Sri Lanka arrests 43-year-old protest leader Joseph Stalin
FirstpostJoseph Stalin, the secretary of the Sri Lanka Teachers’ Union, becomes the senior most activist to be arrested in a crackdown against protesters forced Gotabaya Rajapaksa to flee last month Colombo: A top Sri Lankan trade union leader in the forefront of protests which led to the ousting of Gotabaya Rajapaksa from the presidency was arrested Wednesday, witnesses and officials said. Joseph Stalin, the secretary of the Sri Lanka Teachers’ Union, becomes the senior most activist to be arrested in a crackdown against protesters forced Rajapaksa to flee last month. Rajapaksa’s successor, Ranil Wickremesinghe, has drawn a distinction between “protesters” and “rioters” and vowed tough action against “any trouble maker.” Police also arrested another protester who had raided the liquor cabinet of the deposed leader, downed a beer and took off with a presidential mug. The military late last month demolished a protest camp outside the president’s office that had campaigned for Rajapaksa’s ouster – a move that drew international condemnation accusing troops of using excessive force on unarmed demonstrators.