January 1

The TNA is to meet with representatives of the diplomatic community in Colombo to explain the parity's stance with regard to land and police powers to the provinces. The TNA members are to meet with the diplomats to brief them on the progress made at the talks between the Government and the party.

All Ceylon Muslim Congress (ACMC) Secretary General Y.L.S Hameed said that ACMC will leave no room for another re-merger of the North and the East. He said one must understand the background in which the late Muslim leader M.H.M. Ashraff tabled the demand for a separate unit of devolution for the Muslims in the North and the East.

Sri Lanka Police Department is planning to link all Police Stations through an online network to provide a better and efficient service to the people, according to Colombo Page. The move facilitates the decision of the Police Department to complete investigations regarding minor complaints within 48 hours, Police sources say.

Government has allocated LKR 61,000 million to accelerate the implementation of many development projects in the Jaffna District to promote the livelihood of the people who suffered during the three-decade-long LTTE terrorism, Northern Province Governor Major General G.A. Chandrasiri told the Sunday Observer. Another LKR 5,000 million has been allocated to the Northern Provincial Council from the budget for development activities in the province, he said.

A large stock of weapons, explosives and other war like equipments buried by the LTTE, while they were fleeing after their defeat in 2009, was unearthed by Naval troops in Narantanai West in Kayts on January 1.

Minister of External Affairs Professor G.L. Peiris called in the Ambassador of France to Sri Lanka, Christine Robichon, to express Sri Lanka's concern over the issue of four stamps by the French mail service La Poste depicting images of LTTE. Professor Peiris pointed out that when Governments, especially in the West allow the pro-LTTE groups to operate in such a manner, the Sri Lankan public will question those countries' bona-fides and the Sri Lankan Government has to consider the public opinion since the pro-LTTE groups overseas are still seeking to achieve their objectives through different means.

French Ambassador confirmed the publication of 360 stamps by La Poste. However, after the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs has informed La Poste that LTTE is a terrorist group banned by the EU in 2006, the mail service has assured that no such stamps will be printed further.

Peiris urged the French Government to ensure that publications like the four stamps issued by La Poste of France, depicting images related to the LTTE, including its insignia, should not happen and their publication be cancelled.

Loosening its stance against granting police and land powers to the provinces according to the 13^th Amendment to the Constitution, the Government said that it is ready to consider its scope provided the TNA put forward its proposals at the talks with the Government.

A crucial round of talks between the TNA and the Government is scheduled to be held on January 17, 18 and 19 in Colombo. Political sources say the talks will be crucial since the devolving of land powers sill be taken up in the talks.

The Sri Lanka Police Department will create opportunities for former LTTE cadres who are well educated to join the Police, Inspector General of Police N. K. Illangakoon said. He said if the former LTTE cadres were willing to join the Police after fulfilling the requirements, the Department would recruit them.

In another context, he said the Police Department had recruited over 600 Tamil Police officers and they are now serving in the North and the East.

Election Commissioner of Sri Lanka Mahinda Deshapriya has decided to hold the elections of two local government bodies of the Mullativu District on March 10.

Traditional Industries and Small Enterprises Development Minister Douglas Devananda said that all Tamil parties, including the TNA, must strengthen President Mahinda Rajapaksa's hands to find a durable solution to the ethnic issue. Devananda observed that if the TNA does not participate in the Parliamentary Select Committee proceedings, it will be difficult to find a durable solution to the ethnic issue and there will be a stalemate which will continue to aggravate sufferings of the Tamil people.

Around 74 LTTE cadres who have been rehabilitated on court orders, are to be released shortly on a decision by the Rehabilitation Department. According to Rehabilitation Commissioner General Major General Chandana Rajaguru this group will be released on January 22 at a ceremony in Batticaloa. He said that 11,375 out of around 12,000 former LTTE cadres had been rehabilitated and integrated into society to date, while another 750 are being rehabilitated and will be released in batches.

Higher Education Minister S.B. Dissanayake said that all Tamil parties, particularly the TNA, should get actively involved in the deliberations of the Parliamentary Select Committee on the ethnic issue.

Sri Lanka plans to strengthen security in the country to prevent any resurrection of the vanquished LTTE, Defense Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa. He observed that the LTTE, although defeated in the country, is still active overseas and groups sympathetic to the LTTE cause are attempting to revitalize their movement at international level. Though many LTTE-friendly groups and individuals function overseas separately, they have one common objective of dismembering Sri Lanka and establishing a separate State.

Higher Education Ministry Secretary Sunil Jayantha Navarathna said that on the advice of LTTE supporters, a Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) faction led by Kumar Gunaratnam is engaged in hampering the university system.

Child Development and Women's Affairs Minister Tissa Karalliyadde said the powers demanded by the TNA would not address issues faced by the Tamil people in the country. Karalliyadde said the TNA was seeking powers to the Northern Provincial Council that have not been given to any other provincial council in the country. He noted that the TNA should understand the real needs of the Tamil people and work towards winning them.

Minister of Lands and Land Development Janaka Bandara Tennakoon said that over 200,000 citizens in the country do not possess any land.

Cabinet Spokesman and Media Minister Keheliya Rambukwella said that the TNA leader R. Sampanthan's statement that his party will take part in discussions in connection with finding a solution to the issues of the Tamil community is a positive sign. Minister Rambukwella said that whatever solution worked out through these discussions should be endorsed by Parliament.

Higher Education Ministry Secretary Jayantha Navaratne said the numerous student protests in local universities are the result of students falling victim to outside political elements.

The overseas LTTE groups trying to revive the vanquished terror group in Sri Lanka have used the personalized services offered by the postal authorities in Britain, France and Canada to make a mockery of those States where the terrorist group remains as a banned organization.

Commenting on the ongoing talks between the Government and TNA, Presidential adviser for reconciliation and member of the Government delegation for the Government-TNA discussions, Rajiva Wijesinha told the Daily News that "there is an increasing perception that there are many common factors between us and there is a desire on both sides to have a positive solution". "There are one or two issues which will obviously take a longer time, rather than trying to resolve the more difficult question first, resolving the easier issues first will be more productive. Because then you realize that the difficult problems are not so difficult," Wijesinha said.

A massive recruitment program has been launched to enlist Tamil-speaking men and women from the Northern and Eastern provinces to foster a good relationship between diverse ethnic communities, Police media spokesman, Superintendent of Police Ajith Rohana.

The US granted President Mahinda Rajapaksa immunity from a law suit filed in a US court against him by the pro- LTTE Tamil Diaspora. The US filed a "Suggestion of Immunity" at the United States District Court for the District of Columbia on January 13 for President Rajapaksa recognizing him as the "sitting head of state of a foreign state."

