Sri Lanka - News and Discussion- Post PM appointment crisis

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Bart S
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Re: Sri Lanka - News and Discussion

Post by Bart S »

Subramanian Swamy has been quite pro-China in some of his statements so it might be that he sees it in that light. But he is not the GOI nor is he a major influencer of the powers to be and hence slightly tangential to the challenges facing Indian interests in SL.
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Re: Sri Lanka - News and Discussion

Post by nithish »

Sri Lanka President dissolves parliament; calls for early polls
In another surprise move, Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena on Friday decided to dissolve the Parliament and call for early elections.

The move comes exactly two weeks after the President has appointed Mahinda Rajapaksa as new Prime minister replacing Ranil Wickremsinghe.

President sworn in ministers to the remaining cabinet posts on Friday evening before announcing the dissolution.

Parliament was to convene on Wednesday and speaker Karu Jayasurya and group led by ousted Prime minister Ranil Wickremsinghe have demanded that parliament take on vote to decide upon majority on the first day itself.

Earlier, a government spokesman said new government still needed at least eight more votes in the 225 member assembly to reach the required 113 for majority.

He said that at the moment they have 104 or 105 MPs but expressed confidence that they will prove their majority during floor test.

Sri Lanka to hold snap election on Jan 5
COLOMBO (AFP) - Sri Lanka will hold a snap election in January, the country's president announced on Friday (Nov 9), hours after dissolving parliament when it became clear his prime minister nominee did not have a majority.

Maithripala Sirisena said in a proclamation that a new parliament will be convened on Jan 17 after conducting the nation-wide vote on Jan 5.

The election timetable was accompanied by an official notice dismissing the nation's 225-member assembly with effect from midnight.
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Re: Sri Lanka - News and Discussion

Post by Supratik »

They should go to the SC of SL as elections may be rigged.
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Re: Sri Lanka - News and Discussion

Post by chetak »

Supratik wrote:They should go to the SC of SL as elections may be rigged.
Please do not spread unfounded rumours like this.

It will be a very fair election.

After all, the chinese are going to be running it.

They have already started to count the votes.

This way the results are known in advance and the winning candidate would be chosen after all the ballots are accounted for.

The busy SLs may not even be troubled to disrupt their daily routine and waste their time coming to vote.
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Re: Sri Lanka - News and Discussion

Post by Philip »

http://www.island.lk/index.php?page_cat ... tle=194217
UNP to go to Supreme Court
November 10, 2018, 8:41 pm
Colombo, Nov. 10 (AFP) -

Sri Lanka’s largest single party Saturday said it will mount a legal challenge against "tyrant" President Maithripala Sirisena’s shock sacking of the legislature.

"We will go to the courts," Mangala Samaraweera from the United National Party (UNP) told reporters in Colombo. "We will fight in the courts, we will fight in parliament and we will fight at the polls."

Samaraweera said his party had supported Sirisena to come to power in January 2015, hoping he would be a benevolent leader like Nelson Mandela of South Africa, but that he had shown himself to be a "tyrant."

"He (Sirisena) came to power promising to be a Mandela, but we ended up getting a Mugabe, a mad man," Samaraweera said, referring to Zimbabwe’s strongman former president Robert Mugabe.
:rotfl:

He said the UNP along with its allies had an absolute majority in the 225-member assembly and despite the sacking of the assembly, the party would publicly demonstrate its majority to the people.

"We will demonstrate to the public of Sri Lanka our majority. Maithripala Sirisena dissolved a parliament where we enjoyed a majority," he said.

"We will fight the emerging tyranny of Sirisena. We will fight it in the courts, fight it in parliament and we are also ready to fight against this tyranny at the polls.

"We are on the right side of democracy, we are sure we can win this battle," he added.

He said Sirisena had "kicked the constitution in the teeth" when he dismissed the assembly after failing to muster a majority to legitimise his replacement prime minister Mahinda Rajapakse after a two-week stand off.
Latest titbit.The pretender to the throne of PM .a local Chinaman-one MR,taking his cue from the late emperor Caligula,has decided to make his pet donkey PM-in-waiting.Moral of the story is that in Sri Lanka,even an ass can become PM if you have a president who is a monkey!
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Re: Sri Lanka - News and Discussion

Post by abhijitm »

Who is calling the shot? India or China? or none!

GoI was vocal and made dissent clear in no ambiguous terms when maldives crashed into crisis. Here it seems we are closely watching but that can mean anything.

