Sri Lanka crisis deepens as speaker recognises sacked PM

The speaker of Sri Lanka‘s parliament has recognised Ranil Wickremesinghe as the country’s lawful prime minister, three days after his sudden sacking by the president threw the Indian Ocean island into constitutional chaos. 

In a letter to President Maithriapala Sirisena on Sunday, Speaker Karu Jayasuriya asked him to protect “rights and privileges” of Wickremesinghe until another politician could demonstrate he or she has the parliament’s confidence.

Jayasuriya, a member of Wickeremesinghe’s United National Party (UNP), also urged Sirisena to reconsider his decision on Saturday to suspend parliament until November 16. He described the suspension as

The suspension has “serious and undesirable consequences” for Sri Lanka, he added.

Sirisena sacked Wickeremesinghe after pulling his United People’s Freedom Alliance on Friday, and replaced the three-time prime minister with Mahinda Rajapaksa, a former president accused of human rights abuses and corruption, in a move critics labelled an “anti-democratic coup”.

Wickeremesinghe,69, insisted his sacking was unconstitutional and has called for an emergency parliament sitting to prove he still commanded a majority in parliament.

He has resisted moves to evict him from his official residence, defiantly summoning allies for a crisis meeting as thousands of his supporters, including Buddhist monks, amassed outside the colonial-era residence in Sri Lanka’s capital, Colombo. 

His opponents said they will ask the police to seek a court order to evict Wickremesinghe, threatening to escalate the standoff as neighbours and Western nations asked all sides to exercise restraint and respect the constitution.

Sirisena withdrew Wickremesinghe’s security detail and officials cars on Saturday.

The police chief has cancelled all police leave and increased mobile patrols across the country. Journalists at state-run media have alleged intimidation from Rajapaksa’s supporters, and the AFP news agency said loyalists of the former president now control the headquarters of two state-run television channels.

Privately-run newspapers on Sunday described Sirisena’s move as a “constitutional coup”.

Elsewhere Rajapakse travelled to a highly venerated temple in the central district of Kandy to seek blessings from monks ahead of naming a new cabinet.

India said it was “closely following” events in Colombo.

“As a democracy and a close friendly neighbour, we hope that democratic values and the constitutional process will be respected,” India’s foreign ministry spokesman Raveesh Kumar said Sunday.

The United States and European Union ambassadors in Colombo have called on the Sri Lankan rivals to follow the constitution and avoid violence.  

China’s ambassador to Colombo met separately with Rajapakse and Wickremesinghe on Saturday, officials said. Colombo-based Western diplomats also met with Wickremesinghe for a briefing on the sacking.

Rathindra Kuruwita contributed to this report from Colombo.

SOURCE:
Al Jazeera and news agencies