Sri Lanka’s sacked prime minister Ranil Wickremesinghe yesterday resisted moves to evict him from his official residence, summoning allies for a crisis meeting as supporters stood guard.
Wickremesinghe, who says his shock dismissal on Friday was illegal, ignored a deadline to vacate the colonial-era residence, even as his successor sought blessings at a prominent temple ahead of naming a new Cabinet.
Officials said police would seek a court order to evict Wickremesinghe, 69, threatening to escalate the standoff as other nations asked all sides to exercise restraint and respect the constitution.
Photo: AFP
About 1,000 of his supporters gathered outside the Temple Trees residence, with troops nearby, but there was no sign of an intervention into the dispute.
Wickremesinghe’s security and official cars on Saturday were withdrawn by Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena as the ousted prime minister demanded an emergency session to prove he still commanded a majority in parliament.
Instead, Sirisena shut parliament for nearly three weeks to forestall any challenge against his appointment of Mahinda Rajapaksa as the new prime minister.
Loyalists to Rajapaksa, whose decade-long rule was marked by allegations of rights abuses, still controlled the headquarters of two state-run television channels.
All police leave was canceled as tensions heightened in Colombo, with soldiers seen near the prime minister’s residence as well as the president’s office.
Meanwhile, Rajapaksa traveled to a highly venerated Buddhist temple in the central district of Kandy to seek blessings from monks before naming a Cabinet.
Rajapaksa’s aides said he was likely to begin work today.
He was yet to make a formal statement or address the nation since being elevated to the new post.
Rajapaksa presided over the crushing of a decades-long Tamil Tiger uprising.
He is seen as being closer to China than Wickremesinghe, who had sought to re-establish stronger ties with traditional ally and regional power India.
India said it was “closely following” events in Colombo.
“As a democracy and a close friendly neighbor, we hope that democratic values and the constitutional process will be respected,” Indian Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesman Raveesh Kumar said.
The US and EU ambassadors in Colombo called on the Sri Lankan rivals to follow the constitution and avoid violence.
China’s ambassador to Colombo met separately with Rajapaksa and Wickremesinghe on Saturday, officials said.
Colombo-based Western diplomats met with Wickremesinghe for a briefing on the sacking.
The suspension of parliament has made it difficult for speaker Karu Jayasuriya, who comes from Wickremesinghe’s party, to announce which of the two rivals he recognizes.
Privately run newspapers described Sirisena’s move as a “constitutional coup.”
Political commentator Victor Ivan said Sirisena’s action was a blatant violation of the constitution and “a capture of power through a conspiracy.”
However, Rajapaksa loyalist and former Sri Lankan minister of foreign affairs G.L. Peiris said there was nothing illegal about sacking Wickremesinghe and challenged him to prove his majority when parliament returns on Nov. 16.
The falling out between Wickremesinghe and Sirisena has come to a head since the president this year backed a no-confidence motion against the man he had handpicked to lead the government.
The two allied against Rajapaksa in the 2015 election, but their relationship steadily soured.
Sirisena initially said he would be a one-term president, but has since indicated he will seek re-election next year, pitting himself against Wickremesinghe.
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