RAW has good presence in SL. NSA should be getting hourly report on the situation.
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Re: Sri Lanka - News and Discussion

Post by venug »

Lanka SC overturns dissolution of Parliament by Sirisena
18:27 Lanka SC overturns dissolution of Parliament by Sirisena:
JUST IN: The Sri Lankan Supreme Court has overturned dissolving of Parliament by President Maithripala Sirisena, agency reports say.

Sri Lanka's major political parties and an election commission member on Monday dragged Sirisena to the Supreme Court, challenging his controversial move of dissolving Parliament, almost 20 months before its term was to end.

Sirisena dissolved Parliament on November 9 and announced snap polls to be held on January 5 next year after it became evident that he did not have enough support in the House to prove the premiership of 72-year-old Mahinda Rajapaksa, whom he has appointed prime minister after abruptly sacking Ranil Wickremesinghe on October 26.

Rajapaksa needed the support of minimum 113 parliamentarians in the 225-member House to prove his majority.

Wickremesinghe's United National Party (UNP), the main opposition Tamil National Alliance (TNA) and the leftist JVP or the People's Liberation Front (PLF) were among the 10 groups that filed the fundamental rights petitions in the apex court, seeking declaration of the president's action as illegal, officials said.
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Re: Sri Lanka - News and Discussion

Post by Dumal »

http://www.rediff.com/news/report/lanka ... 181114.htm

Wow! That was a fairly quick follow-up by the parliament to kick out Rajapaksa! Don't know exactly what efforts and coordination our MEA can take credit for but whatever it is, it was done quietly and with little or no ripples! Way to go!
Lankan parliament votes against PM Rajapaksa
Last updated on: November 14, 2018 11:46 IST

In a major setback to President Maithripala Sirisena, the Sri Lankan Parliament on Wednesday passed a no-confidence motion against the government headed by his controversially-appointed Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa.

The Parliament on Wednesday met for the first time since October 26, when President Sirisena sacked Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe and suspended the Parliament plunging the island nation into a crisis.

Parliament Speaker Karu Jayasuriya announced that a majority of the 225-member assembly supported the no-confidence motion against Rajapaksa, who was appointed by President Sirisena as prime minister on October 26 in place of Wickremesinghe.

“According to the voice, I recognise that the government has no majority,” Jayasuriya announced in the House as Rajapaksa supporters protested.

He gave the ruling after the no-confidence motion was taken for a vote. The Speaker calculated the votes based on the voices he heard as Rajapaksa supporters disrupted the proceedings.

Jayasuriya later adjourned the House until 10 am Thursday.

Wickremesinghe’s United National Party Deputy Leader Sajith Premadasa later told reporters that the government clearly lost the floor test.

He said Prime Minister Rajapaksa must now step down as he does not have majority support in Parliament.

The unexpected session on Wednesday morning comes a day after the Supreme Court on Tuesday overturned President Sirisena’s controversial decision to dissolve Parliament and halted the preparations for snap polls on January 5.

In its ruling, the apex court had said Sirisena’s dissolution of Parliament will be suspended until December 7 and it will consider all the petitions filed on the President’s decision next month before giving a final ruling.

After the court verdict, Speaker Jayasuriya summoned Parliament’s session for Wednesday morning.

Sirisena dissolved Parliament after it became clear that he lacked support from lawmakers to install Rajapaksa as the new prime minister following his sacking of Wickremesinghe as premier.

While sacking Prime Minister Wickremesinghe, president Sirisena had also suspended Parliament till November 16. He, however, advanced the convening of the House to November 14 amid international and domestic pressure against the move.

Major political parties, including the United National Party and the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna and an election commission member Ratnajeevan Hoole, on Monday dragged Sirisena to the Supreme Court, challenging his decision by filing fundamental rights petitions against the move, which they said violated the Constitution.

Sirisena dissolved Parliament last week, almost 20 months before its term was to end, and ordered snap election on January 5, plunging the country’s into an unprecedented political and constitutional crises.

Wickremesinghe has maintained that his sacking by Sirisena was unconstitutional and illegal and he was still the prime minister.

Wickremesinghe had demanded that Parliament be convened to hold a vote among the lawmakers to decide who enjoyed majority support in Parliament to be the prime minister.

As pressure grew and both sides claimed they had the numbers, the president dissolved Parliament and called for elections.

Rajapaksa needed the support of minimum 113 parliamentarians in the 225-member House to prove his majority.

