Despite Sri Lanka remaining at a state of political turmoil following the sacking of the prime minister Ranil Wickremesinghe on Friday and appointment of Mahinda Rajapaksa, the president, Maithripala Sirisena yesterday made appointments to a new Cabinet.
The appointments were tweeted from the president's office's tweet account:
Mahinda Rajapaksa - Minister of Finance Economic Affairs
Nimal Siripala de Silva - Minister of Transport and Civil Aviation
Sarath Amunugama - Minister of Foreign Affairs
Mahinda Samarasinghe - Minister of Ports and Shipping
Mahinda Amaraweera - Minister of Agriculture
Ranjith Siyambalapitiya - Minister of Power and Renewable Energy
Wijeyadasa Rajapakshe - Minister of Education and Higher Education
Wijith Wijayamuni Zoysa - Minister of Fisheries & Aquatic Resources Development and Rural Economic Affairs
Faiszer Musthapha - Minister of Provincial Councils, Local Government, and Sports
Douglas Devananda - Minister of Resettlement, Rehabilitation, Northern Development, & Hindu Religious Affairs
Arumugam Thondaman - Minister of Hill Country New Villages, Infrastructure and Community Development
Vasantha Senanayake - Minister of Tourism and Wildlife
Suresh Vadivel - State Minister of Plantation Industries
Ananda Aluthgamage - Deputy Minister of Tourism and Wildlife
The appointment of Devananda, a notorious paramilitary leader, has been condemned by Tamil civil society activists who expressed fear of a return of abduction, child-trafficking and enforced disappearances.
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