Sacked Sri Lanka PM stays put as crisis deepens

Sri Lanka’s sacked prime minister Ranil Wickremesinghe resisted moves to evict him from his official residence yesterday.

Mahinda Rajapakse after being sworn in as prime minister by President Maithripala Sirisena in Colombo on Friday. Picture: AFP

Sri Lanka’s sacked prime minister Ranil Wickremesinghe resisted moves to evict him from his official residence yesterday, summoning allies for a meeting as a thousand supporters stood guard.

Escalating matters last night, three people were injured when a security guard of Arjuna Ranatunga, petroleum minister in Mr Wickremesinghe’s sacked cabinet, opened fire, a police spokesman said.

When Mr Ranatunga, the former Test cricket captain, tried to enter his office at the state-run Ceylon Petroleum Corporation, his official security guard shot and injured three people, police spokesman Ruwan Gunasekera said. Police arrested the guard who opened fire, Mr Gunasekera said, adding that a probe was under way.

Mr 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 temple ahead of naming a new cabinet.

Police will seek a court order to evict Mr Wickremesinghe, 69, threatening to escalate the standoff as neighbours and Western nations asked all sides to exercise restraint and respect the constitution.

About 1000 of his supporters gathered outside the Temple Trees residence, with troops seen nearby, but there was no sign of an intervention.

Mr Wickremesinghe’s security and official cars were withdrawn by President Maithripala Sirisena on Saturday, as the ousted prime minister demanded an emergency session to prove he still commanded a majority in parliament. Instead, Mr Sirisena shut parliament for nearly three weeks to forestall any challenge against his appointment of former strongman Mahinda Rajapakse as the new prime minister.

Mahinda Rajapakse, left, embraces his brother Gotabhaya. Picture: AP

Loyalists to Mr Rajapakse, whose decade-long rule was marked by allegations of rights abuses and growing authoritarianism, still control the headquarters of two state-run television channels.

All police leave was cancelled as tensions heightened in Colombo, with soldiers seen near the prime minister’s residence as well as the president’s office.

Mr Rajapakse travelled to a highly venerated Buddhist temple in the central district of Kandy to seek blessings from monks before naming a cabinet.

His aides said he was likely to name a few cabinet ministers last night and begin work today. He is yet to make a formal statement or address the nation since being elevated to the new post.

The former strongman is a controversial figure at home and abroad and presided over the crushing of a decades-long Tamil Tiger uprising.

He is seen as being closer to China than Mr 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 neighbour, we hope that democratic values and the constitutional process will be respected,” India’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Raveesh Kumar said yesterday.

The US and EU 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 Mr Rajapakse and Mr Wickremesinghe on Saturday, officials said.

Colombo-based Western diplomats met Mr Wickremesinghe for a briefing.

The suspension of parliament has made it difficult for speaker Karu Jayasuriya, who comes from Mr Wickremesinghe’s party, to announce which of the two rivals he recognises.

Many observers now expect the crisis to turn into a series of court battles. Privately run newspapers yesterday described Mr Sirisena’s move as a “constitutional coup”.

Political analyst Victor Ivan said Mr Sirisena’s action was a blatant violation of the constitution and “a capture of power through a conspiracy”.

However, Rajapakse loyalist and former foreign minister G.L. Peiris said there was nothing illegal about sacking Mr Wickremesinghe and challenged him to prove his majority when parliament returns on November 16.

The falling-out between Mr Wickremesinghe and Mr Sirisena has come to a head since the President this year backed a no-confidence motion against the man he had picked to lead the government. The two allied against Mr Rajapakse in the 2015 election, but their relationship steadily soured.

AFP