Sirisena on Sunday stoutly defended his move to dissolve Parliament, saying it was taken to prevent clashes among rival lawmakers. He said there were reports that politicians would clash during the floor test, which was due on November 14.

Rajapaksa, 72, who ruled Lanka for a nearly decades from 2005, was unexpectedly defeated by his deputy Sirisena in the presidential election held in January 2015 with the support from Wickremesinghe’s UNP.

However, the power-sharing arrangement between Sirisena and Wickremesinghe became increasingly tenuous on several policy matters, especially on issues like the economy and security. And subsequently, Sirisena abruptly ousted Wickremesinghe and replaced him with Rajapaksa.
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Re: Sri Lanka - News and Discussion

Post by chetak »

Will the SL army tanks/APCs roll out now, to scare the dothies off their judiciary??

Image
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Re: Sri Lanka - News and Discussion

Post by chetak »

It looks like the SL parliament has voted out the pretender rajapakse.

But the president still retains the power to choose the successor.

wickramasinghe is not an automatic choice.

So, the chowmein khichidi is still being cooked in the cheeni kitchens and the han chefs are still labouring hard to get the taste and flavour just right, no??.
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Re: Sri Lanka - News and Discussion

Post by Bart S »

Also, it looks like Rajapakse still has significant support among the Sinhala population despite his blatant corruption and nepotism, and is very confident of winning the elections (which was why elections were declared before the court struck it down). So he may be back soon anyway, this problem for India is far from gone.
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Re: Sri Lanka - News and Discussion

Post by chetak »

Bart S wrote:Also, it looks like Rajapakse still has significant support among the Sinhala population despite his blatant corruption and nepotism, and is very confident of winning the elections (which was why elections were declared before the court struck it down). So he may be back soon anyway, this problem for India is far from gone.
The center has been needlessly mindful of the SL tamilians for a long time now because of TN's devious BIF led dravidian politics with its own inbuilt separatist tendencies.

We should have nothing to do with the SL tamilians or even build houses for them or whatever. They are not our people.

Such foolishness will very obviously raise the sinhala hackles. Having thus raised their hackles, we cannot now complain about how sinhala politics plays out in SL.

It's entirely their own business.

However, I fully agree with you about the problem for India being far from gone.
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Re: Sri Lanka - News and Discussion

Post by Philip »

SL is fast heading for an emergency as it is becoming more evident that that is the strategy that Rajapakse and his new-found love,pres. Silly-sena are embarked upon.

Without a majority in parliament,the pretender to the throne of PM,Rajapakse,is doing his damndest to prevent parliament from functioning by unleashing his thugs-of-war MPs in the house armed with knives,microphones and furniture and now throwing chilli powder into the eyes of the rival MPs.
A virtual civil war is going on in the Lankan house,a great tragedy as it has had some of the best parliamentarians and speakers that S.Asia has seen in the past,who cherished the style and nuances of parliamentary democracy in its finest form.

On course is an inevitable declaration of an emergency by the pres. saying that since parliament cannot function since its members are engaged in physical violence,he must take matters into his own hands.If he has the support of the military it will be possible as it would result in large-scale protests in the streets.

An outside possibility is a military coup,which may be attractive to some of the younger battle-hardened gents in uniform who saw off the LTTE.
Is there a role for FM Fonseka perhaps? Anything is possible in the island right now.However,the GOI must take emergency measures to physically intervene and crack heads in the island's politicos as any emergency and rule by rifle would be with the blessings of the Chinese who are orchestrating a do or die campaign for Rajapakse and his familia and pro-China cronies, to regain power. One option for us is to enforce an air and naval blockade if the sh*t hits the fan with a civil war engulfing the streets and the lives of Indian-origin Lankans are aso threatened.

India cannot abdicate its security interests and duty to restore peace and the rule of law and democracy in its key neighbour just 20 miles away from our southern coastline,where our most virulent mortal enemy is trying to turn into a satellite province and military base right below out underbelly.The continuing silence by our MEA is shockingand incomprehensible at the happenings in the island.

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/ ... parliament
Sri Lanka MPs hurl 'chilli powder' and chairs in fresh chaos
Legislators allied to disputed PM Rajapaksa fight with rivals in second day of clashes

Michael Safi and Amantha Perera in Colombo

Fri 16 Nov 2018
A clash between rival members of the Sri Lankan parliament, in Colombo. Photograph: AFP/Getty

Sri Lanka’s parliament has been disrupted for a second day, with legislators allied to the disputed prime minister, Mahinda Rajapaksa, hurling chairs at police officers and allegedly throwing chilli powder at opposing MPs.


