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SRILANKA-POLITICS-TEMPLETREES
Sacked Sri Lankan PM’s residence becomes symbol of power struggle
COLOMBO, Nov 4, 2018 (BSS/AFP) – The banquet hall at Sri Lanka’s ousted
prime minister’s official residence is packed with supporters — many
sleeping on chairs and the floor — who have come to stand guard as he
tussles for power with an old rival.
Thousands of loyalists from across the country are camped out at the Temple
Trees residence in Colombo, a colonial-era bungalow where Ranil
Wickremesinghe has been holed up since his shock dismissal more than a week
ago.
Day and night they top up coconut oil lamps and keep jasmine-perfumed
incense sticks burning in the 5,000-capacity banquet hall — usually reserved
for state dinners and VIP weddings — while the 69-year-old plots his next
move.
President Maithripala Sirisena sacked Wickremesinghe on October 26 but he
has refused to accept the decision or to leave the residence so former
strongman leader Mahinda Rajapakse — who was named in his place — can move
in.
S.M. Faheed, a 73-year-old diehard supporter of Wickremesinghe’s United
National Party (UNP), vowed to stay there until the constitutional crisis is
resolved.
“I will not leave until Ranil is given the PM’s chair,” Faheed said. “We
are here to support him and make sure no one tries to throw him out of Temple
Trees.”
“If I have to, I will stay here till I die.”
Wickremesinghe has asked lawmakers to vote to decide between him and
Rajapakse and end the crisis, but parliament has been suspended since his
sacking.
“If I win… (Rajapakse) must stand down. If he wins, I will leave Temple
Trees and move away,” Wickremesinghe told AFP on Friday.
But he will have trouble convincing his followers to give way.
– Prayers for victory –
Shakuntala Devi travelled 400 kilometres (250 miles) from the Tamil city of
Jaffna in the north of the country to join the crowd that grows each day.
Volunteers bring meals to Devi and others while Buddhist monks chant
prayers that are broadcast on a public address system within the premises.
Devi said she wanted to show solidarity after Wickremesinghe’s government
built 5,000 homes for people like her who were displaced by the civil war
that ended in 2009.
“I came to show my gratitude to the prime minister,” she said.
Another protester who gave her name as Sandya said: “We want to tell
Sirisena: If you have any shame, call parliament and let our leader take back
his seat.”
Others in the huge crowd echoed her views, with one person saying Sri Lanka
had “become the laughing stock of the world”.
“Sirisena is the most ungrateful man. May he be cursed and be struck by
lightning,” said Jayanthi Jayewardena, an elderly supporter.
Sirisena won the presidency from Rajapakse in 2015 with the help of
Wickremesinghe and his UNP. The two formed a coalition, but have since fallen
out badly.
Matters came to a head with the sacking, which Wickremesinghe acknowledged
had surprised him.
– ‘Desperate people’ –
Sirisena has cut Wickremesinghe’s official bodyguard retinue and pool of
limousines. A depleted plain clothes contingent now keeps watch over the
residence while a private cleaning company has also been hired.
A few police commandos in camouflage uniform can also be seen.
Legislators loyal to Wickremesinghe keep up back-to-back press conferences
at the residence which has become the centre of media attention, with crowds
mobbing visiting politicians and asking for selfies.
In comparison Rajapakse has remained low-key, quietly organising a campaign
to win over MPs to support him when parliament eventually meets. Huge sums
have allegedly been offered to potential defectors and some lawmakers have
already left the UNP.
Wickremesinghe, who has been speaking to local and foreign journalists
while conducting talks with allies, said he was concerned that the power
struggle could degenerate into street violence.
“There can be trouble in the country if this goes on,” he said.
“We will be calling on our people not to resort to violence… but you
don’t know what arises in a situation like this. A few desperate people can
start off a bloodbath.”
BSS/AFP/MSY/1116 hrs