The External Affairs Ministry has directed the country's missions in Europe to keep a close watch on the activities of LTTE front organizations in their respective countries.

The We Are Sri Lankan (WASL) organization led by the dissidents of JVP said the rehabilitated former LTTE members should be given equal rights and not be sidelined. WASL Convener, Udul Premaratne said that the Government was critical of organizations that stood and fought for ethnic harmony.

A suspected sympathizer of the LTTE was arrested by Kochi city Police from Chengalpettu in Chennai in connection with a human trafficking case involving Sri Lankan Tamils.

Colombo Chief Magistrate Rashmi Singappuli said that the court is expecting the advice of the Attorney General regarding legal action against two surrendered leaders of the LTTE. The duo, former LTTE media spokesman Daya Master and translator George, surrendered to State Military in the last phase of the war against LTTE.

Prime Minister D.M. Jayaratne said that foreign forces are behind some of the protests held in the country. Jayaratne said that such foreign forces were behind the protests against the setting up of private universities. He observed that he has received affidavits stating such facts. According to the Prime Minister, certain foreign elements including the Tamil Diaspora were hopeful of resurrecting the LTTE organization.

Defence and Urban Development Ministry Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa said the Police has to play a vital role in the country's development.

Naval personnel attached to the Eastern Naval Command recovered a stock of LTTE arms and ammunition hidden in Devapura and Chilawatte areas s. The recoveries included one T 56 weapon, one T 81 weapon, two T 56 magazines, one T 56 magazine, eight 81mm motor bombs, two 60 mm motor bombs and two hand grenades were also found. A number of identity cards of LTTE militants were also recovered.

An area exceeding 1,934 out of 2,061 square kilometers of lands in the North which were dotted with land mines and booby traps have been cleared by the end of 2011 and Economic Development Minister Basil Rajapaksa has given specific directives to expedite the clearing of the remaining 127 square kilomete.

President Mahinda Rajapaksa assured Indian External Affairs Minister S. M. Krishna, who is an official tour to Sri Lanka, that he stood by his commitment to follow the "13th Amendment plus approach" to achieve a political solution to the Tamil question.

The TNA said that it looked forward to a new beginning in talks with the Government, following President Rajapaksa's assurance on devolution and autonomy. "The President has spoken about going beyond the 13th Amendment. This is a new beginning and we will pursue the talks from here," TNA Member of Parliament Sumanthiran said, when asked about the progress of talks.

Mass Media and Information Minister Keheliya Rambukwella said that Government can overcome political extremism. The Minister said the LTTE operated a propaganda and fund raising network in nearly 230 countries and is one of the richest terrorist organizations found in the world.

Government spokesman and Minister of Media & Information Keheliya Rambukwella said the Government expects to establish a Senate representing minority groups and academics as a "viable link between the Central Government and the provinces". Explaining the government's initiative, the Minister said the 13th Amendment to the Constitution is already a part of the Constitution since 1987, and the establishment of the Senate, which will act as an advisory body to the legislature, is what meant by the 13 plus or 13 and beyond.

About 142 families who left their villages in 1999 due to terrorist activities were resettled in their own lands, said Resettlement Minister Gunarathna Weerakoon. These families have been settled in temporary shelters in Gajabapura and Monaraweva divisional secretariat divisions in Weli Oya. About 75 families are living in Gajabapura and 67 families in Monaraweva, he added.

TNA Member of Parliament (MP) Rasavarodhayam Sampanthan said that the TNA will continue to hold talks with the Government delegation to reach consensus on an effective and workable solution to the grievances of people in the North and the East and would not quit the talks under any circumstances.

Sri Lanka Navy on January 21 arrested two people, including a former Sea Tiger [cadre of the Se Wing of the LTTE] attempting to enter the island illegally under cover from the northwestern coast, the Navy reported on January 22. The two ethnic Tamils were dropped off by a hired Indian boat at the 9th Sand Bank off the coast of Thalaimannar and were swimming to the 8th Sand Bank when the naval personnel attached to the North-western Naval Command spotted them and arrested.

Leader of the House and Chief Negotiator in the TNA-Government talks Minister Nimal Siripala de Silva affirmed that they have not suspended or withdrawn from the ongoing negotiations to find a workable framework for the devolution of power.

The Government ceremoniously reintegrated another batch of 78 rehabilitated former LTTE cadres to the society. Another 750 ex- LTTE cadres are currently being rehabilitated and over 800 more cadres will be rehabilitate on the orders of courts, according to the Commissioner General of Rehabilitation Major General Chandana Wanaguru. During and immediately after the final phase of the war 11,700 LTTE cadres had surrendered to the Government Security Forces (SFs) or arrested by the SFs.

Defence Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa said that even after the end of the war, LTTE elements were still trying to act from behind some political parties. Rajapaksa also said that the Government could not be held responsible for the persons who go missing due to terrorist activities.

Former Army Commander Sarath Fonseka pleaded not guilty to all charges against him when he was produced before the Colombo High Court. The Government has charged Fonseka and his personal assistant Senaka Haripriya de Silva mainly for harboring Army deserters during his presidential election campaign, conspiring against the Government to commit mutiny and insubordination to the Government. The State has served an indictment against the two accusing them of 41 charges.

Fonseka is currently serving a three-year prison sentence imposed by the Colombo High Court having found him guilty of inciting violence in the famous 'white flag' case. He is also serving a 30-month prison term imposed by a court martial in 2010 after finding him guilty of four charges related to alleged irregularities in military procurements during his tenure as Army Chief.

The TNA said that President Mahinda Rajapakse and the Government has gone back on its agreement with the Indian Government. TNA spokesman and Jaffna District parliamentarian Suresh Premachandran said that the President after agreeing to provide a political solution to the ethnic issue that goes beyond the 13th Amendment has now backtracked. "The President has taken an undertaking during the discussions with Indian External Affairs Minister S.M. Krishna where he has said the solution would be beyond the 13th Amendment," he explained.

A suspected LTTE cadre alleged to have been involved in a bomb blast in Wilpattu National Forest on May 27, 2006, that killed seven people, was arrested by the Police. Police said the suspect has been identified as a resident of Mannar and he was involved in LTTE activities during the war.

National Freedom Front leader and Construction Engineering Services, Housing and Common Amenities Minister Wimal Weerawansa said that a foreign spy service may be guiding the rebel group of the JVP which had always adopted a two pronged policy of democracy and revolution. He said the small rebel group is waiting for the dawn of the 'day of struggle' like the Benghazi rebels.

External Affairs Minister G L Peiris said that LLRC implementation getting off to good start. "The government has made a good start to implementing the recommendations of the LLRC. Within the next two months, the process of implementing the LLRC recommendations will get fully underway," Peiris said.