It was the latest violent incident in the crisis that erupted three weeks ago, when the president, Maithripala Sirisena, suddenly announced he had sacked the prime minister Ranil Wickremesinghe and installed Rajapaksa in his place.

Despite the violence, the pro-Rajapaksa MPs failed to prevent the assembly from passing a no-confidence motion in his leadership, dismissing his government for the second time this week.

Unlike the previous vote, however, Friday’s motion omitted any reference to misconduct on the part of Sirisena. The change indicates the president could recognise the motion this time and agree to terminate Rajapaksa’s leadership. :rotfl:

Rajapaksa’s forces have already said they will reject Friday’s vote. “We say Mahinda Rajapaksa heads the government,” said Dinesh Gunawardena, a Rajapaksa ally. “We shall agitate for elections. The country is in anarchy. The parliament is in anarchy.”

Security was heavy in parliament on Friday after the previous day’s session had to be abandoned when MPs scuffled inside the chamber, requiring one to be hospitalised. One MP, Palitha Thewarapperuma of the United National party, was seen wielding a knife in Thursday’s fray.

An airforce helicopter landed on the parliamentary grounds moments before the sitting was scheduled to begin, ready to evacuate anyone in danger or requiring medical attention.

Before the session could start, MPs allied to Rajapaksa surrounded the Speaker’s ceremonial chair, shouting protests at the use of knives in Thursday’s brawl.

From today's chaotic hearing in Sri Lanka - police officers being treated for injuries after being attacked by MPs. Two other MPs reeling after chilli powder was throw in their faces.
Extraordinary scenes @AmanthaP pic.twitter.com/HBzM3P17me
November 16, 2018

More than two dozen police officers entered the chamber with their arms linked, trying to escort the Speaker, Karu Jayasuriya, inside along with parliamentary officials in white coats carrying a ceremonial mace.

As Rajapaksa watched from his chair, his MPs attacked the officers with chairs and books, injuring at least two. Other legislators tipped the Speaker’s ceremonial chair to the floor and dragged it across the ground.

Taking refuge on a side bench and surrounded by officers, Jayasuriya called for a voice vote on the no-confidence motion in Rajapaksa. A roar erupted across the chamber and the Speaker declared the vote carried by a majority.

Jayasuriya must now formally communicate the result to Sirisena, which he is expected to do later on Friday.
Sri Lanka MPs fight in parliament as political turmoil continues – video

Outside the chamber, MPs Gamini Jayawickrama Perera and Vijitha Herath could be seen rubbing their eyes, with splotches of chilli splattered across their robes.
“They have behaved as beasts, not as human beings,” Herath told reporters outside the chamber.

He wore a large bandage across his forehead, saying he was injured when an opposing lawmaker lobbed a copy of the Sri Lankan constitution at his head.

If recognised by Sirisena, who ultimately commands the country’s armed forces and police, Friday’s no-confidence motion would leave the country without a prime minister.

It is unclear if Wickremesinghe will be restored to his position by parliament when it resumes on Monday. Also uncertain is how Rajapaksa and his supporters will respond to the result.

He tweeted after the result: “The Speaker’s ad-hoc decisions are the main reason for today’s situation in parliament. The need is to go for a election and lead the way to a stable parliament.”

“Today Sri Lankans have again seen deplorable behaviour by some MPs, unbecoming of them and of their noble institution,” the British High Commissioner to Sri Lanka, James Dauris, wrote on Twitter. “No parliament can perform its role when its own members stop it from doing so.”
PS:Given the scale of violence unleashed by the Rajapakse thugs,the Speaker is well within his rights to expel or at least suspend them from parliament,a decision which the SC will definitely uphold since it has already supported him in the reconvening of the house.Criminal charges must be brought against the thugs MPs and they should be arrested.
A failure to do so will see more violence unleahed and would give the pres. the golden opportunity to declare an emergency,martial law in his interests in "saving his seat"...sorry."the country"!
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Re: Sri Lanka - News and Discussion

Post by Philip »

A reminder to all why SL is so important to us.Unlike the Maldy fish, 15% of the Lankan population are of Tamil origin.Jaffna northeners, eastern Tamils, the huge numbers of plantation Tamils and the Colombo- based " Indian" Tamils who are a motley bunch of Indian traders and businessmen from differenrt parts of India.

