Sri Lanka parliament ends in five minutes

COLOMBO: Sri Lanka’s parliament was adjourned just five minutes after opening for the first time since MPs brawled and threw objects at each other last week.

The island has been politically paralysed since Oct 26, when President Maithripala Sirisena sacked prime minister Ranil Wickremesinghe and replaced him with Mahinda Rajapaksa.

Rajapaksa has lost two no-confidence votes and last week his supporters threw projectiles and chilli powder at their rivals and the speaker, deepening international concern.

Yesterday’s session was adjourned after five minutes as the 225-member assembly failed to agree on a committee to draw up the legislature’s agenda. They were to meet again on Friday.

Sirisena has also refused to accept the parliament’s no-confidence votes. Wickremesinghe, for his part, has refused to leave the prime minister’s official residence.

The rival factions held talks with Sirisena on Sunday night in a bid to negotiate an end to the crisis, but it ended in failure, according to the two sides. — AFP