Sri Lanka: supporters occupy banquet hall of sacked PM’s residence ‘Temple Trees’ as power struggle deepens
- Ranil Wickremesinghe has been holed up at the residence since his shock dismissal more than a week ago
- Supporters vow to stay there until the constitutional crisis is resolved
The banquet hall at Sri Lanka’s ousted prime minister’s official residence is packed with supporters – many sleeping on chairs and the floor – who have come to stand guard as he tussles for power with an old rival.
Thousands of loyalists from across the country are camped out at the Temple Trees residence in Colombo, a colonial-era bungalow where Ranil Wickremesinghe has been holed up since his shock dismissal more than a week ago.
Day and night they top up coconut oil lamps and keep jasmine-perfumed incense sticks burning in the 5,000-capacity banquet hall – usually reserved for state dinners and VIP weddings – while the 69-year-old plots his next move.
President Maithripala Sirisena sacked Wickremesinghe on October 26 but he has refused to accept the decision or to leave the residence so former strongman leader Mahinda Rajapakse – who was named in his place – can move in.
S.M. Faheed, a 73-year-old diehard supporter of Wickremesinghe’s United National Party (UNP), vowed to stay there until the constitutional crisis is resolved.
“I will not leave until Ranil is given the PM’s chair,” Faheed said.
