Chilli powder thrown as Sri Lankan MPs brawl again

Sri Lanka’s political crisis escalated yesterday with police having to escort the speaker into parliament and MPs throwing chilli powder and furniture at rivals. The Indian Ocean nation has been paralysed since October 26 when President Maithripala Sirisena sacked Ranil Wickremesinghe as premier and replaced him with former strongman Mahinda Rajapakse. Yesterday speaker Karu Jayasuriya was blocked from taking his chair for almost an hour by a group of legislators backing Rajapakse.

Finally, Jayasuriya entered the red-carpeted chamber protected by dozens of unarmed officers and parliamentary staff. Rioting MPs took away the ceremonial chair, but staff carried in an ordinary office chair as a makeshift replacement. However, rioters grabbed that chair too, breaking it into pieces that were then used as projectiles to attack rivals and police. A former parliament staffer said Friday’s scenes were unprecedented.