, was nominated Sunday as the opposition’s candidate for the presidential election scheduled for later this year.
Gotabaya, a brother of former strongman President Mahinda Rajapaksa, was a powerful defense bureaucrat under his brother’s government, which defeated the Tamil Tiger rebels’ 26-year insurgency in 2009.