'Not in my lifetime': Sirisena rules out ever restoring ousted PM
Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena has ruled out ever
reinstating deposed Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe, even if the
latter is able to prove he has majority support in parliament.
Speaking
to reporters from foreign media outlets on Sunday, the president
accused his former ally, who he abruptly sacked last month and replaced
with former President Mahinda Rajapaksa, of being "highly corrupt".
"Even
if the UNP has the majority, I told them not to bring Ranil
Wickremesinghe before me, I will not make him prime minister ... not in
my lifetime," Sirisena said, referring to talks with members of the
deposed leader's United National Party.
"He is
corrupt. His economic policies are not good for local industries. He
pursued an extremely liberal form of government that is not compatible
with our culture."
Accusations, investigations
The allegations marked the latest escalation in the dramatic falling out between Sirisena and Wickremesinghe.
The
two men had joined forces before presidential elections in 2015 to
defeat Rajapaksa, a controversial figure regarded as a hero by the
ethnic Sinhalese majority for ending Sri Lanka's civil war by crushing
ethnic Tamil separatists, but who has also faced allegations of wartime
atrocities and corruption.
But after their election
victory, Sirisena and Wickremesinghe saw their relations turning south
amid disagreements over government administration, economic reforms and
an alleged assassination plot against the president.
The tensions boiled over on October 26 with Wickremesinghe's firing - a move widely denounced as unconstitutional.
Subsequent
attempts by Sirisena to dissolve parliament altogether and order
elections for early next year temporarily have been blocked by the
country's Supreme Court. The court is expected to deliver a verdict on
the president's moves on December 7.
Speaking to the
foreign media correspondents, Sirisena also said he planned to appoint a
commission to investigate corruption and malpractice "under
Wickremesinghe's government".
The UNP was quick to hit back at the president's comments.
"He
[Sirisena] can choose any superintendent for his private coconut
estate, but in government, he must recognise the leader of the largest
single party in parliament," party spokesperson Harsha de Silva told the
AFP news agency on Sunday.
De Silva added that the
UNP, which holds 106 seats in the 225-member legislature, welcomed any
corruption investigation, but insisted that existing inquiries into
several high-profile murder cases and corruption scandals allegedly
linked to Rajapaksa should also be pursued with vigour.
Earlier,
Sirisena had told the foreign media correspondents that ongoing
investigations into abductions, killings of journalists and other crimes
allegedly committed by those linked to Rajapaksa and his cabinet would
not be interfered with.
"With a political change of
this nature, there could be different thoughts, but my policy is that
they should not change," Sirisena said when asked about the fate of the
investigations with Rajapaksa now in control of the government.
"No one can interfere" with the police and courts, he added.
Failed crisis talks
Almost
a month into Sri Lanka's power struggle, both Wickremesinghe and
Rajapaksa have separately continued to lay claim to being the country's
legitimate prime minister, an office subordinate to the presidency.
Wickremesinghe
has remained holed up in the prime minister's residence, while
Rajapaksa has control of the post's official offices.
The
two rivals and Sirisena held direct talks last week aimed at ending the
protracted crisis, but the summit failed to produce a breakthrough with
neither side shifting their stance following two preceding
no-confidence votes against Rajapaksa in parliament.
Both
Sirisena and Rajapaksa have rejected the outcome of the November 14 and
18 votes, both of which saw a majority of parliamentarians reject the
latter's leadership, claiming the chamber's speaker had failed to follow
appropriate procedures in the holding of the ballots.
The
ongoing turmoil has heightened international fears about the stability
of Sri Lanka, a country with outstanding foreign debt repayments of more
than $50bn.
The country's parliament is due to
convene this week, on Tuesday and Thursday, to discuss a UNP-proposed
motion to cut off government spending.
If the UNP
wins the vote, it could force Rajapaksa to withdraw his claim to the
leadership, and pressure Sirisena into naming a prime minister from the
party.
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