THE much-talked about arrests of Government ministers appears to have been put on the backburner because of fear it would tip the political scale, legal and other informed sources have revealed.

One senior Minister being arrested reportedly asked Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare in recent weeks to intervene on his behalf in stopping his impending arrest, the sources told Island Sun yesterday.

“He (the senior minister) literally “cried” in Mr Sogavare’s presence. Please do all in your power to stop my arrest,” the informed sources said.

Mr Sogavare’s response was not immediately known.

Cases involving up to 19 MPs in the current House have reportedly been vetted and cleared by the Office of the Director of Public Prosecution [DPP] and are awaiting arrests.

Most of the MPs are said to be from the DCC Government side. They are facing charges of conversion involving the infamous RCDF grants.

Informed sources said these MPs should have been arrested already. However, a stay of sorts has been applied on their arrests for fear that MPs’ arrest en masse could result in the breakup of the DCC Government.

“Someone higher up has asked police to slow down with the arrests,” a legal source said.

It is not clear whether the request to go slow on MPs’ arrest was conveyed formally to the Commissioner of Police, Mathew Varley. Such a request would put the Commissioner in an awkward position, given the independence and neutrality of his office from political interference.

It is understood impending arrest of senior MPs is also a factor delaying Prime Minister Sogavare’s planned ministerial reshuffle.

Meanwhile Mr Sogavare last week reportedly appealed to church leaders attending the week-long Awakening the Nation’s conference to pray for him as “I am finding it hard to fight corruption in this country.”