What is said in Kota's book?

With international assistance, former president of Sri Lanka Gotabaya Rajapakse has written a book titled "The Expulsion of Me from the Presidential Register is a Ploy," with the theme of "How Sri Lanka's Democracy was Downgraded Based on Regime Change," explaining the events that led to his removal from office.

Gotabaya Rajapaksa's book was released on Thursday, March 7, 2024. This book mentions the following plot points related to his removal from power.

Even though a small number of strong states defend democracy and the rule of law internationally, their actions are more motivated by self-interest than by a desire to uphold these ideals.

As stated in that book, Gotabaya Rajapaksa asserts that national brokers who accept invitations from countries with dictatorial regimes and developed democratic nations that serve as global role models for democracy pose a serious threat to democracy in developing nations.

I had informed Defense Secretary Kamal Gunaratne on June 8th to give military security to the Presidential Palace due to the protests getting more intense.

Even though the Presidential Palace's security was guaranteed, it proved ineffective.

He stated at the outset of the book that measures were implemented to block admission into Saithaya route in front of the Fort President's House a few days after the empty-face demonstration began, following reports from security personnel about attempts to seize the route.

Towards the end of the book,

After this had happened, two European diplomats spoke to me quite confused. Will you be evicting the demonstrators from the deserted square? They enquired. It made sense, as they stated in their speech, that the protesters wanted to stay in the empty lot.

It would take a fool to think that his removal was the result of no foreign influence. Some foreign governments were concerned about my ascension to prominence.

In 2019, I was given control of a financially fragile nation. That is, to deal with the significant decline in the economy brought on by the corona virus

The economy isn't getting better.

There is no international power that has influenced Sri Lanka's current economic turmoil. Internal Sri Lankan factors were the root source of this disaster.

The People's Liberation Front's campaign against Chetana agriculture was not opposed by the Podujana Peramuna. With their anti-farming program, they have made my government an enemy of the farming community.

There was a possibility that a political party activist might have joined the Chetana Agriculture Program if it had been founded by a politician such as Mahinda Rajapaksa while she was president. My Chetana Farmland Scheme was carried out by a few ministries and personnel. Everyone else voiced their disapproval of the project.

The violence during the protests forced a change of central government, and an opposition party member had to be chosen prime minister. I had invited Sajith Premadasa, the Leader of the Opposition, to become Prime Minister prior to that. However, he turned down my proposal, claiming he couldn't govern the nation without a majority in Parliament.

rejected.

Field Marshal Sarath Fonseka was then invited to assume the position of prime minister. However, he also declined to take the positions that were given to him.

In the meantime, I was met by a group of United People's Shakti members. Sajith Premadasa stated at the time that he would only take the prime ministership if he resigned as president.

I then extended an invitation to Ranil Wickremesinghe, the leader of the United National Party, to take the position of prime minister. He had no problem taking the role.

To bring about the change and on to the next phase, demonstrators began traveling to Colombo. No barricades were erected anywhere, despite the fact that steps were taken to obstruct the roadways in every location. As a result, the protesters had no trouble getting to the Presidential Palace.

I was advised by the Army Chiefs and the Defense Secretary to vacate the Presidential Palace on July 9th at 10.30 a.m.

The demonstrators descended to the lower level of the building and, following security instructions, entered the Presidential Palace. They then got into the vehicle and drove off, leaving two emergency travel packages inside.

At the time of all these incidences, Basil Rajapaksa was inside the Presidential Palace. We went to the neighboring naval installation through the mansion's back gate as I got into the car.

From the naval base, I watched on television as the demonstrators stormed the facility. Some had already fled as I got into the two boats that the marines had kept ready in the harbor. Subsequently, the other boat was dispatched in the opposite direction and meticulously prepared to ensure that onlookers would remain unaware of my journey.

I left Colombo Port and traveled to Trincomalee, where I spent the night at the Naval Camp before taking a helicopter to Katunayake Airport the following day. They spent the second night there, and the next night, they were flown by military aircraft to the Maldives.

Unhindered, those with planned acts of violence are inside the presidential palace.

If chances for access have emerged, there has obviously been a significant violation or breakdown of law and order.

It is difficult to respond to the question of many that such an incident occurred at the time that a person with my level of security and intelligence operations expertise was in the President's office.

To stop violence, more action was required than only the first emergency steps. The military, among other important officials, might have found it difficult to take the required action at that point, in my opinion, due to international accusations of violations of human rights.

"Sri Lanka has never seen a decline in the occasion of his resignation, even though some say he sailed alone in a sinking ship," he said in the book.