EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE DELHI THE HINDU 14 WORLD THURSDAY, AUGUST 15, 2019 EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE Hong Kong protests ‘near terrorism’: China Infighting over presidential Protesters apologise after chaotic airport violence; flights resume after two days of disruptions candidate heightens in UNP Reuters the airport for five days, HONG KONG mostly withdrew by China said Hong Kong’s prot­ daybreak. Ranil, Sajith Premadasa and Karu Jayasuriya are in the fray est movement had reached It’s not clear whether the “near terrorism” on Wednes­ ugly scenes have eroded the Meera Srinivasan eyes on the highest office. day, after a night of ugly broad support the move­ COLOMBO Their disagreement now is clashes at the city’s airport ment has attracted in Hong Days after former Sri Lankan manifesting over the draft where demonstrators set Kong, while the city’s falter­ President Mahinda Rajapak­ Constitution of the National upon and detained two men ing economy has also taken a sa named his brother Gota­ Democratic Front, a UNP­led they suspected of being go­ hit in recent months. baya Rajapaksa as opposi­ alliance that the party hopes vernment sympathisers. “We promise to reflect tion presidential candidate, to form with some of its cur­ Flights out of the financial and to improve,” protesters the battle over candidacy rent coalition partners, in­ hub resumed after two days said in one message distri­ within the United National cluding minority parties. of disruptions caused by buted on social­media app Party (UNP) has intensified, Further, while the PM wants thousands of protesters Telegram. with no indication of a deci­ the alliance formed before swarming the terminal at sion yet. Ranil Wickremesinghe their candidate is named, one of the world’s busiest air­ Tricky, says Trump While UNP legislators Mr. Premadasa, according to ports, forcing the cancella­ In addition to Beijing’s con­ point to at least three diffe­ Colombo elite supporting political sources, has been tion of hundreds of City in turmoil: A Hong Kong policeman takes a fall during a scuffle with protesters. * AFP demnation, the People’s Dai- rent positions on who their us,” said Ajith Perera, Minis­ insisting that the candidate departures. ly called for “using the sword party must field, much of ter and a staunch Premadasa be named first. China’s Hong Kong and from British to Chinese rule a peaceful sit­in at the air­ Party’s official People’s Dai- of the law” to restore order, the disagreement in the last backer. “A majority of our With the deadlock persist­ Macau Affairs Office in Beij­ in 1997. port turned violent late on ly, and their harassment of and mainland social media few days is over the clashing MPs is with him, and a ma­ ing, restless supporters of ing called the behaviour at “We’re deeply sorry about Tuesday as protesters con­ the man they believed to be a users lauded the detained re­ interests of party leader and jority of our working com­ Mr. Premadasa organised a the airport no different to what happened yesterday,” fronted and held a man they mainland agent drew China’s porter as a hero. Prime Minister Ranil Wickre­ mittee members want him party rally in the central Ba­ terrorism and said it must be read a banner held up by a believed was an undercover strongest language yet. On Tuesday, U.S. Presi­ mesinghe and deputy leader to contest. Backbenchers dulla district earlier this severely punished. group of a few dozen demon­ Chinese agent. Bus loads of riot police ar­ dent Donald Trump de­ Sajith Premadasa, who are have also decided to support week, giving him centre Ten weeks of increasingly strators in the airport arriv­ Later, the seizure by prot­ rived in response, clashing scribed the volatile situation both presidential aspirants. him,” he told The Hindu. stage, but stopping short of violent clashes between pol­ als hall. esters of a reporter from Chi­ with furious demonstrators as “tricky”, and said China’s At this point, neither seems However, those backing naming him their candidate. ice and protesters have In chaotic scenes that na’s Global Times newspap­ before withdrawing once the government had moved willing to give way to the oth­ the Prime Minister are in no Mr. Premadasa addressed a plunged the city into its would once have been un­ er, a nationalistic tabloid run man was removed.. troops near the border with er, say members with evi­ mood to buy that line of ar­ huge