Ranil Wickremesinghe

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FILE- In this Oct. 30, 2019 file photo, Sri Lankan Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe attends a meeting with media representatives and civil society members at his office in Colombo, Sri Lanka. Wickremesinghe plans to step down, clearing the way for Parliament to choose a new prime minister to work with newly elected President Gotabaya Rajapaksa. (AP Photo/Eranga Jayawardena, File)

Sri Lankan PM to step down, clearing way for new president

By KRISHAN FRANCIS - Associated Press

FILE- In this Nov. 12, 2018 file photo, Sri Lankan lawmaker Sajith Premadasa, center, leaves the supreme courts complex after attending a filing in of a petition in Colombo, Sri Lanka. Sri Lanka's governing coalition has named its charismatic deputy leader, Premadasa, as its candidate for in November's presidential election, ending a long tussle with the party leader, Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe, over the nomination. (AP Photo/Eranga Jayawardena, File)

Sri Lanka’s governing party picks Premadasa as candidate

By KRISHAN FRANCIS - Associated Press

A Sri Lankan man stands near billboards displaying President Maithripala Sirisena, right, and former president Mahinda Rajapaksa, left, in Colombo, Sri Lanka, Wednesday, Sept. 18, 2019. Sri Lanka will hold a presidential election on Nov. 16, the elections office said Wednesday, amid calls for a strong leader to boost national security as the country recovers from deadly Easter Sunday bomb attacks. (AP Photo/Eranga Jayawardena)

Sri Lanka to hold presidential election on Nov. 16

By BHARATHA MALLAWARACHI - Associated Press

Sri Lankan Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe leaves after testifying in front of a parliamentary committee investigating the Islamic State-inspired Easter Sunday bomb attacks, at the parliament complex in Colombo, Sri Lanka, Tuesday, Aug. 6, 2019. Wickremesinghe said the coordinated suicide bomb attacks in three churches and three tourist hotels on April 21 were the result of the security apparatus failing to follow the transition of religious extremists into terrorists, adding that the country should prepare itself to face new forms of terrorism prevalent in other countries. (AP Photo/Eranga Jayawardena)

Sri Lanka PM: Country must prepare for new terrorism phase

By KRISHAN FRANCIS - Associated Press

In this Sunday, Dec. 16, 2018, file photo, Sri Lanka's reinstated Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe, center, surrounded by his loyal lawmakers and supporters speaks after assuming duties in Colombo, Sri Lanka. Sri Lanka's government has defeated a no-confidence motion in Parliament on Thursday, July 11, that accused it of failing to prevent Easter Sunday bomb attacks that killed more than 250 people. The motion against Wickremesinghe's government was defeated by a vote of 119 lawmakers against the measure to 92 in favor. (AP Photo/Eranga Jayawardena, File)

Sri Lankan government defeats no-confidence motion

By BHARATHA MALLAWARACHI - Associated Press

Sri Lankan PM opposes president’s move to hang drug convicts

By KRISHAN FRANCIS - Associated Press

FILE -In this Friday, Nov. 2, 2018, file photo, ousted Sri Lankan Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe listens during an interview with the Associated Press at his official residence in Colombo, Sri Lanka. (AP Photo/Eranga Jayawardena, File)

Sri Lanka political rivalry seen as factor in Easter blasts

By KRISHAN FRANCIS - Associated Press

Sri Lankan Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe takes a question during an interview with the Associated Press at his office in Colombo, Sri Lanka, Thursday, April 25, 2019. Wickremesinghe has acknowledged to The Associated Press that minority Ahmadi Muslims who are refugees from Pakistan have faced attacks since the Easter bombings. He said Thursday that security forces were trying to help the Ahmadis. (AP Photo/Eranga Jayawardena)

AP Interview: Sri Lanka’s PM says potential bombers at large

By EMILY SCHMALL - Associated Press

Sri Lankan president distances himself from pledges to UN

By KRISHAN FRANCIS - Associated Press

Sri Lanka passes stopgap, plans full budget vote in February

By BHARATHA MALLAWARACHI - Associated Press

FILE - In this Saturday, Dec. 15, 2018 file photo, Sri Lanka's disputed prime minister Mahinda Rajapaksa folds his hands in prayer as he is blessed by a Buddhist monk after signing his resignation paper in Colombo, Sri Lanka. Members of Sri Lanka's Parliament on Tuesday questioned whether Rajapaksa, who recently quit as prime minister, can hold his seat after earlier relinquishing membership in the political party that he represented in the last election. (AP Photo/Eranga Jayawardena)

