AFP, COLOMBOSri Lanka’s president yesterday reappointed as prime minister the same man he sacked from the job nearly two months ago, ending a messy power struggle that paralyzed the island nation. Ranil Wickremesinghe, whose shock dismissal in late October threw Sri Lanka into a constitutional crisis, was sworn in at a closed-door ceremony in the president’s office in Colombo. The ousted prime minister long asserted that his dismissal was illegal, a view supported by Sri Lanka’s parliament, which six times voted against Rajapaksa’s claim to rule during tumultuous sessions that erupted into brawls. However, on Saturday, Rajapaksa — who presided over the bloody end to Sri Lanka’s civil war in 2009 — backed down from the post of prime minister, signaling that the 51-day standoff had come to a bitter close. The strongman, whose past administrations were accused of gross rights abuses and whose family still holds considerable sway in Sri Lanka, promised to make a comeback at local council elections.

Source: Taipei Times December 16, 2018 15:56 UTC