INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
Maithripala Sirisena's decision to dissolve parliament, worsening an already major political crisis, has drawn criticism from Western
powers, including the United States and Britain.Sirisena dissolved parliament on Friday night, only five days before it was due to reconvene
and he was in danger of losing a vote of no confidence
He has also called a general election for Jan
5.The president triggered an intense power struggle when he sacked prime minister Ranil Wickremesinghe late last month and appointed the
island's former leader, Mahinda Rajapaksa, a pro-China strongman ousted by Sirisena in 2015, in his place.Sirisena's rivals are set to
Central Asian Affairs said in a tweet that the United States was "deeply concerned by news the Sri Lanka Parliament will be dissolved,
further deepening the political crisis"
It said democracy needed to be respected to ensure stability and prosperity.Mark Field, the British minister of State for Asia and the
Pacific, tweeted his concern about the dissolution of parliament days before it was due to be reconvened."As a friend of Sri Lanka, the UK
calls on all parties to uphold the constitution and respect democratic institutions and processes," Field said.Canada's Foreign Policy
twitter feed said that it was "deeply concerned" about the decision and referred to the risks to reconciliation work after the nation's
civil war."This further political uncertainty is corrosive to Sri Lanka's democratic future and its commitments on reconciliation and
accountability," it said.Australian Minister for Foreign Affairs Marise Payne expressed both concern and disappointment in a statement,
saying the move "undermines Sri Lanka's long democratic tradition and poses a risk to its stability and prosperity".Sirisena has said he
fired Wickremesinghe because the prime minister was trying to implement "a new, extreme liberal political concept by giving more priority
for foreign policies and neglecting the local people's sentiment".India and the West have raised concerns over Rajapaksa's close ties with
Beijing loaned Sri Lanka billions of dollars for infrastructure projects when Rajapaksa was president between 2005-2015, putting the country
deep into debt.Wickremesinghe refused to vacate the official prime minister's residence saying he was the prime minister and had a
parliamentary majority.Before he signed the papers dissolving parliament and calling the election, Sirisena appointed allies of his and of
Rajapaksa to cabinet positions.Independent legal experts have told news agency Reuters that parliament could be dissolved only in early
2020, which would be four-and-half-years from the first sitting of the current parliament
The only other legal way would be through a referendum, or with the consent of two thirds of lawmakers.Given those views, it was not
immediately clear how Sirisena is on legal safe ground by dissolving parliament, though his legal experts have said there are provisions for
him to do so.(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by TheIndianSubcontinent staff and is published from a syndicated
