Sri Lankan police arrests ruling party MPs over mob violence

COLOMBO: Sri Lankan police detained two ruling party MPs on Wednesday for allegedly encouraging mob violence that engulfed the country last week and killed nine people, officials said.

Criminal investigators questioned the members of parliament, both from President Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s party, on Tuesday evening and detained them overnight, a police officer said on condition of anonymity.

“The two MPs were arrested because there is direct proof against them,” the official stated.

Sanath Nishantha and Milan Jayathilake were among 22 politicians whose passports were seized last week following claims that they provoked violence, including former Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa and his son Namal.

Thousands of ruling party supporters bussed into the city on May 9 attacked a peaceful anti-government demonstration demanding President Rajapaksa quit over the country’s crippling economic situation.

The president’s elder brother, Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa, resigned shortly after the mob attack provoked retaliatory violence and arson, with more than 70 ruling party leaders’ homes being damaged.

According to health officials, more than 225 people were hospitalised as a result of the violence.

According to police, roughly 500 people have been arrested in connection with the violence and revenge.

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Creating a Cabinet

Thousands of people continue to rally outside President Mahinda Rajapaksa’s beachside office in Colombo, demanding that he resign over an economic crisis that has resulted in severe food, gasoline, and medical shortages.

The shortages have been coupled by record inflation and long outages, causing great suffering for Sri Lankans, who are facing their country’s biggest financial crisis since its 1948 independence from Britain.

Last week, Ranil Wickremesinghe was named Prime Minister.

Wickremesinghe has the backing of two major opposition parties to establish a “unity administration” to help the country emerge from its crisis, but he has yet to assemble a complete cabinet.

On Saturday, four ministers were appointed. Wickremesinghe is still in talks with prospective coalition partners, according to official sources.

The prime minister was also anticipated to take on the vital finance portfolio as part of continuing bailout negotiations with the International Monetary Fund.

The energy crisis, according to Energy Minister Kanchana Wijesekera, is worse than expected.

“We will not be able to deliver petrol in the next two days,” Wijesekera said in parliament. “I beg to motorists not to queue.”

He said that the government had raised 53 million dollars for a petrol tanker that was already docked in Colombo and awaiting complete payment before being unloaded.

“We won’t be able to distribute petrol until Saturday or Sunday,” Wijesekera said, adding that “we have a reserve for vital services like ambulances.”

A shortage of 14 critical medications, including anti-rabies vaccines, has resulted from the currency crisis.