Cabinet Spokesman and Media Minister Keheliya Rambukwella said that Sri Lanka needs a local model of decentralization of power invented by Sri Lankans. "Thirteen Plus is correct and accurate. The meaning of Thirteen Plus is establishing a Senate. The entire thirteenth amendment is a vast decentralization of powers. There is no big issue when it comes to decentralizing land powers, but, there is a serious issue on the system of devolving Police powers. Therefore, the question is what is wrong with discussing this single issue in the Parliamentary Select Committee (PSC)," he said.

Economic Development Minister Basil Rajapaksa said that only politicians in the Northern and Eastern Provinces demand land and Police powers, not the. Minister Rajapaksa explained that the people in the North and East wanted land to cultivate and carry out their livelihoods and protection from terrorism and abductions. The Government, Rajapaksa has said, would provide these necessities of the people. However, he pointed out that the Government did not have any intention to devolve land and Police powers to the provinces.

Deputy Minister of Traditional Industries and Small Enterprise Development Weerakumara Dissanayake says that a political solution that goes beyond the 13th Amendment needs to be thought out very carefully. He told the media that the Government facing a great risk since the whole concept of 13th plus could spread like a germ. He noted that it could be used to obstruct the Government's development path. Therefore, he observed that the government in this scenario needs to work according to a proper legal framework.

President Mahinda Rajapaksa suggested people to learn three languages: Tamil, Sinhalese, and English. If Tamils were taught Sinhalese and Sinhalese were taught Tamil, Sri Lanka would have been in lesser problems. He also said that he is committed to safeguard the country's sovereignty and he will not hesitate to take any decision to protect the people and the country from any threat.

The Government said there was no logical reason in continuing talks with the TNA on finding a political solution to the ethnic issue when the final solution would be decided by the proposed PSC. Government Spokesperson and Media Minister Keheliya Rambukwella said that the Government's stance was that the proposed PSC has to decide on the political solution to the ethnic issue. He said there was no logical reason to continue with talks with the TNA since matters discussed with the TNA would also have to be discussed and decided at the PSC.

Minister of National Languages and Social Integration Vasudeva Nanayakkara said that while the Government pursues a 'one nation policy', the TNA is doing the opposite, by adopting a 'two-nation policy'. The Government aims at uniting all communities under one banner, while developing the linguistic, cultural and religious values of every community, under the 10-year national plan for Trilingual Sri Lanka.

The main opposition UNP said the Government needs to inform parliament and the country if it was looking at a political solution that goes beyond the 13th Amendment to the Constitution. UNP General Secretary Tissa Attanayake said the Government needed to explain exactly what President Mahinda Rajapaksa has promised to Indian External Affairs Minister about the political solution.

TMVP leader and EPC CM Sivanesathurai Chandrakanthan alias Pillayan has demanded that Police and land powers be given to the Provincial Councils, according to Colombo Page. The EPC led by Pillayan has unanimously passed a resolution demanding Police and land powers for the council. A copy of the resolution has been sent to the Presidential Secretariat.

A spokesman said that the CM will also discuss the issue with the TNA leader R. Sampanthan. "We are willing to work jointly with the TNA in winning these demands," the council spokesman was quoted as saying.

TNA Member of Parliament Premachandran confirmed that the CM has written to the TNA expressing willingness for dialogue. He said that the party is ready to discuss with the ruling party of the EPC about the power devolution and the political solution to the ethnic problem. TMVP is a political party formed by the former breakaway rebel group of LTTE. TMVP which won the 2008 Provincial Council election for which the TNA did not contest is the major party of the ruling coalition of the Eastern Province.

President Mahinda Rajapaksa said that in finding solutions to whatever issues the country faces, the Government would always look for home-grown methods that meet the aspirations and needs of the people. He said that solutions to country's problems should come from within based on dialogue and understanding and stressed that he and the Government were always prepared to listen and were open for discussion to resolve any issues on behalf of the people.

The Government in addition to the 2012 budgetary allocation to develop the North has allocated an additional LKR 10 billion for new development activities. Of this, the biggest slice has been allocated for the development of agriculture in the north, Traditional Industries and Small Enterprises Development Minister Douglas Devananda said.

Presidential Envoy on Human Rights and leader of the delegation to the UNHRC, Mahinda Samarasinghe said that Sri Lanka will not be presenting the LLRC report to the UNHRC as it was never the intention of the Government to do so. Minister Samarasinghe said that he anticipates that there will be references to the LLRC report and if that happens, the delegation will be prepared to present the government's view with respect to the report that was presented to Parliament in December 2011.

President Mahinda Rajapakse said on January 30 that the issues confronting normalization process in the country should be resolved democratically, through the PSC process. "Whether it be 13 plus or 13 minus, these and more issues should be sorted out through the PSC mechanism. The Opposition must join in this effort as the problems at hand should be resolved democratically," the President explained. It is the PSC which must clear-up all outstanding questions, he said.

UNP called on the Government to implement the recommendations made by the LLRC to show its commitment to finding a political solution to the ethnic issue and addresses the needs of the Tamil people. UNP General Secretary Tissa Attanayake says the UNP was ready to participate in any discussion and support the Government in its endeavour to implement the LLRC recommendations. He says the President Mahinda Rajapakse after saying he would implement the recommendations made by the LLRC, was not doing so.

Commenting on the criticism by various NGOs and Western countries of Sri Lanka, the Secretary of Ministry of External Affairs, Karunathilaka Amunugama said that "Sri Lanka is not going to make decisions to make NGOs and other countries happy and what is best for our country and our people will be decided by the people of Sri Lanka".

The Head of the PNM, an ally of Sri Lanka's governing UPFA, Dr. Gunadasa Amarasekera says that the Government should not hold discussions on finding a political solution with the major Tamil political party, the TNA. He blamed TNA for representing the LTTE ideology of separatism and pushing for Tamil Eelam. He also demanded for the legal action against TNA as well as immediate action against the comments made by some of the government ministers who have defecting from the main opposition UNP.

Sri Lankan Environment Minister Anura Priyadarshana Yapa said that nobody can say that the Government does not have a proposal to be presented to the proposed PSC to find a solution to the ethnic issue and the Government's proposal will be presented to the PSC. President Mahinda Rajapaksa will abide by the final decision taken by the PSC. There are proposals on solving the ethnic issue in the Mahinda Chinthanaya - Vision for the future. President Mahinda Rajapaksa mentioned about 13 + on various occasions. This issue has been discussed everywhere for a long time. Problematic areas of the issue have been solved," he said.

