>> announcer: this is al jazeera. hello, welcome to al jazeera, i'm martine den. >> live in doha. coming up, promoting international agreements - talks on the paris attacks. global leaders will come to the french capital how sri lanka's former president tried to stay in office. details emarriaged -- emerged of

a fail plan of mahinda rajapaksa, when he realised he would lose. and the declining value in the rouble is leading to bumper bookages in sochi first interior ministers from across europe arrive add at a security summit in france. they are talking about ways to coordinate counterterrorism efforts. the conference was called after violence last week in which 17 people and three gunmen were killed. and speaking within the last couple of minutes or so turkey's prime minister says he'll help the french to trace a fourth suspect who is thought to have fled towards the middle east. >> translation: talks between the two countries are underway after the attack.

we are comparing the information that we have. i'd like to ensure that our security services are cop right we'll speak to our reporter about the solidarity march about to start in paris, and will see 50 world leaders standing shoulder to shoulder. first to rory challands, our correspondent close to the interior ministry where the european community summit is under way. first of all, it's worth pointing out that the united states has representation for this meeting, in the form of attorney-general eric holder. >> yes, that's right. in the last 20 minutes there has been a succession of dark cars blacked out window choose the champs elysees and down the road to the interior ministry. we think there about 16 a-level ministers in there. some security and terrorism

ministers as well. eric holder, as you say - shows that there is across atlantic an alliance here. people have come. high level dick gnatries have come to show solidarity and support. and to bolster possession and show that they are together with transas it combats the wave of idea logically inspired violence. they want to come to some sort of common resolution on how they'll combat it. that's what they've arrived at. they are invited by bernard cazeneuve, the interior minister. we think it will last an hour, and there'll be a short statement after it. another bit of information is in european council, leaders neat in february in brussels.

they'll talk about all the issues. something that is a hot point for europe and the united states it undermines the fact that countries within the european union, because of the ease with which one can move around this part of the continent, it underlines the fact that they did coordinate an approach so that every country is on the page when it comes to security. >> yes, there have been a lot of criticism of the french security and intelligence services. did they drop the ball. did they miss out on crucial intelligence to prevent the attacks we have seen here recently. security stresses that you can never have 100 presence of

security it's a question of trying to minimise the risk. they are looking at so many people monitoring so many leads that they cannot watch everyone all the time. people lie low and do not attract attention. then the attention moves off them on to it seems, more of a threat and they can pop up and strike. >> bring us up to date with the investigation in france to that how this came about, and specifically the fourth suspect who had the turkish prime minister offering assistance to the authorities in trying to track her down a 26-year-old woman. >> well the report came out last night that this suspect may

not have been in france any more. french police have been looking for her for a number of days ever since the two shots, one police woman died in that attack. then of course thee was linked to the attack on the coacher supermarket. but the report suggests that maybe she wasn't around for any of this. she left france to go to syria. they have been given credence by the turkish minister. they played a sound bite from him saying that he was going to look into this and helping the french in any way he can in tracking down the woman. this is a big, big manhunt going on at the moment that seems to have taken on an international flavour now. >> thank you very much.

rory challands there, covering that meeting between interior ministers for security from the european countries and the united states. >> authorities in paris set up areas to accommodate the people. it starts at place de la republique and for safety reasons a second route will fear to the north-east and make its way towards the area joining with the marches binyamin netanyahu is one of the many on the march. this is what he had to say before leaving tel aviv. >> translation: i'm heading to take part in a march along with world leaders against terrorism that threatens all humanity a battle i have been calling for. i'll take part in the rally with french president francis

hollande and others. i will say any that wants to come to israel will be welcome with open arms. to our senior correspondent. just there, jacky rowland, looking at the place de la republique is this the heart of the french capital? >> it's a traditional gathering point to come out on to the street side to demonstrate or show solidarity. it's the focus of a lot of gatherings or vigils since the first shootings on wednesday. i want to give you a scale of what we are expecting today. organizers are expecting that this could be the largest public demonstration on the streets of paris since the liberation of the end of the world war ii 70 years ago. there has been hundreds of thousands of french people out on the streets, maybe as many as a million.

