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COLOMBO, Sri Lanka – President Maithripala Sirisena on Friday withdrew his party from the ruling coalition and sacked the prime minister, appointing in his place the controversial former president Mahinda Rajapaksa, triggering a constitutional clash.
The appointment of Rajapaksa brings back a leader who turned the country over to China and was accused of corruption and human rights violations by opposition parties.
On Friday night, there was still no question of whether the president had the right to choose a new prime minister. The deposed prime minister, Ranil Wickremesinghe, said he was not leaving quietly because he was supported by enough MPs to keep his job.
"I will continue to function as prime minister. No one else can be named in accordance with the constitution, "he told reporters. "It's in Parliament now. The future can only be decided by Parliament. "
Wickremesinghe, who has been in power since 2015, defeated a vote of no confidence in April by 46 votes. He insisted that he continue to have the votes and his party called for a special vote.
"We asked to show our majority in Parliament, we also convened the Parliament at least Sunday to allow us to show our majority and put an end to this crisis," said Minister of Finance and Media, Mangala Samaraweera.
However, Dayasiri Jayasekera, a member of Sirisena's Sri Lanka Freedom Party for Freedom, said the growing discontent with Wickremesinghe's leadership meant that the president's decision would be upheld.
"The president believes that he has the numbers to hold Parliament," he said.
Heavy security measures were in effect Friday night at the Presidential Secretariat, with yellow barricades blocking entry and armed police and army forces stationed in front.
The coalition is grappling with political differences even as the country struggles with debilitating debt problems. It was initially formed by opposing political parties to overthrow the previous government, accused of corruption by critics and led by Mr. Rajapaksa.
Mahinda Rajapaksa, the former president who was appointed Friday Prime Minister, is sitting to talk with supporters in a Buddhist temple in Colombo.
Photo:
Eranga Jayawardena / Associated Press
Mr. Rajapaksa was president for nine years. He is credited with ending Sri Lanka's 27-year war against separatist group Tamil Tigers in 2009. However, he was also criticized for human rights violations committed during the war. The United Nations estimates that 40,000 civilians died in the last days of the conflict.
The opposition parties and Tamils also believe that Mr. Rajapaksa failed to promote reconciliation and refuses to investigate the disappearances, to reduce the occupation of the country. army in Tamil areas or release Tamils detained under anti-terrorism laws.
The long civil war in Sri Lanka provoked a deep distrust of the country.
Many members of the country's Tamil community will oppose the return of Mr. Rajapaksa to the head of the government, who considers his brutal tactics to end the civil war as criminal violations of human rights .
Rajapaksa during his presidency also brought Sri Lanka closer to China and borrowed heavily from it to finance huge infrastructure programs, leaving the country struggling to repay its debts when projects did not generate enough growth.
The China-funded port that was built in Rajapaksa's hometown during his tenure as president was handed over to China for $ 1.2 billion last year, as Sri Lanka did not have money needed to repay project debt.
He was removed from office in 2015 because he feared he had abused his power to strengthen the country's control. When he was in office, one of his brothers was Minister of the Economy, another Secretary of Defense and a third Speaker of Parliament.
After being deported, the new government launched a series of corruption investigations, some of which targeted his family. The accused family members denied the corruption charges.
No charges were brought against Mr. Rajapaksa, which allowed him to become prime minister.
