US weighs in on political crisis in Sri Lanka
The United States weighed in Wednesday on a political crisis that has engulfed the Indian Ocean island nation of Sri Lanka since the president abruptly fired the prime minister and replaced him with an authoritarian former leader who has been accused of serious human rights abuses.
State Department spokesman Robert Palladino told reporters, “It’s up to the parliament to decide who the prime minister is.” That follows the Sri Lankan president’s sacking last week of Ranil Wickremesinghe and his replacement with former leader Mahinda Rajapaksa, which critics say violates the constitution.
President Maithripala Sirisena swore in a new Cabinet under Rajapaksa on Monday despite a warning from the parliament speaker of possible violence if lawmakers were not summoned immediately to resolve the crisis. Sirisena suspended Parliament in an apparent move to give Rajapaksa time to muster enough support to survive any no-confidence vote.
The political upheaval and challenges to the democratic process could endanger improvements in U.S.-Sri Lanka relations since Rajapaksa lost power in elections in 2015. He had presided over the defeat of ethnic Tamil rebels in the nation’s quarter-century civil war that ended in 2009. However his government became alienated from the West over its failure to address allegations of war crimes in the final months of the conflict and his crackdown on dissent.
For the past three years, as Sri Lanka has had a fragile unity government, the U.S has expanded relations that were curtailed during the later years of Rajapaksa’s rule, including renewed military cooperation. Sri Lanka has a strategic location on sea lanes linking Asia to Africa and Europe, where Washington vies for influence with China.
The U.S. has also increased development aid. The government-funded Millennium Challenge Corporation has been preparing a five-year assistance package, or compact, worth hundreds of millions of dollars that was expected to be finalized in the coming weeks. That could now be thrown into doubt.
“No actions are being taken either to move the compact forward or to suspend it while we assess the situation in country,” MCC said in a statement to The Associated Press. The agency said it expects Sri Lanka “to remain committed to democratic governance, which includes respect for fundamental freedoms and rule of law.”
The developments in Sri Lanka will also cause concern in Congress, which has conditioned assistance to the island on post-war justice and the restoration of civil and human rights.
Vermont’s Sen. Patrick Leahy, the top-ranking Democrat on the powerful Appropriations Committee, said that if the appointment of Rajapaksa as prime minister stands, “it will pose a grave challenge to U.S. engagement with that government.”
He said that when Rajapaksa was in power, he ran “the government as a criminal enterprise, making sweetheart deals with China, persecuting the Tamil minority and wrongly imprisoning political opponents and journalists.”
In addition allegations of rights abuses, Rajapaksa’s government came under fire in Sri Lanka for taking out billions of dollars in loans from China to build a scantly used port. He was also criticized for the lavish lifestyles of his three sons and nepotism that saw his brothers holding sway in many key institutions.
But as the current government’s popularity has waned, and the Sri Lankan economy has stalled, Rajapaksa’s political fortunes have improved. His party swept local elections in February.
(AP)
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Anybody can accuse anybody of anything. After appointing a half a dozen commissions or so to look into ‘allegations’ against Rajapaksha clan, how many things have been proven and how many have been proven guilty and behind the bars?
MR being accused of any number of things has no merit unless they are proven. It has been three years and the public can see for themselves what facts has been unearthed.
Westerns who slaughtered innocent civilians in SriLanka before 100s of years are now pouring Crocodile tears for minorities here. Westerns MUST compensate for those CRIMES done in SriLanka against humanity. They are the criminal evils who caused these most of issues….!
Democrat Senator Leahy says “Rajapaksa ran the government as a criminal enterprise, making deals with China, persecuting the Tamil minority and wrongly imprisoning political opponents and journalists”.From where does he get this baloney info ? Rather inappropriate language too – some might even say “UNCOUTH” language. Dear Democrat Senator your language reflects your upbringing, breeding and education. So you must be v. careful before you open your oral cavity which appears to be quite foul at the moment. Always connect your BRAIN and not your SPINAL CORD before you open your oral cavity !! A lesson to learn Democrat Senator !! He is exposing his unholy political alliances and preferences in SL politics. You must note Senator that SL destiny is not linked to the West and India. It is obviously linked with certain nuclear powers that SL can RELY on. Most importantly, the people of SL are slowly but surely realising this NOW.
SL is a sovereign country and Sri Lankans do not like your interference in Sri Lankan affairs. US of A may be a powerful country but RESPONSIBILITY should come with power. Apparently NOT. A lesson the Democrat Senator should learn. Loss of CREDIBILITY is a serious issue !!
Sri Lankans do not comment on American appointments and rightly so – it is none of their business. Similarly it is NONE of YOUR BUSINESS !! The Democrat Senator should learn from that too. It appears the Democrat Senator has a LOT TO LEARN !!!!
Comments from Indra, Amden and Michael represent a ‘Frog in the Well’ mentality.
Specially with the onset of the Web in every aspect of the life of a nation and its citizens, we are now a global community rather than being confined to the shores of our island.
We should stop saying ‘mind your own business’ to others because we belong to a global community.
If our fellow global states have problems with us, address those problems and respond positively with improvements to avoid future situations.
If SL Citizens would like to be frogs in well, so be it. Unfortunately, we’ll be surviving on Punnakku soon.
This is for the comment For Fiery Fernando.
I do not have a Frog in the well mentality. But I do have a sense of SOVEREIGNTY and National pride and International Hypocrisy.
Living in the Global community is not keeping the Global hooligans happy by bending backward to commands issued from India, US, UK or EU like Ponil did over the last 3 years while the country go to the dog. It is about doing the best for your citizens and respecting the others right to exist according to their way of life.
Any comments about the Global community giving refuge to who looted the central bank in a poor country while there is an international arrest warrant or Ponil not appealing to his global community chums to arrest and send him to SL to stand trial?
Fiery Fernando, Global Community? 27,000 individuals of Security got killed, 45,000 got injured, 5,000 got missing. Who did this? What support we got from those Global community. Now they suggested annd YP agreed to pay compensation for terror groups from tax payers money. YP co sponserd XXXXX accusations and facilitated Resolution 30/1 thanks to Awa-Mangala, He should be tried for treason. Remember Sl is a sovereign contry. ope you have been already serving PUNNAKKU to those YP MPs who approved 225% pay increase for them.
Fiery Fernando says we have a frog in the well mentality and being in a global community we must allow any D*ck, Tom and Harry or country to interfere in SL internal affairs !! He is obviously a supporter of RW, a failed politician who was constitutionally removed from office by the President. Lets have a look at the political history of the UNP from the time of JR. Remember the betrayal of the Motherland by JR/UNP signing the IndoLanka Pact in 1987 and the 13th. amendment. RW/UNP are carrying on the uncle’s betrayal of the motherland. His pro LTTE stance is known. Remember the many CFA’s with the LTTE. Remember the 600 Police Officers who were slaughtered by the LTTE on his orders to surrender to the LTTE. Remember the Batalanda torture chambers and the hundreds of young Sri Lankans under the misguided JVP who lost their lives, yet the JVP now supports the UNP. Mr Fiery Fernando I’d rather be a frog in the well and be a patriot !!