from all different communities. and it's not just this much in paris, but other marches will take place in other cities across france. we are expected to see a huge display of people who wish to express unity from all different sectors. we are expecting many from the muslim community. i was listening a short while ago to a senior representative speaking life on french radio. he said muslims in france rejected the violent acts and the presence of the israeli prime minister creates a problem for muslims. there are many in france who feel uncomfortable about marching alongside a person they accuse of carrying out war crimes in gaza. it gives you a sense of how complicated the situation is.

many people feel in a way... >> he is accompanied by his people as well. mahmoud abbas, from the palestinians will be there. there are several represented at a high level, not to mention other muslim countries as well of course as the european heartland, if you like the spanish, the french, the italians the british. david cameron will be there as well. not to mention mrs. merkel. >> yes there has been a very large display, obviously, from the moment the news of the attacks broach. they were expressions, condemn nation support and solidarity delivered to the people from leaders from all over the world. now they are following up the

support, coming to paris to step alongside president francis hollande and the people. i should stress there'll be representatives of all other french political parties, and one of the main messages from the leadership in france is that now is a time for national unity. now is a time when the differences between the agenda must be put aside and everyone acted in the political scene in france and we come together and speak in one voice. it is controversial, because among them are representatives from the national front party who made various comments complaining about the islamification of france. some might see their presence as being unwelcomed. other people say hold on the people represent a quarter of all french voters. they have a right to vote as

well. the french don't want anyone to make a party capital out of their participation in this march. that's another reason why this amount of discomfort about the appearance of binyamin netanyahu, abdul lieberman and other from israel a couple of months before the election they feel it is distasteful if politicians are trying to do election earring in relation to these tragic events in france. >> give us an idea of the scene behind you. we can just about make out that people are beginning to assemble. >> they are beginning to assemble. you'll forgive me if i don't look over. we are high above up here. people are gathering together the march is benefitted by the brought blue skies. in recent days since the

shootings there has been rain and high winds. the fact that the skies are bright blue it's dry, it's not going to get under way for a few hours yet. nevertheless we can see that people are starting to assemble join together. with a view to marching the 3km on the course. that is a well-trodden route by french demonstrators, a position to march from place de la republique to nation. it's symbolic when they go out on to the streets, and the point that they make and they wish to make a message, that france is unified and despite the attack against the heart of the country, france is determined to continue to bounce back from that and the presence of international people as well a

welcomed by most people. jacky rowland, thank you very much indeed for now two suspects have been arrested following an arson attack at a german newspaper. they reprinted cartoons from prophet muhammad from the french paper "charlie hebdo". it happened in the north port city of hamburg early on sunday we'll keep you up to date with all the news in france particularly that massive demonstration we are expecting in paris. there is other news happening, and we go to sri lanka where the new government is alleging that the former president mahinda rajapaksa tried to get the army to deploy troops when it was clear he lost the presidency. now he left the city center on friday. and a spokesman said an investigation is under way. also another development, sri

lanka's new cabinet is due to be announced. to get more on the current situation in sri lanka, let's talk to charles stratford. tell us more then about this remarkable line coming out of sri lanka today, that mr mahinda rajapaksa actually thought of ways to try to retain power in sri lanka. >> i campaign spokesperson for maithripala sirisena said in the early hours of the night as the votes from going through, it seemed the then president mahinda rajapaksa didn't like what he was seeing and called for a meeting with representatives from the attorney-general office and the army chief, to find out that a legal means of him retaining power. it's worthwhile remembering that he called for the election two years early after seeing

poor results of what he received in by-elections. to cut a long story short, that didn't go down too well with the attorney-general representatives, and the military refused to play ball and then called for a meeting with maithripala sirisena. it shows the lengths that the former president was prepared to take to take control of the presidency. we'll hear more about that. in the meantime the new president is out and about. he has so much on his plate and has to come up with more. >> that's right, president maithripala sirisena today is speaking to the nation from the historic sri lankan capital of gandhi. he has been outlining plans once again for the 100 point manifesto that he aims at ending

the executive presidential palace. the presidential powers that gave him control over the judiciary, the police and the military. he has been speaking to people it's broadcast live across sri lanka on local national television, sorry. he said that the country didn't need a king but a leader. he invited the parties to help the national unity government and thanked supporters for standing by him and going towards victory, the surprised victory. later we expected him possibly it's confirmed, of his cabinet, a cabinet that will oversee a government or the basis of a transitional government that will see the 100 point plan or this 100 day manifesto through to end what he describes as the

days of the former president. >> thank you very much indeed. lots more to come on the newshour. including where the faithful focus on politics. the investment summit under way in the indian prime minister's home state attracting global figures. and in sport. they slipped - qatar taking a step at the asian cup. andy is here with that story. at least nine people have been killed in a double suicide bomb attack in northern lebanon, fighters from al nusra front, linked to al qaeda, say they are responsible for the attacks. victoria gatenby has more. >> reporter: this cafe was full of customers when it was struck.

