Sri Lanka party vows to topple president after parliament fired
SRI LANKA’S largest party vowed to mount a full-scale challenge to the “tyrant” president Maithripala Sirisena after the shock sacking of parliament that left the country teetering on the edge of further civil unrest.
Mr Sirisena dissolved his country’s parliament at midnight on Friday and called snap elections, risking a return of a revolt that saw one a protester die from gunshots fired at protesters.
The United National Party, which holds the most seats in parliament, said yesterday: “We will fight in the courts, we will fight in parliament and we will fight at the polls.”
Mark Field, the British minister for Asia and the Pacific, said: “As a friend of Sri Lanka, the UK calls on all parties to uphold the constitution and respect democratic institutions and processes.”
The dissolution of parliament came after Mr Sirisena, the United People’s Freedom Alliance leader, triggered a constitutional crisis earlier this month when he dumped Ranil Wickremesinghe from the prime minister’s office.
He named Mahinda Rajapaksa as the new leader, but appeared to dissolve parliament and call elections as he had failed to gain enough parliamentary votes to secure backing for the move.
Mr Rajapaksa’s decade-long term as president was marked by accusations of human rights abuses and brutality but he is popular with nationalists for ending the civil war with the Tamil Tigers. Both he and Mr Wickremesinghe continue to claim the role of prime minister in a standoff that has paralysed the Sri Lankan government. The deadlock is likely to continue until the Jan 5 snap elections. Ajith Perera, an MP from the United National Party (UNP) said: “We are requesting the election commission to solve this issue peacefully without creating a bloodbath in the country.”
On Oct 28, a bodyguard working for Mr Rajapaksa fired live rounds at a mob preventing an ousted cabinet member entering his office in Colombo, resulting in one death. Mr Wickremesinghe’s supporters want the snap elections annulled on legal grounds because they lack parliamentary backing. They believe the election is a ploy by Mr Siri- sena to gather more parliamentary support for Mr Rajapaksa. Mangala Samaraweera, Mr Wickremesinghe’s finance minister, said the president had “kicked the constitution in the teeth. We will go to the courts. We will fight in the courts, we will fight in parliament and we will fight at the polls,”
The UNP said: “This dissolution by the president is illegal and goes against the constitution. We will be fighting this to ensure that democracy reigns supreme in the country. He has robbed the people of their rights and the democracy that we have enjoyed.”
The US state department said: “The US is deeply concerned by news the Sri Lanka parliament will be dissolved, further deepening the political crisis.”