Namal Rajapaksa, the Sri Lankan parliamentarian and son of former president Mahinda Rajapaksa, has joined the Sri Lanka Podujana Party (SLPP) leading a potential exodus from Sri Lankan president Maithripala Sirisena’s Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP).

“I am joining the [SLPP] effective immediately,” Namal tweeted on Saturday. “We will strive to create a broader coalition with many stakeholders under the leadership of [Sirisena and Mahinda Rajapaksa] to face the upcoming General Election and come out victorious.”

<p>The Tamil National Alliance (TNA) is set to take legal action against the sudden dissolution of parliament by Sri Lankan president Maithripala Sirisena.</p> <p>The party’s spokesperson and MP, M A Sumanthiran said the party would be going to the Supreme Court to challenge the dissolution.</p>

Sri Lanka’s United National Party (UNP) has met with the elections commission and plans to take action in the Supreme Court against the dissolution of parliament by President Maithripala Sirisena.

“The emerging tyranny of Maithripala Sirisena will be fought in the courts, in Parliament and at an election,” Mangala Samaraweera, the UNP’s finance minister said.

<p>Sri Lanka's president Maithripala Sirisena on Friday brought the Department of Government Printing under his power, announcing an extraordinary gazette notice to that effect.&nbsp;</p> <p>The move came as Sirisena dissolved parliament, sacking all 225 lawmakers and calling fresh parliamentary elections on January 5, 2019.&nbsp;</p>

The TNA MP Raviraj was remembered in Jaffna today on the 12th anniversary of his assassination.

TNA MP, Mavai Senathirajah, fellow party members and local residents took part in a commemorative event by the statue erected in his honour. 

The United States, UK, Australia and Canada were swift to express their concern at the Sri Lankan president's decision to dissolve parliament yesterday, warning that the move would undermine the country's international reputation.  

"The US is deeply concerned by news the Sri Lanka Parliament will be dissolved, further deepening the political crisis.  As a committed partner of #SriLanka, we believe democratic institutions and processes need to be respected to ensure stability and prosperity," the US State Department's South and Central Asia desk tweeted. 

The US embassy in Sri Lanka warned there was much at stake and the latest move would serve to jeopardize Sri Lanka's economic progress and international reputation.

 

<p>Ambassadors of the European Union, France, Germany, Italy, Netherlands, Romania, UK, Norway and Switzerland yesterday warned that Sri Lanka's political crisis risked damaging its international reputation and could deter investors.&nbsp;</p> <p>The country plunged into turmoil last month after the president sacked the prime minister and appointment the former president, Mahinda Rajapaksa in his place.&nbsp;</p>

Sri Lanka's president Maithripala Sirisena today issued a gazette notification dissolving parliament and sacking all 225 lawmakers. 

The gazette notification, released this evening, states elections will be held on January 5, 2019, almost two years ahead of schedule. 

<p>Sri Lanka’s United National Party (UNP) is planning to mount legal action against Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena and his snap dissolution of Parliament.</p> <p>Managala Samaraweera, Finance Minister in the ‘fallen’ UNP government, and one time Foreign Minister, described Sirisena as a “menace” to Sri Lanka and its “democratic traditions”.</p>

^{File photo. Welagama sits alongside former Sri Lankan president Mahinda Rajapaksa.}

A senior Rajapaksa supporting parliamentarian has admitted that Sri Lanka has become “the laughing stock of the world” as political turmoil in Colombo continues.

<p>US policy on Sri Lanka has over emphasised growing military relations “to the detriment of human rights accountability,” writes J S Tissainayagam in the Asian Correspondent this week.</p> <p>“The policy of western democracies – led by the United States – of over-emphasising military-to-military relations with Sri Lanka to the detriment of human rights accountability, has weakened their hand to play a constructive role in this crisis,” said Tissainayagam.</p>

<p>Sri Lanka’s former minister for National Languages and Social Integration has slammed ambassadors from the United States and Britain for meeting with Sri Lanka’s speaker of parliament, reports <a href="http://colombogazette.com/2018/11/08/us-uk-accused-of-interfering-in-sr…">Colombo Gazette</a>.</p>

<p>Sri Lanka's newly appointed foreign minister, Sarath Amunugama reassured India that it would always be "Colombo's first choice" during an interview to <a href="https://www.indiatoday.in/world/story/exclusive-india-will-always-be-co…">India Today</a> this week.&nbsp;</p> <p>Amunugama, who was appointed by President Sirisena following the sacking of Ranil Wickremesinghe last month and appointment of Mahinda Rajapaksa in his place, said "No Chinese submarine can dock here. Sri Lanka will protect its sovereignty."</p> <p>"Just because we take loan from China, it does not mean we will subscribe to their strategic interests."</p> <p>"We don't want to be dragged into the military and strategic interests of any country."</p>

<p>Journalists and media workers told Al Jazeera they now lived in fear following the return of Rajapaksa to the political scene.&nbsp;</p> <p>Several journalists with Sri Lanka's public media company said they &nbsp;"are thinking of quitting their jobs because of increased government censorship".&nbsp;</p> <p>"We have been taken hostage," a journalist at Lakehouse told the news agency.</p>