According to Minister Yapa, the TNA has never stated to date that it will refrain from participating in the PSC. He further said, "Things stated by the TNA on solving the ethnic issue are not justifiable. We have to consider practicalities in connection with certain situations. He said that Sri Lanka is an independent state and local solution is needed. Commenting on relation with India", he said, Sri Lanka always deals directly with the Indian Government and not with Indian states. Tamil Nadu is not India. It is only a state in India. He asked all political parties to participate in the PSC proposed to find a political solution to the ethnic issue, if they wished to know the Government's stance on the matter.

In less than three years after the war, Sri Lanka has resettled 98 percent of the nearly 300,000 war-displaced people in the North, Sri Lanka's Minister of Resettlement Gunaratne Weerakoon said.

Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa said that the PSC was the best forum to resolve the national question and asked all parties to participate in the PSC rather than relying on imported solutions and foreign influences. The President cautioned against conspiracies and propaganda of terrorists based overseas aimed at destabilizing the motherland. "They hope to achieve in Sri Lanka certain results similar to those in some other countries. The fuel for this struggle in Sri Lanka comes from separatism which is active in foreign lands." He told the nation that the country would neither benefit by trying to please selfish groups, nor implementing the proposals of extremist groups. The LLRC has said that all are responsible for this problem. Therefore, we have already started implementing what was in the Commission report. He also addressed various issues like economic and agricultural development along with future challenges and expectations.

Opposition and UNP Leader of Sri Lanka, Ranil Wickremesinghe has called on the people to rally to safeguard democracy in the country. Government has failed to establish democracy, the opposition parties would work towards it together with the people. He further stated that democracy law and order have collapsed in the country while there was no independent police, public service, electoral system or free education and health services. He asserted that democracy plus is the need of hour, which will in turn help to find a solution to 13 plus policy.

The Marxist party JVP parliamentarian KD Lal Kantha blamed TNA of using the power devolution issues to achieve their political objectives. He said that devolving land and police powers to provinces under the 13th will never solve the national issue of the country and no result can be expected from the measure. He further blamed the western colonial occupation for creating disunity among the Sinhala, Tamil and Muslim communities in order to achieve their political and economic objectives, has said the Tamil National Alliance, the SLMC, India and the Sinhala parties in the South prevented amity among the people.

TNA parliamentarian M.A. Sumanthiran said that the Government is telling one thing to India and another thing to Sri Lanka regarding a solution to the ethnic problem and accused the Government of not finalizing a date for discussions with the TNA. He restated that a fair political solution was a pre-condition for the reconciliation, equity and peace of the country and therefore, TNA is demanding self-Government.

The skepticism over the implementation of LLRC still persists in the minds of various political parties. TNA said that regardless of the statements by President Mahinda Rajapaksa, the recommendations made by the LLRC, has not yet been implemented.

UNP General Secretary Tissa Attanayake calls on the Government to implement the recommendations made by the LLRC without delay. He added that Government needed political consensus on it and implementing the LLRC recommendations were more important than trying to re-convene an All Party Conference to discuss the ethnic issue.

In a move for future solidarity, the Government of Sri Lanka implemented a programme to make Sri Lanka trilingual and every child of the country should learn Sinhala, Tamil and English.

Commenting on the charges by TNA of heavy militarization in the north and insisting that the troops "are maintaining absolutely essential presence" and there would be sizeable military presence to ensure that the "past does not revisit," the Defense Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa completely rejected the charges as "unfair assessment."

A Canadian Tamil man pleaded guilty in a United States district court to charges of conspiring to provide material support to Sri Lanka's Tamil Tiger terrorist group LTTE, a proscribed organization in the U.S. The United States State Department in 1997designated the LTTE as a Foreign Terrorist Organization and the LTTE therefore may not legally raise money or procure equipment or materials in the United States.

In a launching ceremony of a DVD- The RUTHLESS- LTTE's Final Crimes Against Humanity, MCNS Director General Lakshman Hulugalle said that this video is not for the political gain, but to give a correct understanding about the experiences of the Tamil community of the North and East during the war period.

The United States District Court for the Southern District of New York has dismissed the lawsuit against a former General of Sri Lanka Army Shavendra Silva, filed by the relatives of two Sri Lankan Tamils alleging war crimes. The court dismissed the lawsuit on the ground that Silva is currently serving, and is an accredited diplomat entitled to immunity from civil jurisdiction in the United States under federal statute and the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations.

Sri Lankan opposition party leader Ranil Wickremesinghe says the country is in need of the establishment of democracy plus to address issues faced by it. He also announced series of protests to be held under the People's Movement against Lawlessness.

Sri Lanka's opposition UNP has agreed with TNA on the issue of non- participation in the PSC, proposed by the Government. The news came, a day, after TNA and UNP discussed the issue on February 9 at parliamentary complex.

Rejecting Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa call to participate in PSC, the opposition parties UNP, TNA and the Marxist party JVP have decided to ignore President's call.

Two high ranking officials of United States' Department of State arrived in Sri Lanka. The visit is viewed as a crucial step by the US Government in its preparation to support a UNHRC resolution that will ask Sri Lanka to take more concrete actions on the accountability issue and implementing the recommendations put forward by the LLRC. The 19th session of the UNHRC will be held from February 27 - March 23.

Leaders of several religious and civil society condemned Opposition Leader Ranil Wickremesinghe's statement which devalued the LLRC report and described it as a pre-emptive, image tarnishing and anti-Sri Lanka statement.

The US delegates in Sri Lanka confirmed their support to a resolution against Sri Lanka to be tabled at the UNHRC sessions later this month to pressure the Sri Lankan Government to take prompt measures to implement the recommendations made by the LLRC and address the accountability issues.

The US official ruled out an international investigation into the alleged war crime charges at this time and said that instead the US would focus on the UNHRC resolution.

Chief Government Whip and Water Supply and Drainage Minister Dinesh Gunawardena showed his disagreement over United Sates attempt to force the Sri Lankan Government to implement the recommendations of the LLRC report, when the Government has already taken the necessary steps to do exactly that step by step. He blamed US's failure to defeat the Taliban for nine years as the main reason behind their attitude as they are not willing to accept Sri Lanka's victory over terrorism.

Australian Foreign Minister Kevin Rudd said the LLRC report contains constructive proposals for advancing reconciliation and reconstruction. He added that it is critical now to implement the recommendations of LLRC.

The Criminal Investigation Department has arrested a person with suicide vest in Galle. According to the Police, the suspect is an ethnic Tamil resident of Badulla. He was a former cadre of LTTE and has been posing as a Muslim while working at the resort where the suicide vest was found.

The Norwegian Postal Authority, Posten Norge issued an apology to the Sri Lankan Ambassador in Oslo, E Rodney M Perera, for the recent issuance of LTTE stamps in Norway. Norwegian Authority also cleared that the LTTE stamps are not related to any official Norway postal stamps issued by his institution.

