Sri Lanka's foreign ministry Tuesday suspended a senior diplomat for threatening to slit the throats of minority Tamils protesting outside its High Commission in London. Minister Counsellor Priyanka Fernando, who is also a serving officer in the Sri Lankan army, was relieved of his duties pending a disciplinary inquiry over Sunday's incident. Videos of Fernando making throat-slitting gestures were shared widely on social media, embarrassing Sri Lankan authorities who have promised reconciliation after decades of ethnic civil war.
"Authorities in Sri Lanka have taken serious note of videos being circulated involving the Minister Counsellor behaving in an offensive manner," the ministry said. Fernando, who is a brigadier, was involved in fighting during the bloody finale to the island's Tamil separatist war in 2009, when Sri Lankan troops were accused of massive human rights abuses.