Members of Sri Lanka's Special Task Force and the police stand guard next to a poster of newly appointed Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa after an official security guard of sacked minister Arjuna Ranatunga shot and wounded three people in front of the Ceylon Petroleum Corporation, in Colombo, Sri Lanka.
The political crisis in Sri Lanka is likely to degenerate into a “bloodbath”, worried the Speaker on Monday after the disputed dismissal of the Prime Minister replaced by the former strongman of the island.
In a surprise decision on Friday, Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena removed Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe from his post.
Denouncing his dismissal as unconstitutional, Ranil Wickremesinghe however remains in power and calls for an emergency session of Parliament to prove that he still holds the majority. However, the assembly was suspended by the president until November 16, to cut short any parliamentary questioning of his choice.
In place of the sacked prime minister, the president appointed Mahinda Rajapakse. The latter has already ruled Sri Lanka with an iron fist between 2005 and 2015 and put an end to the civil war with the Tamil rebellion at the cost of a brutal offensive.
Already one death in confrontations linked to this political crisis
“We should solve (this crisis) through Parliament, but if we take it to the streets, there will be a huge bloodbath , “ Parliament Speaker Karu Jayasuriya told reporters after a visit to the hierarchy of the government. Buddhist clergy in Kandy (center).
The confrontation has already caused one death by gunshot. A 34-year-old man was killed on Sunday when bodyguards of the petroleum minister, close to the dismissed prime minister, shot at a hostile crowd.
Tension reigned in the Sri Lankan capital. The holidays have been canceled within the police. Several lawmakers close to Ranil Wickremesinghe have threatened unrest in the streets if Parliament does not meet again.
The former prime minister has still not left his official residence
The ousted prime minister refused to leave his official residence in Colombo, despite threats to be forcibly evacuated. “I am still the Prime Minister who commands the majority,” Ranil Wickremesinghe reaffirmed Monday in front of the press at his place of duty, denouncing the “vacancy” of power caused by this crisis.
At the same time, his replacement Mahinda Rajapakse was sworn in before the president and got down to the composition of his government which is due to be announced on Monday afternoon.
Behind the new prime minister, the shadow of Beijing
Supporters of this close to Beijing were appointed Sunday at the head of two public television channels and a newspaper.
Increasingly influential in Sri Lanka through its investments, China “sincerely hopes that all parties concerned will resolve their disagreements through dialogue and consultation,” the Chinese foreign ministry said.
The Prime Minister ousted because of presidential ambitions?
In 2015, the alliance between the party of the deposed prime minister and that of the current president ousted the now new prime minister.
But in recent years, relations between the two partners have deteriorated sharply, due in particular to differences in economic policy. The president also said he would seek re-election next year, while his ex-prime minister also has presidential ambitions.
The ousted Prime Minister’s camp is the first in Parliament with 107 seats out of 225, while that of the presidential and his new head of government has only 96 cumulatively.
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