Sri Lanka Army has appointed the Court of Inquiry to inquire into the observations, made by the LLRC in its report on alleged civilian casualties during the final phase of the humanitarian operations and probe as regards Channel-4 video footage irrespective of its authenticity.

The Secretary to the External Affairs Ministry K. Amunugama said that Sri Lanka is disappointed on the fact that US to support a resolution against Sri Lanka in the UNHRC session in Geneva to be held between February 27-March 23.

DG of the MCNS Lakshman Hulugalle said that the HRW is promoting pro-LTTE propaganda. In an attempt to defend announcement made by the army appointing a five-member Court of Inquiry to investigate allegations that its forces had committed serious violations of the law of war, Lakshman Hulugalle criticized HRW for leveling COI to be an another Government delaying tactic in the face of mounting international pressure.

Hulugalle, further, said that they have been against Sri Lankan from the beginning and the Government is doing everything for the betterment of all Sri Lankans. "Even when the LLRC was established to look in to these allegations, they had a negative approach and criticized it," Hulugalle said. Earlier, the HRW charged that the announcement made by the Army appointing a five-member Court of Inquiry to investigate allegations that its forces committed serious violations of the law of war appears to be another Government delaying tactic in the face of mounting international pressure.

The Sri Lankan ministerial delegation attending the 19th sessions of the UNHRC beginning on February 27 has left for Geneva, Switzerland. Sri Lanka has to face a resolution that is to be presented against the country at the UNHRC sessions.

Sri Lankan Environment Minister Anura Priyadarshana Yapa said that certain elements are trying to create unrest in the country using non - existent 'issues'. They are trying to incite people into violence as these elements are acting according to private and foreign agendas and trying their best to realize the Diaspora's objectives.

Economic Development Minister Basil Rajapaksa instructed his Ministry officials to work with United Nations (UN) agencies, INGOs and NGOs on a joint Action Plan of Assistance for the Northern Province in 2012.

The Opposition Leader Ranil Wickremasinghe termed Sri Lankan Government plan to propose NHRAP at the UNHRC sessions in Geneva next week, without discussing it in the parliament as a violation of the Constitution.

Acting Media Minister Laxman Yapa Abeywardena responding to the Opposition Leader's statement said that the Government will answer the questions on February 23.

Construction, Engineering Services, Housing & Common Amenities Minister Wimal Weerawansa asked people across the island to protest against the UNHRC resolution and show their solidarity with Government, on February 27, the day 19th session of the UNHRC are to begin in Geneva, Switzerland.

Economic Development Minister Basil Rajapaksa said that the TNA will have to answer for the human rights violations carried out by the LTTE terrorists, if it participates in the UN Human Rights Council's sessions in Geneva.

Chief Government Whip, Minister Dinesh Gunawardena has told the parliament that the Government was prepared to discuss the LLRC report in the PSC and asked the UNP to propose names to the PSC.

A letter sent by the Sri Lankan mission to UNHRC member states and other sections of the world community says. "Sri Lanka categorically states that at no time has the Government or its mission in Geneva, ever worked with representatives of the United States on any Resolution whatsoever.

The Sri Lankan delegate, External Affairs Minister Prof G.L Peiris, to the UNHRC sessions in Geneva said that resolving the grievances of Sri Lanka's communities after the conflict, is an exclusively internal matter and that the issue could be resolved by Sri Lanka independently.

Nearly 8,000 people, including 550 children below the age of 10, were killed in the Northern area during a final offensive to crush LTTE in May 2009, said the census department. Another 6,350 people went missing, the department said in an 80-page report.

The census report said 6,858 people were killed in the first five months of 2009 when fighting peaked just before the military claimed victory in its no-holds-barred offensive. The census did not cover Security Forces killed in the war zone, but the military had previously said 6,000 personnel were killed in the final stages of the war.

The department had carried out the census between June and August 2011, but disclosed the figures only over the weekend. The figures are in stark contrast to estimates by international rights groups, which say up to 40,000 civilians perished in the final months of the civil war and have heavily criticised Sri Lanka's treatment of civilians.

Commissioner General of Rehabilitation Brigadier Dharshana Hettiarachchi said that 931 former LTTE cadres undergoing rehabilitation would be reunited with their families before the end of this year.

Brigadier Hettiarachchi also said that rehabilitation authorities are to implement a comprehensive post monitoring system to help cadres who had reintegrated into the mainstream society.

An unnamed senior Sri Lankan diplomat alleged that various LTTE front organizations scattered around the world are knitting themselves together in a ''human rights'' shield.

President Mahinda Rajapaksa said that the Protest in North and East along with other parts of country on February 27, irrespective of all differences, against a resolution before the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva against Sri Lanka proved that ruthless terrorism was defeated without rousing racist passions by the State. The President also stated that the international community does not have a genuine desire to build unity among peoples of this country.

Main opposition UNP General Secretary Tissa Attanayake claimed that Minister Mahinda Samarasinghe in his speech at the UNHRC sessions in Geneva had agreed to implement the demands being made by the UNHRC and US; contradicting to Defence Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa's stand that the Government would not bow down to the UNHRC . Attanayake said the Government could have avoided all these issues had it implemented the recommendations of the LLRC.

A group of 52 Sri Lankan asylum seekers deported from the UK arrived in Sri Lanka. The British Foreign Office said that they are sending people back to Sri Lanka only when the British government and the courts are satisfied that an individual does not need protection. This flight is the third such flight of deportees arrived from the UK.

Sinhala National and Buddhist Organizations have commenced collecting one million signatures for a petition demanding the abolition of 13th Amendment to the Constitution, which in turn will abolish all power devolution measures and bring state back to total unitary nature. The organizers of the campaign named 'This is the Last Chance' will hand over the petition with one million signatures to President Mahinda Rajapaksa.

According to Sri Lanka Embassy in Washington, a US federal judge has dismissed a lawsuit filed against Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa noting that President Rajapaksa is immune from lawsuit as a sitting Head of State. The court noted that Head of State immunity is a well-established legal principle in the United States.

The lawsuit alleged human rights abuses occurred during the Sri Lanka-Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTEE) conflict, and attempted to hold President Rajapaksa responsible. The case was brought by Bruce Fein, an attorney who has been accused of working closely with the pro-LTTE Diaspora in the United States.

The Sri Lankan Government has released LKR 300 million to the Ministry of Rehabilitation and Prison Reforms to provide loans up to a maximum of LKR 250, 000 to the rehabilitated former LTTE combatants to start their own employment. The reintegrated cadres have received vocational training as a part of the rehabilitation process to enable them to be self-employed.

