In an interesting turn of events, the four suspects arrested in connection with the attack on UNP MPs in Hambanthota have confessed to the Police they they are merely "street vendors" who have nothing to do with politics.
According to Police, the suspects had attacked the UNP MPs with rotten tomatoes and eggs simply on the grounds that the MPs had undermined large scale development projects in Hambathota such as the Hambanthota Port and Mattala International Airport. The four suspects, Police said, had admitted that they attacked the UNP MPs when they visited Hambanthota on a fact finding mission.
Speaking to Asian Mirror, a spokesperson of the Police said the four suspects could not tolerate insults to development projects in Hambanthota because they all made a living out of such projects.
What requires emphasis here is the fact that confessions made by the four suspects stand in line with the government's response that came in the wake of the attack. The government said those who attacked the group of UNP MPs were 'the common people' who had nothing to do with politics.
The arrest came two days after UNP MPs staged a protest in front of the Hambanthota Police station over Police inaction.However, no action has so far been taken to arrest Eraj Fernando, Mayor of Hambanthota, whose involvement in the attack was widely reported in media with pictorial illustrations.
