Sri Lanka crisis turns violent as one killed at ex-minister’s office

So far, a majority of lawmakers has not endorsed Rajapaksa. In a letter sent on Sunday, parliament speaker Karu Jayasuriya urged the president to protect Wickremesinghe’s rights and privileges “until any other person emerges from within the Parliament as having secure confidence of the Parliament”.

In an address to the nation, Sirisena said his action to change the government was “totally in accordance with the constitution and on the advice of legal experts”.

The Rajapaksa faction has sought to win over lawmakers to back it in parliament. Two Wickremesinghe loyalists have pledged support to Rajapaksa and sources close to Rajapaksa have said there will be more cross-overs.

Ranjan Ramanayake, a legislator from Wickremesinghe’s United National Party (UNP), said some lawmakers had been offered up to $4.6 million each to switch sides and support Rajapaksa. Reuters was unable to confirm this.

“This is an international conspiracy,” Ramanayake told reporters at Wickremesinghe’s official residence, accusing China of “spending money to buy over members”.

A Chinese embassy official in Colombo denied the allegation and said Beijing maintained good relations with all Sri Lankan parties, including the UNP.

“China never interferes in other countries’ internal affairs,” the official told Reuters. “We’re against all this interference from any foreign country.”

Cheng Xueyuan, China’s envoy to Sri Lanka, met Rajapaksa with a congratulatory message on Saturday. The embassy official said the ambassador had also met Wickremesinghe and speaker Jayasuriya.

India and Western countries have concerns about Rajapaksa’s ties to China, after he ushered in billions of dollars of investment from Beijing to rebuild the country following the end of a 26-year war against Tamil separatists in 2009.

That investment has since put the tiny nation deep in debt and forced it to hand over control of a strategic port to China.

“As a democracy and a close friendly neighbor, we hope that democratic values and the constitutional process will be respected,” said Raveesh Kumar, spokesman for India’s Ministry of External Affairs. “We will continue to extend our developmental assistance to the friendly people of Sri Lanka.”