Army Commander Lieutenant General Jagath Jayasuriya said that the Army is to scale down its presence in the Northern and Eastern Provinces. The Army is now completely ready for far-reaching reforms in its structural composition regarding ground realities, security and needs of island-wide ongoing development projects, he added.

The Tamil National Alliance (TNA) has split to three factions. The three factions are led by incumbent leader R. Sampanthan, Suresh Premachandran and Gajendrakumar Ponnambalam. Reportedly, the other two factions have blamed TNA leader R. Sampanthan for rejecting to participate in the UN Human Rights Council being held now in Geneva.

The CPI (M) central committee leader T K Rangarajan stated that his party was against an international inquiry into alleged human rights allegations against the Sri Lankan Government during the offensive against the LTTE. He said that a decision should not be imposed on the Sri Lankan people from outside. It was for the people of the island to decide.

The United States submitted the draft resolution against Sri Lanka to the UNHRC at its 19th session in Geneva. The draft resolution calls on the Sri Lankan Government to implement the constructive recommendations in the LLRC report and take all necessary additional steps to fulfill its "relevant obligations and commitment to initiate credible and independent actions to ensure justice, equity, accountability and reconciliation for all Sri Lankans. it also notes with concern that the report does not adequately address serious allegations of violations of international humanitarian law.

The Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu state of India J. Jayalalithaa in a letter to India's Prime Minister Manmohan Singh urged not to back Sri Lanka at the UNHRC sessions currently underway in Geneva. The CM, taking exception to India's stance against "country specific resolutions" and suggestion to take up discussions only under UPR as a routine matter at the UNHRC, said it means direct support to Sri Lanka.

Sri Lanka's delegate to UNHRC Ms. Pruyanga Wickremasinghe said that Sri Lanka has rehabilitated nearly 600 child soldiers recruited by the Tamil Tiger terrorist group LTTE within one year. All child soldiers were rehabilitated under a UNICEF-assisted program and returned to their families; despite, their participation in terrorist activities and not a single combatant was prosecuted.

India's External Affairs Minister S. M. Krishna said that India will carefully consider the overall ties with its neighbor and the sentiments in its own country before making a decision at the United Nations Human Rights Council meeting in Geneva on the resolution against Sri Lanka.

Sri Lanka's Permanent Representative to the United Nations in Geneva Ambassador Tamara Kunanayakam said it will fight the resolution submitted to the UNHRC by the United States against Sri Lanka over alleged war crimes "to the very last minute." "What, in fact, is the US trying to tell us with their draft resolution? They are not saying that our LLRC report is bad. They are not saying that there are gross and systematic violations of human rights in Sri Lanka. What they are saying is that they don't have confidence that we will implement the recommendations. They are judging our intentions, not the ground reality!" the Ambassador added.

Activists of various pro-LTTE movements disrupted an international conference and forced the organisers to send away a Sri Lankan academic. The members of Naam Tamizhar Iyakkam May 17 Movement, Sri Lankan Tamils Protection Federation, as well as MDMK cadres barged into the conference venue at Manonmaniam Sundaranar University (MSU) in Tamil Nadu and protested against the participation of Jeeva Niriella, faculty of law, lecturer, University of Colombo, Sri Lanka. This is the second such incident of a Sri Lankan visitor facing a protest by pro-Tamil outfits. In January this year, Thirukumaran Nadesan, husband of Nirupama Rajapaksa, niece of Sri Lankan president Mahinda Rajapaksa's suffered an even harsher treatment when slippers were hurled at him in Rameswaram where he visited to offer prayers in the temple.

Sri Lanka's Marxist party JVP points out that there is no difference in the contents of the resolution presented by the United States on the Sri Lankan Government to the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva and the stance expressed by Minister Mahinda Samarasinghe in Geneva. The US has called for the implementation of the LLRC recommendations while the Government has informed the UNHRC that it would implement the recommendations. He, further, said that the Government while admitting to adhere to the demands of the international community is trying to push for patriotism among the people.

Media spokesperson for Sri Lankan Australians in Melbourne, Nagesha Wickramasuriya said that separatist activists and LTTE supporters are attempting to lobby support from federal Parliamentarians in Australia into making a statement and to pressurize the UNHRC to take action against Sri Lanka. These activists are trying to mislead politicians across the globe and are posing as human rights activists. These elements have also started a fund raising campaign- One dollar per week. The amount of money they are collecting annually is staggering. "There is a misconception amongst some Sri Lankans that the LTTE have been finished. They are active in American, Canada, France, and London and even in Australia," said Wickramasuriya.

TNA parliamentarian M.A. Sumanthiran said the resolution presented by the United States on Sri Lanka to the UNHRC sessions in Geneva only seeks the implementation of the LLRC recommendations and was not against the country and noted that it was a belief that the resolution was against the country.

Sri Lanka's ambassador to Germany, Sarath Kongahage, said that the LTTE and its sympathisers are fast fading in Germany. Several attempts made by them to raise funds by holding campaigns have failed. They wanted to hold a mass protest on Sri Lanka's Independence Day on February 4 and tarnish the image of Sri Lanka. However, their plans were an utter failure as only eight people turned out for the event, he added. The Sri Lankan community in Germany is around 60,000, of which around 8,000 are Tamils.

A Catholic movement has condemned the call by a group of Tamil Catholic priests from Sri Lanka's North for an international investigation on the alleged war crimes and violations of humanitarian law during the final stages of war.

President Mahinda Rajapaksa pointed out that certain countries, which remained silent during the 30 years of unspeakable terror unleashed by the LTTE with suicide bombs and mass murders of civilians, are now trying to prosecute Sri Lanka for human rights violations after the Government eliminated the terror. Noting that some members of the international community are thinking of human rights only when the killings no longer take place, the President said after defeat of terrorism killings of youth from all communities have stopped and the people are once again able to live freely in an undivided country that belongs to everyone.

An Action Plan detailing how recommendations of LLRC report could be implemented in the country's North, will soon be handed over to the Ministry of Defense by Sri Lanka Army. Acting Spokesman for the SLA, Brigadier G V Ravipriya said, a board comprising senior officers of the SLA formulated the Action Plan on how to implement the recommendations stipulated in the LLRC report. Army Commander Lieutenant General Jagath Jayasuriya had appointed the board about a month ago to formulate the Action Plan, he said.

The mystery around the last days of the assault on LTTE deepened after a documentary filmmaker claimed to have a "chilling piece of footage" showing the bullet-ridden body of the son of its slain chief Prabhakaran. Prabhakaran's 12-year-old son Balachandran's body is shown stripped to the waist and with five bullet holes to the chest. The footage dating from May 18, 2009 will be broadcast on March 14 in a Channel 4 film--Sri Lanka's Killing Fields: War Crimes Unpunished-a sequel to the controversial investigation broadcast in 2011 which accused both the LTTE and the Sri Lankan Government of war crimes and crimes against humanity. However, the authenticity of the video is unknown.

