Giant posters of acting prime minister Mahinda Rajapaksa are seen in his home town on November 14, 2018 in Tangalle, Sri Lanka. (Paula Bronstein/Getty Images)
Sri Lanka’s newly appointed prime minister, Mahinda Rajapaksa, gestures during a ceremony to assume duties at the prime minister’s office in Colombo on Oct. 29. (Ishara S. Kodikara/AFP/Getty Images)
Sri Lanka army soldiers take up position in the north-eastern region of Weli Oya on March 27, 2008. Sri Lanka has launched a probe into a mystery poster campaign that is asking would-be Tamil Tiger suicide bombers to turn themselves in to government hands in return for cash. Tens of thousands have died since the LTTE launched an armed struggle in 1972, to carve out a separate homeland for minority Tamils from the majority Sinhalese community in the island's north and east. The Tigers are fighting for an independent homeland for minority Tamils from the majority Sinhalese community in the island's north and east. AFP PHOTO/STR (Photo credit should read STR/AFP/Getty Images)