Sri Lankan lawmakers question Rajapaksa’s parliamentary seat

By KRISHAN FRANCIS - Associated Press

Sri Lanka's reinstated prime minister Ranil Wickeremesinghe, center, surrounded by his loyal lawmakers and supporters speaks after assuming duties in Colombo, Sri Lanka, Sunday, Dec. 16, 2018. Sri Lanka's president has reappointed Ranil Wickremesinghe as prime minister, nearly two months after firing him and setting off weeks of political stalemate. (AP Photo/Eranga Jayawardena)

Sri Lankan president doubts he can work with reappointed PM

By KRISHAN FRANCIS - Associated Press

FILE - In this Nov. 29,2018, file photo, Sri Lanka's disputed Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa, gestures as he arrives for a meeting with his supporting lawmakers at the parliamentary complex in Colombo, Sri Lanka. A Sri Lankan lawmaker said that the disputed Prime Minister Rajapaksa will resign Saturday to end the country's political crisis. (AP Photo/Eranga Jayawardena, File)

Sri Lanka’s disputed prime minister resigns to end impasse

By KRISHAN FRANCIS - Associated Press

Sri Lanka's disputed Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa, gestures as he arrives for a meeting with his supporting law makers at the parliamentary complex in Colombo, Sri Lanka, Thursday, Nov. 29, 2018. Sri Lankan lawmakers have approved a motion barring Rajapaksa from using state funds after he was defeated in a no confidence vote. (AP Photo/Eranga Jayawardena)

Sri Lankan lawmakers bar disputed PM from using state funds

By BHARATHA MALLAWARACHI - Associated Press

Sri Lanka lawmakers linked to disputed PM boycott Parliament

By BHARATHA MALLAWARACHI - Associated Press

Former Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe, right, stands with lawmaker M.A. Sumanthiran in parliament in Colombo, Sri Lanka, Friday, Nov. 23, 2018. Lawmakers opposed to disputed Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa won control of a key committee setting Parliament's agenda during a crucial vote on Friday that dealt a severe blow to his government. Sri Lanka has been in political crisis since Oct. 26 when the president abruptly fired Wickremesinghe and appointed Rajapaksa. (AP Photo/Lahiru Harshana)

Rajapaksa critics win control of Sri Lanka Parliament panel

By BHARATHA MALLAWARACHI - Associated Press

Civil society groups and activists hold placards during a protest demanding that democracy be restored in the country as they gather at the Independence Square in Colombo , Sri Lanka, Monday, Nov. 19, 2018. Sri Lanka has been in crisis since Oct. 26, when President Maithripala Sirisena abruptly fired Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe and appointed Rajapaksa, a former president. Wickremesinghe has said he still has the support of a majority in Parliament. (AP Photo/Rukmal Gamage)

Sri Lankan lawmakers propose cutting expenses of disputed PM

By BHARATHA MALLAWARACHI - Associated Press

Supporters of the United National Party (UNP) and ousted Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe burn coffins to represent the death of democracy during a protest against the government of disputed Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa in Colombo, Sri Lanka, Thursday, Nov. 15, 2018. Sri Lanka has been in a crisis since Oct. 26, when President Maithripala Sirisena suddenly fired Wickremesinghe and replaced him with Rajapaksa. Sirisena had also suspended Parliament, apparently to allow Rajapaksa time to gather support among lawmakers. (AP Photo/Rukmal Gamage)

Sri Lanka president rejects no-confidence on disputed PM

By BHARATHA MALLAWARACHI - Associated Press

In this image made from video, Sri Lanka's lawmakers scuffle at the parliament in Colombo, Thursday, Nov. 15, 2018. Rival lawmakers have exchanged blows in Sri Lanka's Parliament as the disputed Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa claimed the speaker had no authority to remove him from office by voice vote. (AP Photo)

Sri Lankan lawmakers fight in Parliament over PM dispute

By BHARATHA MALLAWARACHI - Associated Press

Supporters of Sri Lanka's ousted Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe shout slogans as they celebrate after the Sri Lankan Supreme Court suspended dissolution of parliament by President Maithripala Sirisena, outside the court complex in Colombo, Sri Lanka, Tuesday, Nov. 13, 2018. Sri Lanka's Supreme Court has suspended a presidential decree dissolving Parliament and ruled that an earlier decree summoning lawmakers on Wednesday is valid. On Oct. 26, Sirisena abruptly ousted Wickremesinghe and replaced him with former strongman Mahinda Rajapaksa. (AP Photo/Eranga Jayawardena)

Sri Lankan top court suspends decree dissolving Parliament

By BHARATHA MALLAWARACHI - Associated Press