it is surrounded by the army and the streets leading to it are cordoned off. >> the first explosion happened inside the cafe. people gathered. the second explosion occurred outside the entrance. >> the blast happened in an alawite neighbourhood. the syrian president is an allo wight and support for him led to violence in the city before. >> translation: there were two suicide bombers. we were sitting inside the cafe we saw something exploding. the second, people gathered outside and then he blew himself out in the crowd. >> reporter: the al qaeda-linking al nusra front is responsible. the deteriorating security situation is not the only concern in lebanon. the country is divided. most support the fight to get rid of the regime, but the

president and hezbollah have made efforts to keep him in power. lebanon has seen a series of attack since four years ago. it's one of the deadliest to hit in bangladesh a gathering for the faithful despite an opposition. he joined them heading to prayers in tonguey. >> this looks like an examined 3.5 million every year not just all over bangladesh malaysia and africa. this year it's not been straight forward. that's when the calm is affected. the opposition has declared a nation-wide blockade cutting off the transport by road rail and water ways.

the people have been carried. it's a dilemma for the devout. >> there's more most years. usually before it begins the whole town is so crowded you can't move. >> a gathering of such a skill is a logistical nightmare. more so the tradition enforcing the blockade. >> almost every corner. we don't have troubles it stops people coming here. >> as the midday prayers approach the crowd spills over with people hunting for sways wherever they can. >> translation: we couldn't find space to pray. you can fit four people in the

cars, and four more behind us. >> the tends stretch as far as the eyes can see. while the political violence may have affected the turn out. there's plenty of people who decided they are not going to stop them coming here. >> richard angwin is here. winter asked in the middle east. >> certainly in the effects of the colder weather here. as they looked at the cloud pattern, you can see the cloud sweeping from the north-west. it comms from saudi arabia. in order to build a snowman. as we look at the forecast across the region a high of 14 in riyadh night time lows to 3-4 degrees, it's chilly across the region the temperatures are recovering. the same goes across.

the situation is serious. so many refugees living. pick a city any city and watch as it goes from monday to tuesday and we see textures a slight one slightly cooler in turkey. let me take you to europe where the weather is very unsettled indeed. we had stormy conditions. didn't see anything like the west of it. this comes from the north sea coastline. stormy weather has been battering much of the baltic sea. we are not through the rest of it. stormy weather is to the east. most went to nowhere in particular. >> thank you very much. the russian economy is in a bit of a state. largely because of falling oil

prices. the rouble was particularly low. the economy was on the point of recession. many can't afford to go aproceed. peter sharp reports. >> reporter: for the first 11 days of january russia virtually closes down. millions leave for traditional new year holidays. ending somewhere like this. in the mountains above socchi home of the winter olympics the slopes were packed. many passionate about the sport would be waiting for the european reports observed that in switzerland. sanctions has changed all that and the value of the ruble. there has been a 30% drop in the number of russians booking holidays. >> we were curious to see post

olympic sochi, and when europe became expensive and unaffordable to go abroad the place is at the european level and appeared to be pricey. >> the premiere russian report - denied the delights of the slopes the skiers discovered that prices to ski at socchi doubled in the last two months. they built a lot. everything is beautiful. i can find here the soviet kind of service. sochi's 50 billion, that's right. $50 billion makeover left it perfectly to fill the gap. he runs a resort. he says it's not just about sanctions. >> translation: i think if we didn't create resort with service, dollar price would not help. the weak rouble once favoured. >> people would come once see

it and never come back. >> it has all the brand new hotels and infrastructure to place it at the vanguard of a russian initiative to boost the tourist potential. sanctions and economy closing the destinations to people here. vladimir putin told the ministers it was their duty who could argue with that. >> it's notching up a tourist market. many industries and technology companies, airline services and food supplies are looking inland to develop the supply products delivered by the west. it's the development of russia's home market seen as a silver lining in the cloud still to come - here in the al jazeera newshour. venezuela's president arrives talking about the collapse in

prices and the effect on their economy. plus... >> protesters are on the streets. >> in sport - dakar rally suffers a setback as it enters into bolivia.

