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.”

A second day of chaos set off inside Sri Lanka’s parliament as lawmakers hurled chairs, books and water mixed with chilli powder at the Speaker, who had to be shielded by a heavy police escort in the chambers.

Amidst fears of violence spilling into Sri Lanka’s streets and the country’s security forces intervening, international pressure must be sustained, The Guardian argues in its editorial on Thursday.

“The suspicion is that [President Maithripala Sirisena] and his chosen prime minister [Mahinda Rajapaksa] hope to give the impression that Sri Lanka is becoming ungovernable and that fresh elections are the only solution,” the newspaper states.

The Chinese government has expressed its hope that Sri Lanka can maintain stability and deal with the current political crisis.

Responding to a request for comment on the ‘political upheaval’ in Sri Lanka after the Sri Lankan president’s attempt to dissolve parliament was suspended by the Supreme Court and Mahinda Rajapaksa’s position as prime minister suffered a no confidence vote, Hua Chunying, spokesperson for China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said on Wednesday:

The Sri Lankan armed forces announced that it had taken a delegation of foreign military students and their families on a tour of the North-east, where they visited different army bases and were told by the military of how the region was recaptured.

<p>Germany's ambassador to Colombo today criticised the violent scenes in parliament tweeting it was a "bad day for democracy in Sri Lanka."&nbsp;</p> <p>"SL has a long and proud democratic tradition - reading about throwing objects at the speaker and preventing votes is unbecoming of a democracy," Joern Rohde added.&nbsp;</p> <p>Sri Lanka’s parliament descended into chaos this morning as lawmakers loyal to Mahinda Rajapaksa violently stormed parliamentary Speaker, Karu Jayasuria’s chair.</p>

India must stand up for democracy in its own backyard as Sri Lanka’s current political turmoil points to China’s increasing role, the Financial Times said in an editorial on Thursday.

“China is again becoming a supplier of political instability” along its strategic ‘string of pearls’ in the Indian Ocean, the editorial board writes, referring to Sri Lanka's recent political crisis.

Thousands of United National Party (UNP) supporters and party members gathered in Colombo today to show their opposition to the replacement of the prime minister and the dissolution of parliament by the president, Maithripala Sirisena. 

Protestors marched with coffins carrying effigies of Sirisena and his appointee for prime minister Mahinda Rajapaksa, which they burnt at the end of the demonstration.

British Labour Party MPs have written to the UK Secretary of State, Sajid Javid, urging the government to reconsider its asylum policy and stop all deportations to the island, of Tamils in particular, in view of Sri Lanka's ongoing political crisis. 

The letter follows a previous letter to the Home Secretary, Jeremy Hunt urging action such as discussions with the EU regarding the suspension of trade benefits to Sri Lanka. 

A Sri Lankan government MP has filed a complaint with the police saying he was threatened with a knife inside the parliamentary complex. 

Photographs emerged today showing the UNP MP Palitha Thewarapperuma wielding a knife during this morning's chaotic parliamentary session, which descended into violence with a UPFA MP throwing a waste bin at the Speaker and one MP being taken to hospital with injuries.