gathering, a day after worst crisis since it reverted thinkable for Hong Kongers, by the ruling Communist Protesters, who occupied Hong Kong. dent anxiety over the delay. gument. A prominent Minis­ Gotabaya Rajapaksa ad­ The third option, for a few ter termed the claim “non­ dressed his supporters, and within the party, is Speaker sense”. “Can he [Mr. promised to reduce income Karu Jayasuriya. Premadasa] get Sinhala­ disparity and build an ex­ Chinese state media Amid growing specula­ Buddhist votes? Can he get port and investment­driven Cathay Pacific fires two pilots tion, all eyes are on Mr. Pre­ urban, middle­class votes? economy. madasa, who will be the Can he draw minority votes? “We need someone like voice support for police youngest in the fray if he Can he draw the youth?” he him to take on Gota,” said The airline is under pressure from China’s aviation regulator manages to secure his par­ asked, making a case for 70­ another supporter. Even se­ People’s Daily calls for ‘sword of the law’ ty’s nomination. “We need a year­old Mr. Wickremes­ nior figures in the UNP, such Agence France-Presse ground staff, without speci­ candidate who can win” is a inghe. “He [Mr. Premadasa] as Finance Minister Mangala Reuters A front­page commentary HONG KONG fying why. Local media re­ popular refrain among his is substance­less,” the Minis­ Samaraweera have openly HONG KONG/BEIJING on the overseas edition of Cathay Pacific said on Wed­ ported that they were ac­ supporters. The 52­year­old ter said, requesting backed a Premadasa Chinese state media called the Communist Party’s offi­ nesday it has sacked two pi­ cused of leaking the travel politician is the son of form­ anonymity. candidacy. on Beijing on Wednesday to cial People’s Daily newspap­ lots, as the Hong Kong car­ details of a Hong Kong police er two­term President Ra­ However, the Minister Meanwhile, a group of ci­ deal with protests in Hong er said on Wednesday Hong rier comes under huge football team that was tra­ nasinghe Premadasa, who could be part of a camp that vil society members is galva­ Kong more decisively after a Kong had reached a critical pressure from Beijing to velling to the mainland. was assassinated in 1993 by seems to be dwindling, with nising around Speaker Jaya­ reporter from one of China’s juncture. “Using the sword clamp down on staff suppor­ Cathay has struggled to an LTTE suicide bomber. Sa­ more members gravitating suriya. Nearing 80, Mr. largest government­backed of the law to stop violence tive of anti­government find middle ground in the in­ jith Premadasa is currently a towards Mr. Premadasa. Jayasuriya is seen as a “sea­ newspapers was caught up and restore order is over­ rallies. The airline needs to submit creasingly bitter standoff Cabinet Minister represent­ soned democrat” by many in overnight clashes. whelmingly the most impor­ “One is currently involved manifests of staff on flights between protesters and ing the southern port town Grassroots machinery activists and intellectuals . Ten weeks of violent tant and urgent task for in legal proceedings. The going to the mainland. * AP authorities. The airline is of Hambantota in “It looks harder now for But party members conti­ clashes between police and Hong Kong!” it said. other misused company in­ now subject to new regula­ Parliament. anyone else, with the grass­ nue question his popular pro­democracy protesters, Another commentary by formation on Flight CX216/ “illegal protests”. tions announced last week “Though he is western­ roots machinery of the party support. The three camps angered by a perceived ero­ a Shenzhen University re­ 12 August,” the airline said in The airline said last week by Beijing’s aviation regula­ educated, Sajith Premadasa rallying around him [Mr. may not converge on the sion of freedoms, are posing searcher, published by the a statement. it had suspended a pilot ac­ tor. The rules require the air­ is very grounded and has a Premadasa],” remarked a se­ “right candidate” for this one of the biggest challeng­ China Daily, said the Cen­ Cathay Pacific Chief Exec­ cused of rioting after alleg­ line to submit manifests of connect with ordinary citi­ nior member. election, but the one thing es for Chinese President Xi tral government should deal utive Rupert Hogg warned edly participating in staff working on flights going zens in a way that no other It is well known that both they agree on is that “time is Jinping since he came to with Hong Kong issues more