NEW DELHI: In a sudden development that is unlikely to go down well with New Delhi, former Sri Lanka President and India-baiter Mahinda Rajapaksa was sworn in as the island nation’s new prime minister late on Friday evening, replacing Wickremesinghe.
The development occurred hours after President Maithripala Sirisena’s United People’s Freedom Alliance (UPFA) decided to leave the unity government led by Wickremesinghe. Sirisena’s Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP), the main constituent party of the UPFA, and Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe’s United National Party (UNP) formed a unity government in August 2015, defeating former strongman Rajapaksa, a pro-China leader who publicly blamed India for his loss. Wickremesinghe visited India last week.
SRI Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena’s decision late Friday to sack Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe and swear in former strongman Mahinda Rajapaksa as his replacement has led to a constitutional crisis in the island nation, and left mandarins in New Delhi’s South Block scratching their heads.
The swearing in took place hours after the Sirisena led United People’s Freedom Alliance (UPFA) announced that it was withdrawing from the coalition government with Wickremesinghe’s United National Party. Announcing this, a presidential aide declared that Rajapaksa has the majority needed in the 225-member Parliament to run a stable government. Wickremesinghe, however reportedly told a local television channel that “I am still the Prime Minister. This is an unconstitutional swearing in.” “The appointment of Mahinda Rajapaksa as prime minister is unconstitutional and illegal,” added Wickremesinghe’s finance minister on his Facebook page. “This is an undemocratic coup.”
Wickremesinghe had survived a no-confidence motion in Parliament in April which was brought by supporters of Rajapaksa, buoyed by their wins in key local elections earlier. Rajapaksa, a former strongman who lost the presidential election in 2015 to Sirisena, had publicly maintained that New Delhi’s Intelligence agencies had engineered his defeat. Sirisena, a former minister under Rajapaksa, had tied up with the UNP to form the government and appointed Wickremesinghe as the Prime Minister.
New Delhi was concerned over Rajapaksa’s growing closeness with China, and it was during his term that several large infrastructural projects including the mammoth Hantambota port project were given to China. Alarm bells went off in South Block after Rajapaksa allowed two Chinese submarines to dock at Colombo port in 2014.
Political Turmoil Grips Lanka
Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena installed controversial former strongman leader Mahinda Rajapakse as the country’s new PM, a shock move that plunged the island into an unprecedented constitutional crisis
Why Was Wickremesinghe Sacked
A clear picture is yet to emerge. But the surprise move comes after disagreements between Sirisena and Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe over economic policy and day-to-day administration of the government.
The pair were reported to have clashed in cabinet last week over government plans to lease a container terminal to neighbouring India.
Earlier this year, Sirisena reneged on a pledge not to run for re-election, sparking tensions with Wickremesinghe who is believed to have his own presidential ambitions.
Is The Move Legal
Questions remain over the legality of the move, as a constitutional amendment passed in 2015 had taken away the president’s power to sack the prime minister.
The Man With The Iron Fist
Former Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapakshe is a controversial figure. Under his watch, thousands of LTTE sympathisers in Eelam War IV were slaughtered and the country’s democratic institutions were subverted
Repression of Tamils
The strongman put down the decades old Tamil Tiger separatist struggle in May 2009 through a military assault that killed up to 40,000 ethnic Tamil civilians, according to rights groups.
His regime refused to even acknowledge war-era abuses, and bitter divisions between minority Tamils and majority Sinhalese persist.
Economic boom
However, under Rajapakse, Lanka witnessed rapid economic growth and infrastructure development.
In 2014, an Al Jazeera correspondent in Colombo noted, "This sizzle of prosperity was notably absent five years ago in May 2009, when the government crushed the separatist LTTE."
Authoritarian instincts
But not all was good. Rajapakse’s hardline government was also accused of corruption and murdering political opponents.
Several of Rajapakse’s close family and associates face several corruption prosecutions. He even amended the Sri Lankan constitution to grant himself a third term.
Split with Sirisena
In November 2014, Maithripala Sirisena, who was then Health minister in Rajapkse government, resigned and vowed to contest against him.
The two became political foes. Sirisena won elections against Rajapakse in 2015 on a platform of economic reform and accountability for atrocities.