Former Sri Lankan president Mahinda Rajapaksa accused the speaker of parliament Karu Jayasuirya of being “hand in glove with certain Western embassies” as violence erupted in parliament on Thursday.
Rajapaksa, who oversaw a military offensive that killed tens of thousands of Tamil civilians in 2009, accused Jayasuriya and the UNP of being in “violation of the provisions in the Constitution and the Standing Orders of Parliament” by passing a no confidence motion against him in parliament.
“Only the President can appoint a Prime Minister and a Cabinet,” Rajapaksa declared. “The Speaker and Parliament have no role in making such appointments.”
He went on to call for snap electiions, stating,
“I suggest that we take this matter before the 15 million plus voters in the country instead of trying to resolve this among the 225 persons sitting in this House. That is the parliamentary tradition.”
“We politicians must realize that according to our Constitution, sovereignty resides in the people not in Parliament.”
See the full text of his speech here.
