Day of U- turn: Prez not to reconvene Parliament Crisis worries India, China

■ Sirisena’s party takes U- turn on opening House, crisis deepens

The Sri Lankan President's party on Thursday reignited a constitutional crisis over which of two rival Prime Ministers heads the government by insisting that Parliament will remain suspended.

A spokesman for President Maithripala Sirisena's party announced the new u- turn just hours after Sirisena told diplomats in Colombo that Parliament would be allowed to meet on Monday.

Mr Sirisena set off the crisis last Friday by sacking Ranil Wickremesinghe as prime minister and bringing in former strongman leader Mahinda Rajapakse. Wickremesinghe refused to accept the dismissal and the President suspended Parliament.

The announcement of a Monday meeting had boosted hopes that lawmakers would be allowed to vote on which of the arch- foes they support. Rajapakse had also told a meeting of academics in Colombo that the legislature will be recalled on Monday.

But at the end of the day, Sirisena party spokesman M a h i n d a n a n d a Aluthgamage told reporters parliament will only reconvene on November 16 in line with the early suspension order. “On Monday we will have a mass Parliament.”

In parallel, the Rajapakse administration announced measures to reduce personal and corporate taxes and cut the price of fuel and several commodities. Observers said this could be an attempt to win over the population.

The renewed suspension still came as a new bombshell in the dispute which will mark one week with much of the government paralysed.

Parliament speaker Karu Jayasuriya warned this week that delaying the reopening of parliament could lead to a “bloodbath” on the streets. One activist has already been killed in fallout from the tensions.

Mr Sirisena agreed to lift the suspension in a meeting late Wednesday with Jayasuriya, according to officials. But the speaker's staff said no written notification of the deal was ever sent. rally near and all the political trickery between the two sides, the growing tensions are a worry for India and China,” said an Asian diplomat in Colombo.

China was quick to deny an accusation by a lawmaker from Wickremesinghe's party this week that it was paying for Rajapakse's attempts to win over rival deputies.

“Groundless and said a Chinese embassy in response allegations.

The constitutional crisis pits two very different characters against each other.

Wickremesinghe is a soft- spoken reformist technocrat and free market proponent seen as wary of China's often onesided economic deals and less suspicious of India.

Rajapakse is a seasoned political bruiser, deeply charismatic but tainted by an authoritarian decade in power that culminated in a ruthless military campaign against Tamil Tiger rebels which ended a decades long civil war but killed some 40,000 civilians and saw widespread atrocities. irresponsible,” frosty statement to the