The SLA is considering making a documentary film about LTTE leader Vellupillai Prabhakaran's death. Army Commander Jayasuriya told that a film would be made to explain to the international community how Prabhakaran died in the battlefield. The movie would be made with a view to dispelling various doubts and falsehood that had manifested around his death.

Special Presidential envoy Namal Rajapaksa said that a large number of former LTTE cadres rehabilitated by the Government have been reintegrated with their families. Special assistance and schemes are being facilitated by the Government for the rehabilitated youths and widows to find self employment, he added.

According to a group of rehabilitated LTTE cadres in Kandy, the Sri Lankan soldiers treated them well. It was the LTTE terrorists rather than the Government Security Forces who severely harassed them.

Sri Lanka's High Commissioner to India Prasad Kariyawasam said that the allegation of cold blooded killing of slain LTTE chief Vellupillai Prabhakaran's 12-year son is another concoction by British Channel 4 TV.

UK's Minister for South Asia Alistair Burt, after the broadcast of second video on Sri Lanka conflict by Britain's Channel 4, asked for "an independent, credible and thorough investigation" into the bloody conflict and urged the UNHRC to pass the resolution against Sri Lanka.

Economic Development Deputy Minister Lakshman Yapa Abeywardena informed that President Mahinda Rajapaksa has told the Cabinet of ministers that no matter what happens in Geneva, Government has to speedily solve problems of the Tamil people and upgrade their living standards.

President Mahinda Rajapaksa said that Sri Lanka has the courage to face challenges posed by external forces and does not requires an imported solution to solve the country's internal issues, as it is capable of solving its issues through peaceful dialogue with all parties concerned.

Media Centre for National Security DG Lakshman Hulugalle denied the wild allegations contained in the second video footage released by Channel 4 and termed it as another attempt aimed at tarnishing the country's reputation. He also blamed Channel 4 News for relying largely upon sensationalist materials made available to it by anti-Government groups and individuals.

Sri Lanka Army Spokesman Brigadier Ruwan Wanigasekera has asked Channel 4 to present the allegations they make against Sri Lanka Army with evidence to the LLRC instead of dramatizing their old video clips taken from open sources of pro-LTTE websites.

A new video documentary by the Government - a sequel to Lies Agreed Upon - to counter the allegations leveled at the Sri Lankan Armed Forces in the Channel 4 documentary will be screened on March 20 for members attending the UNHRC sessions in Geneva. The Sri Lankan delegation will also present another video documentary titled Sri Lanka; the Emerging Wonder - conflict, peace and prosperity for the UNHRC members. The first documentary will try to showcase that the Channel 4 video has failed to show the LTTE atrocities.

UNHRC adopted resolution proposed by the United States with 24 votes in favor, 15 against and eight abstentions. In a resolution (A/HRC/19/L.2/Rev1), regarding promoting reconciliation and accountability in Sri Lanka, the Council notes with concern that the report of the LLRC of Sri Lanka does not adequately address serious allegations of violations of international law and calls upon the Government of Sri Lanka to implement the constructive recommendations made in the report of the LLRC session and to take all necessary additional steps to fulfill its relevant legal obligations and commitment to initiate credible and independent actions to ensure justice, equity, accountability and reconciliation for all Sri Lankans.

Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa said that no external forces will be allowed to threaten the country's sovereignty and pledged to continue the Government's development and reconciliation programs. He assured Sri Lankans that there will be no threat directed on the integrity and sovereignty of the country by the UN resolution against Sri Lanka.

Chief Minister of Sri Lanka's Eastern Province Sivanesathurai Chandrakanthan said that the people in the East would have to decide on whether or not to merge the Northern and Eastern Provinces, reports Colombo Page. He noted that the East would not be able to develop, as it has in the past few years, if the North and East were merged.

The Sri Lankan Government has planned to hold a press conference on March 26th to clarify the actions taken by the Sri Lankan delegation at the 19th session of the UNHRC in Geneva.

The press conference is to be conducted by the leaders of the Government delegation that participated in the UNHRC session.

External Affairs Minister Prof. G.L. Peiris assured people that the UNHRC has no powers to impose economic sanctions.

The TID of Sri Lanka Police reopened a case pertaining to a plane crash that happened 12 years ago. The Superintendent of Police Ajith Rohana said the plane crash, earlier suspected as an accident, was a result of a missile attack by LTTE. He said that two LTTE cadres arrested recently from Kilinochchi have confessed to firing missiles at the aircraft causing the AN-26 to crash. The suspects were produced before the Anuradhapura Magistrate. The case will be heard again on April 23.

Additional Secretary of the Ministry of Economic Development Nihal Somaweera said that the government had set aside LKR 425 billion for the reconstruction activities in the Northern and Eastern provinces from the year 2006 to 2011. He also claimed that 95 percent of the reconstruction activities in the two provinces have been completed.

Another 384 former combatants of the terrorist group LTTE in Sri Lanka got the opportunity to rejoin their families. With this new batch, the government had successfully re-integrated 10,490 former LTTE combatants, including 2,170 females into civil society after the end of the war in May 2009. The last remaining group of former LTTE cadres will be released by mid-2012 after providing them the mandatory 12 months training.

The Island newspaper titled "Tigers return from India on a destabilization mission - SL intelligence, three arrested, others at large", said that state intelligence services have received information that around 150 terrorists, who underwent a special arms training at three secret camps in Tamil Nadu, have returned to Sri Lanka and are hiding in the North and the East to carry out a destabilization campaign.

The Indian High Commission in Colombo rejected a news report which claimed LTTE cadres were being trained in the Indian State of Tamil Nadu.

The SFs have begun search operations in the Eastern Province, where the murder of the EPDP member took place, for the LTTE suspects who have reportedly returned to the country, military sources said.

The US rejected media reports that said the TNA has been invited to Washington for a meeting with the Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.

Resettlement Minister Gunaratne Weerakoon said that Sri Lanka needs at least six months to resettle the remaining Internally Displaced Persons IDPs.

The US-sponsored resolution on the implementation of the recommendations stipulated in LLRC report is non-binding because bringing out the report was the State's responsibility, Human Resources Senior Minister D E W Gunasekera told. Adding that only Sri Lanka can resolve its ethnic question. "The US cannot resolve Sri Lanka's ethnic question," the minister said.

UK parliamentary group chairman Lord Naseby disapproved of the UK Government's support for the US-sponsored resolution against Sri Lanka at the UNHRC in Geneva. Over the past two to three weeks, Naseby has visited several parts of the country, including Jaffna, Hambantota and Galle, where he met both civilians and the civil society members.