Their future along with the 75-80% of Sinhalese- also of Indian origin (!) is in great danger of being turned into Chinese vassals a small number of corrupt,venal , Sinhalese thugs who havd put their personal fortunes ahead of that of their country.

With the great outreach to the Indian diaspora across the world, the largest anywhere is in Sri Lanka just 20 miles away from our southern shores.Surely the current crisis thete directly affects the fortunes of India and the Indian global parivar.The GOI MUST ensure that democracy returns to the island and the Chinese kicked out of the island, IOR and back to their pirate havens in China.
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Re: Sri Lanka - News and Discussion

Post by pushkar.bhat »

A lot of people on this forum are assuming that the people of Sri Lanka are rooting for Ranil. Things cannot be further from the truth on that. The differences between Ranil and Srisena effectively has put the entire country's decision-making apparatus in a limbo. Common Sri Lankans are sick of this combination. Chandrika too has been silently watching and not being proactive.

All this has meant that Ranil is now considered a disaster and people want Rajapakshe back. Srisena tried to project that he was doing what the people wanted and thus decided to protect his turf. The calculus was, however, a lot more complicated and depending on how the Supreme Court rules on Tuesday it may be Srisena who may have to duck for cover.

If the Supreme Court rules that the dissolution of the parliament is illegal, then Ranil and team may reconvene the parliament and try to impeach Srisena. Alternately, Srisena may resign.

If however, the Supreme Court rules in favor of the President then the constitutional crisis deepen. In either of the situation, the possibility of Ranil making a come back is remote and Swamy having recognized this is building bridges with Rajapakshe perhaps at the behest of the center.
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Re: Sri Lanka - News and Discussion

Post by Supratik »

The Tamil parties are the decider as neither side has majority. They are unlikely to back Rajapakse. SC is likely to restore parliament and ask for vote.
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Sri Lanka - News and Discussion

Post by Peregrine »

Sri Lanka court restrains Mahinda Rajapaksa from acting as PM - PTI

COLOMBO: A Sri Lankan court Monday barred Mahinda Rajapaksa from acting as prime minister, in a major setback to President Maithripala Sirisena who had installed his former rival in place of Ranil Wickremesinghe in a controversial decision that triggered a constitutional crisis in the island nation.

The Court of Appeal temporarily halted Rajapaksa and his cabinet from functioning in their positions in response to a case filed by 122 legislators against the disputed government.

The court set the hearing of the case for December 12 and 13.

"According to the interim relief, Rajapaksa and his disputed government have been prevented from acting as PM, cabinet and deputy ministers," said a lawyer, who was present at the hearing.

He added that the court was of the opinion that "irreparable damage" could be caused if persons not entitled to do so sit as prime minister and cabinet ministers.

As many as 122 parliamentarians of Wickeremesinghe's United National Party, Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) and Tamil National Alliance last month filed a petition in the Court of Appeal challenging Rajapaksa's authority as the prime minister.

The interim ruling was a major blow to both President Sirisena and Rajapaksa after the former had appointed the latter as the prime minister on October 26, plunging the country into constitutional crisis.

Sirisena later dissolved Parliament, almost 20 months before its term was to end, and ordered snap election. The Supreme Court overturned Sirisena's decision to dissolve Parliament and halted the preparations for snap polls.

The political crisis has crippled the government for more than a month.

Both Wickremesinghe and Rajapaksa claim to be the prime ministers. Wickremesinghe says his dismissal is invalid because he still holds a majority in the 225-member Parliament.

Prior to the crisis, Wickramasinghe's UNP had the backing of 106 parliamentarians while Rajapaksa and Sirisena combine had 95 seats.

Rajapaksa has, so far, failed to prove his majority in Parliament.

Wickremesinghe, with the support from the main Tamil party, claims to have the support of more than 113 legislators, required for simple majority.

The Tamil National Alliance (TNA) has 16 seats in the house and JVP has six legislators.

The UNF has moved three no trust motions against Rajapaksa, who has refused to step
down.

The Sri Lankan president has said that due to sharp personal differences with vickremesinghe he would not reappoint him as the Prime Minister.

However, Wickremesinghe's UNP claims that Sirisena will be left with no choice as he would be the man who will command the confidence in the House.

Cheers Image
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Re: Sri Lanka - News and Discussion

Post by disha »

pushkar.bhat wrote: If the Supreme Court rules that the dissolution of the parliament is illegal, then Ranil and team may reconvene the parliament and try to impeach Srisena. Alternately, Srisena may resign.
This may very well be the situation where Sirisena might either get impeached or has to resign in ignominy.
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Re: Sri Lanka - News and Discussion

Post by pushkar.bhat »

SL Supreme Court just passed a final ruling stating that the dissolution of the parliament by the president was illegal.

