{"id":61365,"date":"2018-10-31T02:22:47","date_gmt":"2018-10-31T06:22:47","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/dbsjeyaraj.com\/dbsj\/?p=61365"},"modified":"2018-10-31T04:12:02","modified_gmt":"2018-10-31T08:12:02","slug":"defiant-ranil-steps-out-of-temple-trees-clad-in-bullet-proof-vest-to-address-huge-crowds-demonstrating-against-attempted-coup-by-maithripala-and-mahinda-to-retain-power-through-extra-constutio","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dbsjeyaraj.com\/dbsj\/?p=61365","title":{"rendered":"Defiant Ranil Steps Out of “Temple Trees” Clad in Bullet-proof Vest To Address Huge Crowds Demonstrating Against “Attempted Coup” By Maithripala and Mahinda to Retain Power Through Extra-Constutional Means."},"content":{"rendered":"


\nThousands of protestors yesterday Oct (30) thronged the Liberty Roundabout in an unexpectedly massive show of support for mounting calls on the Speaker of Parliament to reconvene the House and end the constitutional deadlock, even as Ranil Wickremesinghe, who was controversially deposed as Prime Minister last week, stood his ground for a fifth straight day.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Speaking to the large crowds gathered outside his official residence, Wickremesinghe used the words \u201cattempted coup\u201d for the first time to speak of his removal,which many legal experts have called illegal and extra-constitutional.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe attempted coup is not a threat to a single person or political party; it is an attack on the very foundations of our nation – law, order, democracy, the Constitution- and therefore a threat to every Sri Lankan,\u201d he told the protestors.<\/p>\n

Issuing a broadside at President Maithripala Sirisena, the ousted Prime Minister,whose sacking of Wickremesinghe triggered a major constitutional crisis last Friday (26), charged: \u201cIt is the people that are sovereign in Sri Lanka, not the President. Convene Parliament now and let the people\u2019s will be done.\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

It was the first time in five days that the deposed Prime Minister, who appeared to be wearing a bulletproof vest, stepped out of Temple Trees \u2013 as far as the gate of the residence, where UNP politicos gave rousing speeches from a mobile stage erected on the back of a truck.<\/p>\n

There are fears that if Wickremesinghe ventures out too far, Temple Trees will be \u201coverrun\u201d his aides say and that he would be prevented from returning. The stately residence has been associated with the Sri Lankan premiership for decades and lends an aura of legitimacy to Wickremesinghe\u2019s claim that he remains the lawful Prime Minister of Sri Lanka.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe should not budge,\u201d senior constitutional lawyer and MP Jayampathy Wickremaratne told Daily FT, \u201cUntil Parliament dismisses him in accordance with the Constitution, either by defeating him at the Budget or through a no-confidence motion.\u201d<\/p>\n

Political Scientist Dr. Jayadeva Uyangoda said Temple Trees was symbolically associated with the Premiership. \u201cThe moment he leaves Temple Trees he may lose claim to the position,\u201d Dr. Uyangoda said.<\/p>\n

The UNP bussed crowds of supporters in to attend the rally but the protest drew an unconventional crowd, including young people, civil society activists and Colombo residents, many of whom were attending their very first public demonstration.<\/p>\n

The epicentre of the protest was a stage at the entrance to Temple Trees from St. Michael\u2019s Road but the crowd spread out to the Liberty Roundabout and sections of Dharmapala Mawatha and Duplication Road. <\/p>\n

Activists confined themselves to the three-cornered island that holds the statue of slain Foreign Minister Lakshman Kadirgamar. The crowd also comprised numerous middle-aged housewives, private sector professionals and university students.<\/p>\n

Speaker after speaker at the rally referred to the newly-installed Rajapaksa Government as a \u201cjunta\u201d that was storming ministries and media institutions in a bid to grab power unconstitutionally.<\/p>\n

UNP parliamentarians, many of whom were recently ousted, pilloried President Sirisena for his unconstitutional actions. Former Deputy Minister Ranjan Ramanayake accused President Sirisena\u2019s family of graft and apologised to the country for working to bring him to power in 2015. They called President Sirisena a \u201ctraitor\u201d and referred to former President Mahinda Rajapaksa as a \u201crogue prime minister\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cJust because the President has abandoned his January 8 mandate, it doesn\u2019t mean we have. Our battle goes on,\u201d former Health Minister Rajitha Senaratne charged during his speech.<\/p>\n

The former Minister was the first to join President Sirisena when he left former President Rajapaksa\u2019s Government to challenge him in 2014.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey will intimidate us and try to throw us in jail; even if we are thrown in jail, you keep fighting, let\u2019s take this fight from the Parliament to the President\u2019s House,\u201d Senaratne charged.<\/p>\n

