Ranil Wickremesinghe.
Sri Lanka's ousted Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe has warned that the time is running out to avert a 'bloodbath'. However, he has voiced hope that the parliament will resolving the prevailing constitutional crisis in the coming days.
Wickremesinghe, who was sacked on October 26 by President Maithripala Sirisena added; "we wil be calling on our people not to resort to violence. But you don't know what arises in a situation like this."
"A few desperate people can start off a bloodbath", he stated.
Wickremesinghe said he hoped the showdown could be ended peacefully and expressed optimism that a solution to the crisis would soon be found.
"I feel parliament is going to prevail finally. This can't take too long. I would say in a week to 10 days at the most," he said, adding the priority was to establish parliament's "supremacy".
Wickremesinghe said two smaller parties -- the Marxist Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna and the Tamil National Alliance -- were backing his call for the legislature to meet despite obstacles placed by Sirisena.
The two parties signed a petition to the parliament speaker on Friday demanding the reconvening of the 225-member assembly on November 7.
The island nation was plunged into a constitutional crisis on October 26 when President a Sirisena fired his former ally Wickremesinghe and replaced him with Mahinda Rajapaksa, an ex-president he defeated in a 2015 presidential election.
The turmoil was exacerbated by Sirisena's subsequent decision to also suspend parliament until November 16.
Wickremesinghe, who insists he remains prime minister, has demanded a parliamentary vote to prove his majority. The United Nations backed that call on Friday, just as the UNP submitted a no-confidence motion against Rajapaksa and said the vote will be put on the agenda as soon as parliament reconvenes.
"A majority of parliament has said all these actions (of the president) are not legitimate and not in accordance with the constitution," said Wickremesinghe.
The political crises in Sri Lanka took an ugly turn on October 28 when bodyguards of cricketer-turned-politician Arjuna Ranatunga, a Wickremesinghe loyalist fired live rounds at the supporters of the new premier Mahinda Rajapaksa, leaving one person dead.
