Sri Lanka’s Fisheries Minister and accused war criminal Douglas Devananda was accompanied by dozens of police officers as security was ramped up for his visit to Mullaitivu this week.

Road blocks were put in place and ongoing protests by Tamil fishermen in the district were called off, as the minister vowed to address their concerns regarding illegal fishing in the region.

Devananda said his government would “look into the matter” of illegal fishing, noting that arrests had taken place in Mullaitivu and Trincomalee. He also pledged to help solve the issue of fuel shortages for fishermen, who in the midst of Sri Lanka’s economic crisis, have struggled with their livelihoods.

Devananda heads the notorious Eelam People’s Democratic Party (EPDP), a paramilitary organisation that continues to remain close to the Rajapaksa regime. Devananda, was elected to Parliament in 1994 and aligned with the government as it battled against the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) and launched multiple military offensives. He has been rewarded with several ministerial posts throughout the years, including Minister of Social Services and Social Welfare, Minister of Agriculture, Marketing Development, Hindu Education Affairs and currently remains the Minister of fisheries.

Throughout the armed conflict the EPDP was armed and backed by the Sri Lankan state, carrying out a series of war crimes and other human rights violations. The EPDP was one of several paramilitary groups, including the Karuna faction, which was utilised by the Sri Lankan government.

Read more here: Abductions, murders and prostitution rings – The story of Douglas Devananda, who is still a Sri Lankan minister