hello. welcome back. these are the headlines at al jazeera, european interior ministers started to arrive in paris to talk about

counterterrorism efforts. security will be stepped up across the country in the coming weeks. these are the latest pictures of the place de la republique where people have started to gather for a rally. the demonstrations come in the wake of attacks in which 16 people and three gunmen were killed sri lanka's new government is alleging former president mahinda rajapaksa attempted a coup when it was clear that he had lost the presidential elections. let's go to the maisent of the day, that march that is just - people are gathering for it. it's not started yet. people can see that the central point in paris. remy pete is from qatar -- remi piet joins us. have a look at the live picture,

place de la republique. jacky rowland was describing the position of this location in the heart of the nation in the heart of capital in particular and what it means. >> it's an essential place in paris. close to where the event took lace. in the identity of the - persian and french identity. it's a place where the people gather for demonstrations in may for the workers, from the left wing especially. we have to keep in mind that "charlie hebdo" was more on the left than the righted side of the party. and also it is very close to more of a position of wealth. the fact that they are gathering here is relevant for the defense. jacki mentioned that in terms of the turn out, it could rival

numbers that haven't been seen since the end of the resistance. >> what is happening in france is of historical proportion. france had a day of mourning after the events n thursday it was historical happening six times history, three of them because a president died. it's something of an historical proportion. yesterday people were in the streets. >> france won the world cup, of course in 1998, not to forget that. >> yes, there was a day without mourning, there was more celebrations. that was a demonstration. we can see here that it's not a movement from the top, it's a movement from the ground. every large city that organised it spontaneously. >> sorry, going back to that

again, the national outpouring the celebration after the world cup win, and a lot of the team the national team of france were of north african origin windian and -- west indian and west african origin and a defining aspect of that period was celebrating the multi culture and the way in which france had managed to assimilate so many different, differs cultures. is that still the cause today. >> you mentioned that. there has been plenty of studies. maybe it was an opportunity of the world cup team. there was a player that was interesting. it's not the case in france and germany. it was a case trying to integrate and have an image as a soccer team as representative. more importantly we are not talking about soccer we are talking about the future minor

ties... >> that is not happening. >> it's not gender issues there's issues making sure that women sit in boards of companies. there has been studies whether we should have action to have minorities taking place. >> these are first world problems they are considerations that western countries are making because they make it for their minority communities. >> yes. there are plenty of leverage for these newspapers to write up. again, i mentioned this a couple of times we are talking about a country where it is free. it's not like the u.s. to do that. there's support in terms of social support for a favoured population. >> despite that despite the availability of advancement or means for advancement, i should

say, this has not really happened. it's a policy failure. >> it's the fighting of the population part of the population saying what should we do more. they don't lie to republican society that had been put together for allowing every place. >> remi piet we'll leave it there for now. we'll go back to another major story here that we have been covering and that is about sri lanka, and a new line we are coughing accusing the former president of seeking help from the army once he realised he was not going win the elections. we can talk and speak to prema.

he joins us. thank you for talking to us. i hope you can hear us. i'm wondering, can you hear us here in - i'm martine, we are in doha - we don't seem to have that interview. in the meantime let's go to pakistan where a bus packed with passengers collided with a fuel tanker. at least 50 were killed near karachi. initial reports said it was travelling in the wrong direction, on a bad stretch of road. there has been meetings by a u.n. envoy after he met rival leaders. it continues in the north and south of benghazi where six people have been killed between armed groups.

the egyptian president has been praising the legal section. abdul fatah al-sisi has said that he is careful not to interfere in judicial affairs. human rights groups criticized after fast-tracked childs result in death sentences for members of the banned muslim brotherhood. >> al jazeera is continuing to demand the release of our three journalists imprisoned in egypt for a year. peter greste, mohamed fadel fahmy and baher mohamed were wrongly accused of broadcasting false news. it is a charge they deny. in cairo they ordered a retrial that could begin within a month. protesters in yemen demand houthi leaders leave the capital. there's calls of rebels being allowed to take over the cattle.