Link to a tweet by a Sri Lankan Reporter

Tweet from Ranil
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Re: Sri Lanka - News and Discussion

Post by disha »

^Yay!

Maldives and Sri Lanka are on path to constitutional democracy. Now India should work on China to ensure constitutional democracy takes roots in China!
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Re: Sri Lanka - News and Discussion

Post by abhijitm »

Sirisena needs to be impeached. That bafoon also accused RAW of hatching a plot to kill him.
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Re: Sri Lanka - News and Discussion

Post by Supratik »

Rajapakse has resigned. Wikramasinghe to be reappointed PM.
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Re: Sri Lanka - News and Discussion

Post by chetak »

Supratik wrote:Rajapakse has resigned. Wikramasinghe to be reappointed PM.
seems even better than a khujliwal drama.

Did they bash up the chief secretary too??

no, wait. they did better.

They threw chilly powder at each other and someone's security guard shot some poor guy dead.
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Sri Lanka - News and Discussion

Post by Peregrine »

Rajapaksa resigns as Sri Lanka's PM, Wickremesinghe to be reinstated – PTI

COLOMBO: After clinging on to power for nearly two months, Sri Lanka's ex-strongman Mahinda Rajapakse, who was appointed Prime Minister by President Maithripala Sirisena in a controversial move, resigned on Saturday to end the political turmoil and pave way for the return of ousted premier Ranil Wickremesinghe .

The 73-year-old ex-president signed a letter of resignation during a multi-religious service at his home here that was attended by several lawmakers of United People's Freedom Alliance (UPFA), Buddhist and other religious leaders.

Sirisena also agreed on Friday to reinstate Wickremesinghe on Sunday despite previously insisting that he would never reappoint him as Prime Minister.

Rajapaksa resigned after two crucial Supreme Court decisions made the embattled former strongman's efforts to cling to premiership untenable.

He was appointed as Prime Minister on October 26 by President Sirisena in a controversial move after sacking Wickremesinghe, which plunged the country into an unprecedented constitutional crisis.

Wickremesinghe had refused to step down asserting that his sacking was illegal.

Rajapaksa had sought to secure a majority in the 225-member Parliament but failed. Sirisena then dissolved Parliament and called snap elections on January 5.

However, the Supreme Court overturned his decision and halted the preparations for snap polls.

The Supreme Court on Thursday unanimously declared that the dissolution of Parliament by Sirisena was "illegal".

The apex court on Friday also refused to stay a court order restraining Rajapaksa, 73, from holding the office of Prime Minister until it fully heard the case next month.

After signing the resignation letter, Rajapaksa said that following the February 10 local government election, the aim of his party is to have a general election.

However, he said that he has no intention of remaining as Prime Minister without a general election being held, and in order to not hamper the President in any way, he resigned from the position of Prime Minister and made way for the President to form a new Government.

"The Supreme Court has delivered a judgement against the holding of the general election that had already been declared. Since that judgement is a long and complicated document, I will study it carefully and in due course express my views on the constitutional impact it will have on the functioning of the parliamentary system of government," Rajapaksa said.

Rajapaksa said that since a general election can no longer be held, the UPFA cannot implement any of the measures they had planned to take "to prevent the country from becoming another Greece."

"The change of government that the people expected has now had to be put off. But the people will definitely get the change they desire. No one can prevent that,” he said.

Wickremesinghe's United National Party (UNP) on Saturday said that Sirisena has agreed to reinstate him in the post after a discussion with him over the phone on Friday.

"We have heard from the presidential secretariat that our leader will be sworn in as the Prime Minister tomorrow morning," UNP general secretary Akila Viraj Kariyawasam said.

Parliamentarian Lakshman Yapa Abeywardenaon Friday said Rajapaksa, who had ruled Sri Lanka for nearly a decade, decided to step down "in the best interest of the country".

He claimed Rajapaksa can hold office without resigning but that will only further drag the political turmoil in the country. So the former president decided to step down after the court ruling given on Friday and on Thursday.

The Supreme Court on Friday decided that a Court of Appeal order issued against the appointment of Rajapaksa as Prime Minister and against his Cabinet from holding office will stand.

The appeal filed by Rajapaksa will be taken up for hearing on January 16, 17 and 18.

The apex court asked all parties to provide written submissions within three weeks.

