Sri Lanka's president suspends parliament

COLOMBO, Sri Lanka - Sri Lanka's president temporarily suspended parliament on Saturday even as the prime minister he fired the previous day claimed he has majority support, adding to a growing political crisis in the South Asian island nation.

A spokesman for the parliamentary speaker confirmed that President Maithripala Sirisena had suspended parliament until Nov 16.

Sirisena sacked Ranil Wickremesinghe and his Cabinet on Friday and replaced him with former president Mahinda Rajapaksa.

The suspension came while Wickremesinghe was holding a news conference in which he asserted that he could prove his majority support in parliament.

"As far as the prime ministership is concerned, the person who has the majority support in parliament has to be the prime minister, and I have that majority of support," he said. "When a motion of no confidence was moved (in the past), we defeated it, showing that the house has the confidence in me."

Rajapakse's party, the Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna, has also claimed that they had secured a majority in the 225-member parliament and would prove their numbers when parliament convenes on Nov 16.

Sirisena made the surprising move after his United People's Freedom Alliance (or UPFA) quit the national coalition government.

Some have claimed the action is a violation of the constitution, including Wickremesinghe and his party, Media and Finance Minister Mangala Samaraweera and political commentator Victor Ivan.

Rajapakse loyalist and former foreign minister G.L. Peiris said he believed there was nothing illegal about sacking Wickremesinghe and challenged him to prove his majority on Nov 16.

Meanwhile, three people were injured on Sunday when they were shot by a security guard for parliamentarian Arjuna Ranatunga, former petroleum minister under Wickremesinghe.

Police said the guard began shooting as Ranatunga tried to enter his office at the state-run Ceylon Petroleum Corp. The security guard has been arrested.

Security has been tightened around key government institutions as trade unions linked to Rajapaksa's political party have blocked access to some Wickremesinghe-party ministers entering their respective ministries.

Xinhua - AP - AFP - Reuters