staying in yemen, an early morning attack killed three houthi fighters. te died in central yemen. no one climbed responsibility. al qaeda fighters stormed the city two months ago. the venezuelan president is in the saudi arabian capital. they met with leaders from the nation to seek their sentence. punkent oil prices damaged and madura's ratings are down 22%. the scarcity of foreign currency is strange. this - for example.

last time the government used u.s. dollars, priced it at 2,000 in stores. depending on the exchange rate you use and whether you have the dollars, you can have anything from 12 to $300. there are reports now. >> reporter: a fight in the middle of the supermarket. the store received a shipment of soap and everyone wants to get a bag. january has seen shortage of many products in venezuela, like milk beef chicken and shampoo. people cued for more than eight hours, to be given a number to go into the supermarket. >> if you don't have a number you can't go in. we are treated like cattle now. >> outside it's like this outside the supermarkets. we are hearing reports because

there's looting going on in some places of the capital. >> they've been frustrated and angry in cuba and north korea, and rationing food. what happens is the government wants to sell whatever they find. socialist president, and now his successor niklas maduro implemented subsidised goods. restrictions on foreign currency began. a foreign tour asking china for loans and saudi arabia for help. his food minister is trying to calm angry citizens. >> we had problems from the supply side no doubt, but the opposition is lying when they

say there's food in venezuela. >> they set up a twitter account to notify parents. >> they were not always searching in pharmacies to find shampoo, soap and medicine. people with the endless lines in the city the situation hit rock bottom. >> now, john is director for the middle east with the group emerging. it is live from rea. niklas madura arrived. an o.p.e.c. producing country. it's a case of the haves and have not, showing that within oil producing countries, they

have different economies indeed. >> you are right. you know saudi arabia has a large fiscal cushioning system to support itself for a long time, that oil prices plummeted by more than 40% over the last few month. venezuela is a bit tougher for them. their break-even prices involve many entries than the o.p.e.c. producing countries, maduro is here to see what saudi arabia do and what is the feeling within the elite as to where prices are going. >> what is the feeling within the saudi arabia oil producing elite. clearly there is difference of opinion, mr maduro and other countries hit by the falling

oil. o.p.e.c. pretty much led by saudi arabia and want to retain an agreement for retain the levels. how do they deal with this? >> they'll continue to hold its position, the rate. everyone will be holding. they'll tell the story about the output that prices fell from 35 to 10. today the story is a bit different. they have to hold to their position. everybody has to do what it will in terms of overselling. saudi arabia will tell madura that this is the policy to hold even if during the meeting

countries protest against in position. it will hold market share for everybody against the unconventional producers, and that is something despite the short-term pain that venezuelan is under. >> he's left tehran managed to get a certain amount of agreement from the leaders there. that something needs to be done in order to stop the almost free fall of the cost of a barrel of oil. will that make a difference in terms. equation. we have at iranians agreeing with the venezuelans. well you know usually the iranians go hand in hand. they do tend to agree. we don't want one member country

to overdo another. whether iran believes that we - they have to be increasing output and tell to everybody, they need to maintain the market share and not to sabotage member countries. together i think, it comes out of oil prices. i don't think we'll see further declines from here. given that emerging markets in 2015/"16, mr maduro has to understand that demand will increase and prices increase. not to $100 but a more comfortable level. >> thank you for that another story which is grabbing our attention, and that is coming out of sri lanka.

the revelation - perhaps revelation that the former prime minister mahinda rajapaksa sought extraordinary measures to not lose power. let's talk more about this with the political analyst, cr chandra prema, joining us live. the audio is not brilliant, but share was your thoughts about what happened mahinda rajapaksa asking for interventions. >> sorry, i didn't get the question. i'm wondering about the allegation about desperate measures sought.

sorry to interrupt. >> what has taken place? yes. what has taken place? of course we have a government coming in. they circled in the country today. it is a certain practicingal. the president, the former president steps down to the office. you find that the former president's party and majority it is unclear that it has to be resolved in the coming days. this uncertain scenario the

figure that can get into this country. the newly appointed prime minister. his experienced hand twice before in this country, and he's a balanced individual. it's a traditional political outfit. the leaders among their ranks. right now in this answer this atmosphere. >> i'm wondering if you could - it appears to have been a gross miscalculation on the part of mahinda rajapaksa. he obviously was expecting support for money. >> no he was not supporting anything from the army.

