The United National Party (UNP) has issued an official statement praising former Sri Lankan President Ranil Wickremesinghe following his disastrous interview on Al Jazeera’s Head to Head, while launching an attack on host Mehdi Hasan for what they described as "deplorable conduct".
The interview, which aired on 6 March 2025, saw Wickremesinghe repeatedly pressed on his failure to ensure accountability for war crimes, his decision to reappoint sanctioned war criminal Shavendra Silva, and his refusal to answer questions on the thousands of forcibly disappeared Tamils. Wickremesinghe’s defensive and evasive responses left many viewers stunned, with even members of the expert panel expressing their disbelief.
However, in its statement, the UNP instead praised Wickremesinghe for his “stellar performance”, describing his responses as a "showcase of leadership" and accusing Hasan of conducting a "calculated attempt to drown out our leader’s voice".
“Facing a barrage of questions, Ranil exemplified the statesmanship and intellectual rigour that have defined his decades-long career," the UNP said. "His articulate defence of his record—spanning economic stabilisation, constitutional reforms, and navigating Sri Lanka through unprecedented crises—demonstrated why he remains a pivotal figure in our nation’s political landscape.”
Despite the UNP’s claims of “intellectual rigour,” Wickremesinghe refused to engage meaningfully on war crimes and accountability, abruptly responding with “no contest” when pressed on war crimes committed by Sri Lankan forces. When questioned on how many forcibly disappeared Tamils had been accounted for, he once again repeated “no contest,” as members of the audience shook their heads in disbelief.
Hasan called his refusal to answer “childish”, to which Wickremesinghe bizarrely responded, “If I am childish, Gandhi is also childish. I am only doing what Gandhi did.”
The UNP focused its response on attacking Hasan, accusing him of “relentless interruptions and refusal to allow Ranil to complete his answers.”
“This was not an interview but a calculated attempt to drown out our leader’s voice, depriving viewers of the opportunity to engage with his insights,” the UNP’s statement continued.
UNP Chairman Vajira Abeywardena also weighed in, attempting to frame Wickremesinghe’s poor performance as an act of defiance against foreign pressure.
"Every Sri Lankan should be proud of how Ranil Wickremesinghe successfully faced the Al Jazeera interview without yielding to foreign powers," UNP Chairman Vajira Abeywardena said. pic.twitter.com/k4skC9yRPe
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"Every Sri Lankan should be proud of how Ranil Wickremesinghe successfully faced the Al Jazeera interview without yielding to foreign powers," Abeywardena declared.
The UNP’s reaction comes as the current Sri Lankan government said it would launch a fresh inquiry into allegations against former president Ranil Wickremesinghe, including his alleged role in the Batalanda torture camp, the Central Bank bond scam, and the Easter Sunday attacks.