The leader of the EPDP, a pro-government Tamil paramilitary organisation accused of committing human rights abuses throughout and after the war, has been given a ministerial portfolio responsible for several key Tamil issues.

The paramilitary leader Douglas Devananda was appointed ‘Minister of Resettlement, Rehabilitation, Northern Development, and Hindu Religious Affairs’ today in the cabinet of Mahinda Rajapaksa.

Ranil Wickremesinhge’s media division denied reports that he had requested United Nations Peacekeeping Forces to be deployed in Sri Lanka on Monday.

The rebuttal came after a letter addressed to international embassies requesting assistance in handling political arrest, that was signed by Wickremesinghe, had been circulated amongst media outlets.

Sri Lanka’s finance minister claimed that his security detail had been withdrawn this morning, as the political turmoil on the island continued.

Finance minister Mangala Samaraweera, a staunch support of Ranil Wickremesinghe, tweeted,

Sri Lankan police on Monday arrested Sri Lanka’s Minister of Petroleum Arjuna Ranatunga after one of his bodyguards shot into crowds blocking him from entering his office.

The police spokesperson Ruwan Gunasekara told Reuters, “Colombo Crime division arrested Ranatunga over the shooting incident and he will be produced to the court shortly.”

Mahinda Rajapaksa, Sri Lanka’s former president that oversaw the massacres of tens of thousands of Tamils, celebrated his appointment as Sri Lankan prime minister by visiting Buddhist monks in Kandy on Sunday.

Canada has called on Sri Lanka to ensure that it meets commitments it made to the international community amidst a political crisis on the island triggered by the appointment of Mahinda Rajapaksa as prime minister.

The Canadian High Commissioner to Sri Lanka and Ambassador to the Maldives, David McKinnon, stated today that

The US State Department has called on Sri Lanka’s president “to immediately reconvene parliament” as the political crisis on the island continues following the appointment of Mahinda Rajapaksa as prime minister on Friday.

“The United States continues to follow developments in Sri Lanka with concern,” said the State Department press release.

The Hindu has slammed the current Sri Lankan president’s appointment of Mahinda Rajapaksa as “blatant abuse of his executive powers” that has “put democracy in serious peril”.

“Guided by narrow political interests, the President’s actions betray an utter disregard for the parliamentary process,” said the Hindu editorial on Monday.

“All this has come at a time of economic fragility, with a plummeting rupee, soaring unemployment and rising living costs.”

Tamil Nadu parties and key political figures have unanimously condemned the appointment of the former president, Mahinda Rajapaksa as Sri Lanka's prime minister due his role in war crimes and mass atrocities committed against Eelam Tamils in 2009. 

Sri Lankan plunged into political crisis on Friday as the president, Maithripala Sirisena sacked the prime minister, Ranil Wickremesinghe and replaced him with Rajapaksa. 

The ratings agency Moody's on Monday expressed concern over Sri Lanka pointing to the unfurling turmoil after the president sacked the prime minister on Friday and appointed the former president, Mahinda Rajapaksa. 

Stating the crisis was credit negative, Moody's warned the country may struggle to refinance external debt at an affordable rate early next year. 

The Sri Lankan rupee fell 0.58 percent today, to an all time low. 

Mahinda Rajapaksa, who was appointed as prime minister by the Sri Lankan president on Friday, assumed duties today. 

According to Colombo news reports several Member of Parliaments, secretary to the prime minister, Sirisena Amarasekara and members of the Maha Sanga were present at the event. 

The spokesperson for the prime minister told reporters a new cabinet would be sworn in later today. 

A 64-year-old Tamil man who was injured after stones were thrown at his train carriage as he travelled from Kurunegala to Jaffna died today, sixty days after being admitted in hospital. 

The man, named as P Sivachelvan from Vadamaradchchi East was admitted to Anuradhapura hospital following the attack, which took place near the Sinhala area of Mathavachchi on August 31. 

A demonstration was held in Nelliady on Saturday by locals demanding the release of Tamil political prisoners, who have been held largely without charge indefinitely. 

Earlier this month the TNA met with the Sri Lankan president, Maithripala Sirisena urging him to release the prisoners. 

Amnesty International expressed concern over events in Sri Lanka, stressing that "human rights must not become a casualty of Sri Lanka’s political crisis". 

"The authorities must ensure that key freedoms are respected and protected at this time. People should be allowed to exercise their rights to freedom of expression, peaceful assembly and association," Amnesty's Minar Pimple said.