According to media reports, a new Cabinet will be sworn in on Monday. The Cabinet will consist of 30 members and include six Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) parliamentarians.

Most of the countries had not recognised Rajapaksa's government. The global credit rating agencies -- the Fitch, the Standard & Poor's and the Moody's -- had also downgraded Sri Lanka's rating owing to the current political crisis.

In Video: Mahinda Rajapaksa resigns as Sri Lanka's PM

Cheers Image
kancha
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Re: Sri Lanka - News and Discussion

Post by kancha »

Sri Lanka initiates action against Chinese firms using Mandarin on banners
The government of Sri Lanka has initiated action against several Chinese firms in the country that have put up banners in the Mandarin language instead of the local Sri Lankan language. Sri Lankans see this as an onslaught on their culture and languages.
​Earlier, in September this year, the people of Sri Lanka boycotted a dairy firm selling butter that had details on the cover written in Mandarin instead of Sinhalese or Tamil. They alleged that packets of Anchor butter, imported from New Zealand's Fonterra Brand, had overlooked the fact that 75% of Sri Lanka's population use the Sinhala language and not Mandarin.
Muns
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Re: Sri Lanka - News and Discussion

Post by Muns »

Been a while since any posts on this thread, so decided to go ahead and update. It's been approximately a decade since the Eelam war 4 got conducted. For people like me that basically seem to follow the war especially during the final stages on BR, it seemed to have somewhat of a lasting effect. Documentaries like the Channel 4 documentary did Sear a lot of those images especially of Sri Lankan Hindu casualties that were a heavy toll. Unfortunately at that time the government led by Sonia Gandhi completely seem to ignore any of the what I believe to be ongoing genocide of the Sri Lankan Hindu Tamils.
To this idea, literally 10 years on, we decided to just raise awareness when it comes to what is really going on in Sri Lanka then and today. To some extent also created a video highlighting their plight.

Some of the top ideas that we discussed in the video :

1) The fact that the Sri Lankan Tamil Hindu movement seem to really begin during colonial time when they resisted conversion attempts on them at that time.

2) Prabhakaran might have been a Hindu, but during the latter years, there was definitely a evangelical element guiding the LTTE.

3) Could the Indian government have done more during that time? Did India just turn their heads away to the mass genocide ongoing during the final stages. Should they still be investigation into war crimes taken place?

4) The fact that the NDA government under Modi, has taken such a charitable act towards Sri Lankan Tamils in rebuilding multiple housing colonies as well as hospitals and schools.

5) Tamil politicians in India have we utilized the Sri Lanka Tamil ideal for their own political gains, without really caring for the population itself.

In any case, these are some of the general ideas brought out in the video. I will say that the interviewer is a Tamilian himself and obviously cares more about the Sri Lankan Tamils then otherwise might expect. In any case while some of the information may be debatable here on BR, it was really meant to just highlight a decade on from Eelam 4. With the elections coming up in Tamil Nadu, it might be worth highlighting. We did post another video related to the elections highlighting the false ideas of Periyar for those who are interested.

Also, if you get a chance, please take a look at the YouTube channel where we have multiple other engaging videos such as the Thorium video which I might post to the appropriate thread as well.

Any feedback would be much appreciated.

A decade on after Eelam 4, India asks should we have done more?




http://www.india-aware.com

http://www.youtube.com/c/indiaaware
MeshaVishwas
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Re: Sri Lanka - News and Discussion

Post by MeshaVishwas »

Multiple blasts in Sri Lanka. Churches hit during Easter Mass.
https://twitter.com/TimesNow/status/111 ... 35073?s=19
Terrible tragedy.Hope the injured make a full recovery.
Edit:It is a coordinated strike with almost half a dozen different sites including Hotels and Churches.
Reports(unverified) of fatalities too.
nithish
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Re: Sri Lanka - News and Discussion

Post by nithish »

https://twitter.com/KashmirIntel/status ... 1936?s=19/
Update: 6 explosions, 25 dead, 160 injured, reported now by multiple local media houses.

