Table of Contents
WHAT IS HAPPENING
A day after removing Ranil Wickremesinghe as PM, Sri Lanka president Maithripala Sirisena suspended parliament till November 16. The move is intended to stymie Wickremesinghe. Sirisena, who brought former President Mahinda Rajapaksa back as Prime Minister, would want to prevent parliament from declaring the move as unconstitutional.
NOW, WHAT?
In 2015, the constitution was amended to rule out the President sacking the prime minister who could only be removed by Parliament. The Speaker, Karu Jayasuriya, will soon be expected to announce his decision.
SRI LANKA CRISIS
NOTES
India has had a good run with Wickremasinghe even though Sirisena has, for the past few months blocked many of India’s projects — including the Eastern Container Terminal project that sparked the R&AW jibe against India. Many of the other projects are deadlocked or delayed, with the old anti-India rhetoric raising its head.
CHINA
Cheng Xueyuan, China’s envoy to Sri Lanka, sent Rajapaksa a customary congratulatory message but also paid a courtesy call on Wickremesinghe and said China would not interfere in the political crisis
INDIA
- India is “closely following recent political developments in Sri Lanka. As a democracy and close friendly neighbor, we hope that democratic values and the constitutional process will be respected.”: MEA
- India has been concerned about Rajapaksa’s ties to China. As president, he ushered in billions of dollars of investment from Beijing to help rebuild the country following the end of a 26- year-long civil war against Tamil separatists in 2009
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