Former President Chandrika Kumaratunga has expressed grave concerns for her safety in a letter to the Public Security Ministry, citing a potential conspiracy against her reminiscent of the assassination of her husband, Vijaya Kumaratunga. In her correspondence to Secretary Ravi Seneviratne, she questioned whether recent cuts to her security detail signify a dangerous precedent, asking pointedly, “Are you trying to kill me the way my husband was killed?”
Vijaya Kumaratunga, a prominent political figure, was assassinated in 1988 during the civil conflict that engulfed the nation. His killing was attributed to the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP), a Marxist party that is currently in power and viewed him as a significant political opponent. Chandrika Kumaratunga, who served as president from 1994 to 2000, survived an assassination attempt in 2005 when a suicide bomber linked to the LTTE (Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam) targeted her, leaving her severely injured and raising alarms about her vulnerability amidst ongoing threats.
In her letter, Kumaratunga detailed her deepening concerns about her security after being informed of a directive from Senior Deputy Inspector General of Police Ajith Hesiri to reduce her security team from 50 officers to just 30. She highlighted the disparity in security provisions between her and other former presidents, noting that Mahinda Rajapaksa currently benefits from 243 security personnel, while Maithripala Sirisena and Gotabaya Rajapaksa have 109 and 200 officers, respectively.
Chandrika Kumaratunga pointed out that police intelligence reports indicated continued threats against her life, asserting that she remains the most threatened among the five former presidents. She emphasized the alarming fact that both the LTTE and other political factions had made public statements in 2006 and 2014, openly expressing intentions to assassinate her despite her retirement from politics.
In her letter, she questioned the rationale behind the significant reduction in her security detail, expressing her fear that this move could be part of a broader conspiracy to eliminate her politically. “As my husband was killed for political reasons, there is a suspicion that there is a conspiracy to kill me too,” she wrote, urging the government to reconsider the decision and ensure her protection.
