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Political crisis in Sri Lanka: Parliament foils President Sirisena's undemocratic move

Just Earth News | @justearthnews | 15 Nov 2018

Political crisis in Sri Lanka: Parliament foils President Sirisena's undemocratic move

Colombo: An undemocratic move by Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena last month, when he fired Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe and named Mahinda Rajapaksa to the job, finally backfired with the Parliament aided by a Supreme Court order overturning the ploy by passing a no-confidence motion against the controversial appointment.

Sirisena received the first jolt for his undemocratic stance on Tuesday when the Supreme Court overturned a presidential decree dissolving the legislature.

The Parliament added further blow to his step which had made Mahinda, an ex-President of the nation, returning to power in a completely new avatar.

The victory of democracy for this round has gladdened the world community. 

This was the first time the Parliament assembled since it was dismissed by President  Maithripala Sirisena on Oct 27. 

In the Parliament, Speaker Karu Jayasuriya ruled that a majority of the 225-member assembly had supported the motion brought against the newly appointed  PM.

Wickremesinghe has urged all to unite and defend and save the constitution and democratic rights of Sri Lankans. 

According to media reports, the opposition members said the no-confidence motion, brought on Wednesday morning, meant Rajapaksa is forced to resign.

However, the move did not provide a complete breather to the sacked PM Wickremesinghe as the President still enjoyed the power to choose the next Prime Minister.

Sources told Indian daily The Economic Times that Jayasuriya could be best choice to be the next PM of Sri Lanka after Sirisenas effort to alter the politics of the island nation did not yield his desired result.

Mahinda' s allies have refused to recognise the legitimacy of the voting that took place in the Parliament.

Supreme Court gives crucial verdict:

The Supreme Court on Tuesday issued an interim order till Dec 7, staying the proclamation issued by President Maithripala Sirisena to dissolve parliament and call a snap poll.

"The three-Judge bench of the Supreme Court granted leave to proceed with the Fundamental Rights petitions which sought the court order against the President dissolving parliament," Daily Mirror reported. 

October crisis:

Last month, Sri Lanka President Maithripala Sirisena sacked Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe and appointed former president Mahinda Rajapaksa as the new premier.

He took oath as the new premier of the country on Oct 26. A former president, Rajapaksa ruled like a strongman from 2005 to 2015 and has been accused of serious human rights violations.

Sri Lanka witnessed a nearly 26-year long civil war with violent attacks on the government by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (the LTTE, also known as the Tamil Tigers), which fought to create an independent Tamil state called Tamil Eelam in the north and the east of the island.

After a protracted military campaign, the Sri Lankan military defeated the LTTE in May 2009, bringing the civil war to an end though several human rights abuses were reported soon after.

Relations between Sirisena and Wickremesinghe's political parties, who have governed in coalition since 2015, received setback since both suffered humiliating losses in February's local council elections.

According to reports, they have clashed in cabinet last week over government plans to lease a container terminal to neighbouring India. 

Mahinda Rajapaksa  joins SLPP:

Amid political crisis in Sri Lanka,  country's Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa on Sunday left the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) and joined the Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP), media reports said.

"Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa has obtained the membership of the Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP), at his official residence, Wijerama road, Colombo, a short while ago," Sri Lanka's Daily Mirror newspaper reported.

As per Colombo Gazette report,  Rajapaksa’s son Namal Rajapaksa and several other SLFP members also joined the SLPP.

The move was made ahead of the general election on Jan 5.

With the movie, Rajapaksa ended his 50-year association with Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena’s party.   

US Reaction:

Meanwhile, US Ambassador in Sri Lanka Alaina B. Teplitz on Wednesday said she was glad to see the Sri Lankan Parliament was once again fulfilling its constitutional role.

"Honored to attend reconvening of #Srilanka Parliament this morning to see #democracy in action. Very lively but glad this institution is once again fulfilling constitutional role @KaruOnline @MaithripalaS," she tweeted.

Teplitz:

U.S. Bureau of South and Central Asian Affairs on Nov 10 had expressed its concern over the growing political crisis in Sri Lanka.

US Bureau:

The Bureau had tweeted: "The US is deeply concerned by news the Sri Lanka Parliament will be dissolved, further deepening the political crisis. As a committed partner of #SriLanka, we believe democratic institutions and processes need to be respected to ensure stability and prosperity."

UK, Canada, China react:

The United Kingdom had urged all parties in Sri Lanka to respect democratic institutions and processes.

"Concerned by news that #SriLanka’s Parliament has been dissolved days before it was due to be reconvened. As a friend of Sri Lanka, the UK calls on all parties to uphold the constitution and respect democratic institutions and processes," tweeted Mark Field, the British minister of State for Asia and the Pacific, on Nov 10.

Mark:

The official Twitter page of the Canadian Foreign Policy said: "Canada is deeply concerned by the decision to dissolve Sri Lanka’s Parliament. This further political uncertainty is corrosive to Sri Lanka’s democratic future and its commitments on reconciliation and accountability."

Canada:

Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying said the country is closely monitoring the political situation in the island nation.

"As a traditional friendly neighbor of Sri Lanka, China has been closely following the developments of the situation in Sri Lanka. We hope that Sri Lanka can maintain stability. We hope and believe that all relevant parties in Sri Lanka have the wits and ways needed to deal with the current situation," she said during a press briefing on Nov 14.