The leader of 43rd Brigade, Patali Champika Ranawaka, MP, says he will immediately halt militarisation in Sri Lanka if he becomes the head of state.
However, he says he has no regrets about supporting the Mahinda Rajapaksa presidency in 2005. In his opinion, it was the need of the hour to defeat terrorism.
The Samagi Jana Balawegaya parliamentarian made these remarks while speaking with Saroj Pathirana for 'Sandeshaya by Saroj' YouTube channel.
Ranawaka, who held cabinet portfolios during Mahinda Rajapaksa and Maithripala Sirisena tenures, says the island nation doesn't need a 300,000 strong army personnel as the country is no longer at war.
Urging all concerned to "forget" wounds of the decades long civil war, he says it is practically impossible in Sri Lanka to punish anybody for war crimes.
However, the '43rd Brigade' would support the abolition of the executive presidency, says Patali Champika Ranawaka, only if the previous election system re-introduced.
