COLOMBO: Police in Sri Lanka on Friday arrested a 31-year-old man for protesting the closure of a road for the passage of visiting Chinese Defence Minister Gen Wei Fenghe's convoy, posing a threat to the VIP fleet.
Police Spokesman Ajith Rohana said the man was arrested for interfering in police duties and forming an unlawful assembly while encouraging the others to protest.
In a social media post, the man was seen encouraging the motorists to honk in protest when the police closed the road for the vehicular movement of the Chinese minister on Tuesday night at a busy junction in Colombo.
He was heard shouting against the police action to close the road and instigating others to object to the road being closed, posing a threat to the Chinese minister's convoy, the official said.
Rohana said that in accordance with the Vienna Convention, the state of Sri Lanka was obliged to provide facilities to a visiting VIP representing a state.
The arrestee would be produced in court, the official said.
Rohana said it is also the responsibility of Sri Lanka to provide security to a defence minister from a powerful country like China, the Colombo Gazette reported.
“The road was closed at night and it is the responsibility of the Sri Lankan Government to give the defence minister protection,” he was quoted as saying in the report.
Gen Wei arrived here along with a high-level delegation on Tuesday on a two-day official visit.
During his visit, he called on Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa and Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa and discussed ways to further cement bilateral ties, including defence cooperation and post-pandemic economic recovery. Gen Wei also held bilateral talks with Sri Lankan Defence Secretary Gen Kamal Gunaratne (Retd).