Sri Lanka’s opposition lawmakers demand personal protection

Colombo, Nov 1 (PTI) Sri Lanka’s opposition lawmakers urged the country’s police chief to provide personal protection to all elected representatives of the people at different elected bodies.

The opposition members of parliament requested the Speaker to summon the police chief Priyantha Weerasuriya to the house on Friday to discuss the issue.

“It is the duty of the government to protect the people’s representatives”,  Ranjith Madduma Bandara, legislator of the main opposition Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB), said.

Weerasuriya told the MPs that the decision to remove personal protection was a political decision taken by the government.

“If the government has politicised it, now it’s the responsibility of the speaker of parliament to direct the police to provide security”, Bandara said.

The National People's Power (NPP) government, which campaigned on the need to cut down state expenditure, removed personal protection for all politicians. Each member of parliament was previously entitled to have two policemen.

The opposition stepped up the campaign to restore security after an SJB local council member was shot dead last week.

Lasantha Wickramasekera, the chairman of the southern province’s Weligama local council, was shot down on October 22 by a gunman who stormed the council. PTI CORR RD RD RD