Colombo: Three Sri Lanka ministers were stripped of their positions on Friday evening amid allegations that they were working against President Mahinda Rajapakse.
Minister of Ports and Aviation Mangala Samaraweera, Minister of National Heritage Anura Bandaranaike and Minister of Port Development Sripathi Suriyaarachchi were removed from their ministry positions on Friday evening.
Samaraweera, who was formerly foreign minister, and Bandaranaike, one-time tourism minister, were relegated to less important ministries in a cabinet reshuffle on January 28.
No official reasons have been given for their removal from the ministries, but the three have been accused by party colleagues of working along with former president Chandrika Kumaratunga and trying to destabilise the Rajapakse government.
Bandaranaike, who is Kumaratunga's brother, has received death threats and made a statement in parliament hinting that members of the government have threatened him.
President Rajapakse was elected to power in November 2005 and since then a coalition partner — the Marxist JVP with 38 members in the 225-seat parliament — have withdrawn support to the government, prompting the president to obtain the support of 33 other opposition members.
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