Rajapaksa loyalist sworn in as new Sri Lankan PM

New Delhi, July 22

Hours after a crackdown against protesters in Colombo, Dinesh Gunawardena, a leftist politician with a strong Indian connection, was sworn in as the Prime Minister of Sri Lanka on Friday.

US Ambassador Julie Chung met President Ranil Wickremesinghe and expressed concern over action against the protesters.

Known as a Rajapaksa loyalist, Gunawardena was sworn in by Wickremesinghe along with 17 Cabinet ministers. During the independence struggle, Gunawardena’s parents had taken refuge in India where his elder brother was born. Gunawardena has served as minister for almost 15 years.

A few hours before the swearing-in ceremony, armed security personnel gathered in strength and dismantled the tents of protesters outside the premises of the presidential secretariat.

In the ensuing face-off, nine persons were arrested and two others sustained injuries. The Sri Lanka Police said a special team had been set up to obtain scientific evidence of any crimes committed on the secretariat premises.

The police admitted that it conducted a special operation with the armed forces early in the morning to clear protesters who were illegally occupying the presidential secretariat, its main entrance and the vicinity.

The US envoy also tweeted, stating that the new government should look ahead at the immediate and tangible steps it could take to regain the trust of the people, restore stability and rebuild the economy. The envoy said she met the new President to express her “grave concern” over security forces raiding and partially clearing a protest camp.

Wickremesinghe was elected as President in a parliamentary vote on Wednesday and was sworn in on Thursday.

Meanwhile, Chinese President Xi Jinping congratulated Ranil Wickremesinghe on his election as President and offered to provide support as “his capacity allows” to Colombo, amid Beijing’s concerns over billions of dollars of Chinese investments and defaulted loans in the economically bankrupt island nation.