we have been having elections and it's been changing peacefully. this is where they are not aware of staying in power with the use of force. this is a country used to changing government. and we have seen an example of that. the president stepped down coming in and virtually power to be leader of the opposition. at that stage. >> what do you make therefore of the line that - okay. what of the line though that is emerging. it wasn't about to win, he was going to lose the presidential

election. means and ways by which he could stay in power, and they could be legal. that is the factor. we find certain politicians. the politician that won. it is made up of various political forces. the main parties, the united national party. at first they have been making waves. the secretary of defense, the former president had tried to surround the election place. now the elections dash and a

statement. they are rumours, nothing of sort taking place. and various circumstances circulated. i still emphasise that the man showing stability in the country, he's is promising newly appointed prime minister. of course the premiership will have to be the majority the president's part in it. they'll have to also be taken on board i suppose. ... >> thank you very much indeed. it was worth persevering so we could get to the current situation in your country. thank you. apologies for you for the sound difficulties we are experiencing still to come at al jazeera.

>> the minnesota wolves end a losing street. those details next.

joof now, monday marks the fifth anniversary of haiti's devastating attack. attack. >> protesters have taken to the streets calling for the president to resign. >> reporter: on the streets of

haiti's capital, it's a daily occurrence. anger grows. we can't take this any more. there's nothing left for us. a long simmering stalemate reached a boiling point. >> january 12th is the deadline for a political deal. if not. parliament will go. if that happens... >> the former prime minister resigned and for opposition groups it's not enough. they accuse them of corruption and will not rest. >> when martelly was a candidate, he was broke. now he's building a mansion. also his son has the money from

the government. >> reporter: the president claims he's the right man at the right moment. >> i think martelly is not the best man. for the sake of democracy he has to finish his mandate. many are tired of the deadlock and instability. the young leave in a country where employment is 40%. especially for haiti, if we look at the history, when the president leaves it owns more problems. i'm all for compromise. if the president leaves we have to start over. the political deadline is the anniversary of the 2010 quake that destroyed much of the country leaving 130,000 people.

this one, not a natural disaster, but a political one. >> right. time for the sports news now. >> thank you. qatar suffered a big setback in the opening game at the asian cup. beaten united arab emirates. qatar are getting off to the perfect start in canberra. ibrahim with the opening goal. it was downhill from there for qatar, a series of defensive errors coming up. an equalizer grabbed. three more goals for the u.a.e. in the second half. and there with his second. finishing 4-1 to the u.a.e. the sport coming up to bahrain. >> two games coming up in the

premier league. before that. arsenal could move level on points. if they beat stoke. the manager arson wenger has to decide whether to select the goalkeeper fined for smoking in the showers after the league game. >> i don't want to talk about that. what happened in the dressing room stays in the dressing room dash - apart from the fact it doesn't stay there. >> reporter: the lead in the dakar cup has been slashed after sickness. the v8s took three minutes out of the lead. the leader has a lead of more than 6 minutes tom brady broke more records guiding the new england patriots into the a.f.c. championship game. he has 46 career touchdown

passes taking him past joe mop tanna's mark of 45. twice, the pacers came back from a 14 point deficit. >> we need a lot of plays. we play from behind which is not the way we want to play. playing it from ahead if the best way to play it. took a lot of good execution to know. >> n.b.a. champions, the san antonio spurs gave the minnesota timberwolves their fifth straight defeat. tony parker played back to back games since november. austin day with a season-high 22 points. the spurs on 108 for 93 that's how the sport is looking for now. >> thank you very much. stay with us at al jazeera, because dar een will be here

with another bulletin of news. it's crazy money that you can make here. [[vo]] behind america's oil boom. >>it's a ticking time bomb. [[vo]] uncovering shocking working conditions. >>do you know what chemicals have been in that tank? [[vo]] and the deadly human cost. >>my big brother didn't wake up the next day. [[vo]] faultlines. al jazeera america's hard-hitting & >>today, they will be arrested. [[vo]] ground-breaking & >>they're firing canisters and gas at us! [[vo]] emmy award winning investigative series.

promoting international security - france hosts a summit following the paris attacks the unity march bringing 50 global leaders to the french capital from doha also ahead how sri lanka's former president offers a failed plan to keep mahinda rajapaksa in power when he realised he could