1) Kochikade Church
2) Katuwapitiya Church
3) Batticaloa Church
4) Shangri La Hotel
5) Cinnamon Grand Hotel
6) Kingsbury Hotel

#SriLanka
Narad
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Re: Sri Lanka - News and Discussion

Post by Narad »

Seems extremely well co ordinated attacks. As per news tickers, peacefools are involved.
Austin
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Re: Sri Lanka - News and Discussion

Post by Austin »

Very Powerful Explosive was used, Looking at Destruction of the Church



Austin
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Re: Sri Lanka - News and Discussion

Post by Austin »

40+ killed, 280 injured in 6 blasts at Sri Lankan hotels and churches on Easter Sunday (VIDEO)

https://www.rt.com/news/457129-sri-lank ... el-blasts/
hanumadu
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Re: Sri Lanka - News and Discussion

Post by hanumadu »

Did anybody claim responsibility yet?
Hotels also bombed. Sri Lanka is a popular tourist destination. Hope this will not affect them too badly.
Narad
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Re: Sri Lanka - News and Discussion

Post by Narad »

Death Toll 137. Could significantly rise further.
RAW had alerted Srilankan Intelligence 10days ago, about the NTJ (National Thowheeth Jama'ath) planning to carry out suicide attacks targeting prominent churches as well as the Indian high commission in Colombo.

There was specific intelligence and advance warnings were issued. Extreme incompetence by Srilankans here.
Last edited by Narad on 21 Apr 2019 13:00, edited 2 times in total.
Karthik S
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Re: Sri Lanka - News and Discussion

Post by Karthik S »

Not much idea about SL, could learned guru give an idea about SL climate? I thought except for Tamils, other sri lankans groups got together well.
Mukesh.Kumar
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Re: Sri Lanka - News and Discussion

Post by Mukesh.Kumar »

Narad wrote:Death Toll 137. Could significantly rise further.
RAW had alerted Srilankan Intelligence 10days ago, about the NTJ (National Thowheeth Jama'ath) planning to carry out suicide attacks targeting prominent churches as well as the Indian high commission in Colombo.

There was specific intelligence and advance warnings were issued. Extreme incompetence by Srilankans here.
No one's claimed responsibility till now, but Singapore based Strait Times has this to report-
Sri Lanka’s police chief made a nationwide alert 10 days before Sunday’s bomb attacks that suicide bombers planned to hit “prominent churches”, according to the warning seen by AFP.

Police chief Pujuth Jayasundara sent an intelligence warning to top officers on April 11 setting out the threat.

“A foreign intelligence agency has reported that the NTJ (National Thowheeth Jama’ath) is planning to carry out suicide attacks targeting prominent churches as well as the Indian high commission in Colombo,” said the alert.
The NTJ is a radical Muslim group in Sri Lanka that came to notice in 2018 when it was linked to the vandalisation of Buddhist statues.
What's interesting and worth following up was this excerpt.
The Chinese Embassy in Sri Lanka said four Chinese nationals were injured, Xinhua news agency reported, adding that the nationals were in stable condition.
Meanwhile, somelocal newspapers are giving this a twist and asking for Sirisena's head.
Supratik
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Re: Sri Lanka - News and Discussion

Post by Supratik »

There is considerable friction between Buddhists and Muslims in SL. But why would they bomb Christians. Maybe retaliation for Christchurch mosque shooting.
chetak
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Re: Sri Lanka - News and Discussion

Post by chetak »

Narad wrote:Death Toll 137. Could significantly rise further.
RAW had alerted Srilankan Intelligence 10days ago, about the NTJ (National Thowheeth Jama'ath) planning to carry out suicide attacks targeting prominent churches as well as the Indian high commission in Colombo.

There was specific intelligence and advance warnings were issued. Extreme incompetence by Srilankans here.
Phillip usually has good insight into any SL issue.

Haven't seen him in quite a while now. Is he OK??
IndraD
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Re: Sri Lanka - News and Discussion

Post by IndraD »

#NewsAlert – At least 2 blasts carried out by suicide bombers. Suicide bombers behind attact at Shangri La Hotel and Batticaloa Church. The suicide bombers has been identified as Zahran Hashim and Abu Mohammed. https://twitter.com/cnnnews18/status/11 ... 46112?s=21
IndraD
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Re: Sri Lanka - News and Discussion

Post by IndraD »

Reports say the Indian High Commission in Colombo was on target. Lanka Police chief names an outfit called the Towheeth Jamaa'th that could be behind the attacks. Clampdown on internet services. Inputs on the involvement of drug cartels based in Pakistan & Afghanistan. #SriLanka
Karthik S
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Re: Sri Lanka - News and Discussion

Post by Karthik S »

Supratik wrote:There is considerable friction between Buddhists and Muslims in SL. But why would they bomb Christians. Maybe retaliation for Christchurch mosque shooting.
What Srilankans, regardless of religion, have to do with christchurch?
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