Former Minister Sarath Fonseka stated that President Sirisena had totally neglected the Constitution and crushed the democratic rights of the people \u201cin order to achieve his petty political ambitions and strengthen his political journey\u201d. <\/p>\n

\u201cWe all must get together to save this country.They are threatening to put us behind bars. We are ready to go to prison. We are the people who fought with Mahinda Rajapaksa, who was stronger, and we are ready to fight with Maithripala Sirisena,\u201d he asserted.<\/p>\n

UNP spokesperson Harin Fernando emphatically declared: \u201cWe are the people who brought Maithripala Sirisena to power and it will be us who will send him home.\u201d<\/p>\n

Fernando bellowed that the UNP would continue to push for Parliament to convene and resolve the current standoff.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe struggle today is not to protect Ranil but to protect democracy and good governance,\u201d Fernando later told Daily FT.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was heartening to see so many members from civil society coming out onto the road to stand against the political coup staged by the President, especially when the old fears of suppression return with the return of Mahinda Rajapaksa. People have unpleasant memories of what happened during the Rajapaksa era and those are legitimate fears as he has grabbed power again. Yet they are coming out to stand for democracy in the country,\u201d he added. <\/p>\n

Many participants at the rally were vocal about the fact that they were not supportive of ousted Premier Wickremesinghe or the UNP, insisting that they were standing at the demonstration for democracy and constitutional governance.<\/p>\n

Ayomi Fonseka, 56, a retired accountant, said she was no fan of Wickremesinghe but insisted: \u201cIf the people don\u2019t stand for democracy, these rotters (she pointed to the politicians onstage some distance away) won\u2019t do a thing.\u201d<\/p>\n

A Sirisena voter in 2015, she said at the time that she would have voted \u201cfor Satan\u201d against former President Rajapaksa. An expat who returned to the country soon after the war ended in 2009, Fonseka said she vividly remembers the fear psychosis that had gripped the country during the Rajapaksa\u2019s tenure. <\/p>\n

\u201cWe had to talk in code, even with friends. Rajapaksa brings back a culture of fear,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Demonstrators like Fonseka held up placards saying \u2018I\u2019m not here for Ranil, I\u2019m here for democracy\u2019.<\/p>\n

Nuzra Hussein, dressed in a colourful hijab, was one of the earliest to show up at the democracy rally. Standing in the scorching heat, Hussein said she was standing for democracy but was full of criticism for Wickremesinghe. \u201cBut the President cannot do this, he can\u2019t just throw aside the Constitution,\u201d she cried.<\/p>\n

Even as the massive rally unfolded on the streets of Colombo, parliamentarians from almost all parties urged Speaker Karu Jayasuriya to convene Parliament in defiance of the President\u2019s prorogation, insisting that he had the power to do so. Speaker Jayasuriya promised to meet with President Sirisena and urge him to convene the House.<\/p>\n

Out on the streets, the people echoed the call.<\/p>\n

\u201cPresident Sirisena is feeling the pressure internationally and the good turnout at the rally is significant because it shows that pressure is mounting domestically as well,\u201d Dr. Uyangoda explained.<\/p>\n

Courtesy:Daily FT<\/em><\/p>\n

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Thousands of protestors yesterday Oct (30) thronged the Liberty Roundabout in an unexpectedly massive show of support for mounting calls on the Speaker of Parliament to reconvene the House and end the constitutional deadlock, even as Ranil Wickremesinghe, who was controversially deposed as Prime Minister last week, stood his ground for a fifth straight day. …<\/p>\n

Continue reading ‘Defiant Ranil Steps Out of “Temple Trees” Clad in Bullet-proof Vest To Address Huge Crowds Demonstrating Against “Attempted Coup” By Maithripala and Mahinda to Retain Power Through Extra-Constutional Means.’ »<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[12],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dbsjeyaraj.com\/dbsj\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/61365"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dbsjeyaraj.com\/dbsj\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dbsjeyaraj.com\/dbsj\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dbsjeyaraj.com\/dbsj\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dbsjeyaraj.com\/dbsj\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=61365"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/dbsjeyaraj.com\/dbsj\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/61365\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":61366,"href":"https:\/\/dbsjeyaraj.com\/dbsj\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/61365\/revisions\/61366"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dbsjeyaraj.com\/dbsj\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=61365"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dbsjeyaraj.com\/dbsj\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=61365"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dbsjeyaraj.com\/dbsj\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=61365"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}