What Rajapaksa’s return means for China-India tug of war over Sri Lanka

Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena came to power on an anti-China agenda

But his ousting of prime minister Ranil Wickremesinghe in favour of the former strongman leader suggests a shift in position

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Sri Lanka's ousted prime minister Ranil Wickremesinghe. Photo: AFP

Published: 12:30pm, 29 Oct 2018Updated: 1:38pm, 29 Oct 2018

Sri Lanka’s long-running domestic power tussle metamorphosed into full-blown turmoil over the weekend, leaving its foreign policy more tangled than ever, especially in regards to India and China.

That things have come to this won’t be surprising to some, given that Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena and the prime minister he just ousted, Ranil Wickremesinghe, belong to ideologically opposed political parties and have a relationship often described as an “unhappy marriage”.

On Friday, Sirisena sacked Wickremesinghe and his cabinet and installed the former strongman president Mahinda Rajapaksa as the new prime minister, triggering a political crisis.

On Sunday, in a televised address to the nation, Sirisena claimed Wickremesinghe’s dismissal was linked to a plot to assassinate him and a former defence secretary. According to The Hindustan Times, he said a person questioned by investigators said a minister was involved in the plan and so he had no choice but to dismiss the prime minister and his cabinet.

Wickremesinghe has refused to accept the decision while others are horrified that Rajapaksa, accused of human rights violations and corruption, is back in power. In response, Sirisena has suspended parliament, where Wickremesinghe commands majority backing, until November 16.

Supporters of Sri Lanka’s ousted prime minister Ranil Wickremesinghe in Colombo. Photo: Reuters

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