The United States Department of State released a report, titled "Measures Taken by the Government of Sri Lanka and International Bodies to Investigate and Hold Accountable Violators of International Humanitarian and Human Rights Law", prepared by the Office of Global Criminal Justice of the Department addressing Sri Lanka's accountability and alleged violations of international humanitarian laws during the country's three-decade long war with Tamil Tiger terrorists.

Police and the Security Forces have asked the members of the EPDP to be cautious in view of the recent killing of one of its members at Periyakulam, allegedly by the LTTE. Security forces have issued the instructions after receiving intelligence reports on a group of LTTE members attempting to create trouble in the area.

UK parliamentary group chairman Lord Naseby met the Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa at the Temple Trees. He also met the Economic Development Minister Basil Rajapaksa and Industry and Commerce Minister Rishad Bathiyutheen.

The TNA leader R. Sampanthan said that TNA is not opposed to the Parliamentary Select Committee, but do not have much trust in it.

Irrigation and Water Resources Management Minister Nimal Siripala de Silva told the 126th session of the Inter Parliamentary Union that Sri Lankan Government is taking unique and durable measures to expedite the reconciliation process at the end of a three decades ruthless war.

Chairman of PNM, Gunadasa Amarasekera says that the Government must not implement the resolution passed at the UNHRC on Sri Lanka without a referendum. He further said that the implementation of the UNHRC resolution without a mandate would be a betrayal of the country.

Sri Lanka's former President, Chandrika Kumaratunga said that Sri Lanka has a "marvelous opportunity" to heal and reconcile its twin populations after 25 years of civil war. However, she said that she is more than a little baffled at the slowness with which the Mahinda Rajapaksa Government is building post-civil war "bridges." "Such opportunities do not last forever," she warned. She suggested that while the civil war has seen some repair work accomplished, still more needs to be done in terms of physical reconstruction and rehabilitation.

A 15-member multi-party delegation with representatives from the Congress, BJP, DMK, AIADMK and Left parties, led by Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Sushma Swaraj will travel to Sri Lanka from April 16 to April 21 to assess the resettlement and political process in the war-torn areas. The visit is aimed at reinforcing India's commitment towards ethnic Sri Lankan Tamils.

Sri Lanka's former President, Chandrika Kumaratunga said that Sri Lanka has a "marvelous opportunity" to heal and reconcile its twin populations after 25 years of civil war. She said that she is more than a little baffled at the slowness with which the Mahinda Rajapaksa Government is building post-civil war "bridges."

Naval personnel attached to the Eastern Naval Command had recovered 12.7mm anti-air craft gun and a Multi-Purpose Machine in the seas off Kuchchaveli from a LTTE attack craft in the seas during a salvage operation.

According to Economic Development Ministry report, the overall Government investment for eastern revival, up to end of 2011 is Rs 125.35 billion. This amount has been allocated for the Eastern Province development programmes under the Negenehira Navodaya programme from 2006 to 2011.

SLFP Treasurer and Youth Affairs and Skills Development Minister Dullas Alahapperuma asked Tamil National Alliance TNA not to act like agents of the LTTE and risk dividing society once again. He said it is now time for the TNA to take a new turn and emerge from the grip of the LTTE that does not exist anymore. The minister noted President Mahinda Rajapaksa's stand that there are no minorities in this country.

UN Resident Coordinator in Sri Lanka, Subinay Nandy said that demining process in Sri Lanka's war ravaged Northern and Eastern provinces has recorded satisfactory progress. The country's North and the East were heavily mined by the LTTE prior to their defeat in May 2009.

Sri Lanka's Leader of opposition Ranil Wickremasinghe met with the India's External Affairs Minister S.M. Krishna and held discussions on the resettlement of the displaced Tamil civilians in the North.

President Mahinda Rajapakse said that there will be no room to create ethnic disharmony among the Sinhala, Tamil and Muslim communities in the country although some quarters in the world attempt to tear up cohesion among ethnic groups and promote separatism.

S. Sritharan, a Tamil MP from Sri Lanka said that there is serious violation of human rights against Sri Lankan Tamils. He appealed to the Indian MPs' delegation arriving in Sri Lanka to visit Mullivaikkal and do a thorough investigation.

Defence Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa said that identities of those arriving illegally in Australia and other countries, particularly in Europe, seeking political refuge are protected. Thousands of Sri Lankans had received new identities and it therefore denies Sri Lanka an opportunity to target organized criminal gangs responsible for sending people abroad.

A group of four persons was arrested showing and viewing a video film containing scenes of the past LTTE victories in the warfront and its training programmes in an attempt to promote LTTE organisation. They were taken into custody during a raid on a house at Mohontuwarama in Eechalanpattu area in Trincomalee District.

Media Minister Lakshman Yapa Abeywardena reiterated Government's stance that a clear solution to the power devolution issue could only be provided through a parliamentary select committee and urged Tamil national Alliance to join the process. "After discussion at the parliamentary select committee the decision should be approved in the parliament with two-third majority.

Party leaders of the ruling UPFA have been asked to hand in proposals on the implementation of the LLRC report. The Government has sought the proposals of all coalition party members of the UPFA on the LLRC report and its implementation.

A major search operation by TID and other State Intelligence bureaus is in progress in the eastern region in search of ex-LTTE cadres, who had not gone through Government rehabilitation programs as well as cadres, who had returned from overseas.

Traditional Industries and Small Enterprise Development Minister Douglas Devananda instructed Government Agents and officials of Kilinochchi and Jaffna Districts to conduct a census of public and private buildings abandoned in Kilinochchi and Jaffna Districts due to the war and other reasons.

UNP parliamentarian Harin Fernando said that Government needs to make a clear statement about its stance on the 13th Amendment and the claim about going beyond the 13th Amendment. He observed that the Government needs to tell the country if a 13 Plus political solution would be given to solve the North and East problem.

TNA leader R. Sampanthan said that there had been no favorable response from the Sri Lankan Government on the issue of local political solution to the national problem in Sri Lanka. He recalled that the present Government had been giving assurances since 2006 but had failed to deliver them.

Unexploded cluster munitions have been found for the first time in Sri Lanka, a UN expert on land mines Allan Poston has claimed. Poston is the technical adviser for the UN Development Programme's mine action group in Sri Lanka.

The Sri Lanka Army on April 27 denied reports that security forces had used cluster bombs during the war and requested to provide any evidence so that an investigation can be launched.

The denial came after a report citing a top UN demining expert, Allan Poston, claimed that unexploded cluster bombs were discovered in the Puthukudyiruppu area in the north. The area known as PTK was a LTTE nerve centre during their decades old fight with the Government troops.

A Presidential Task Force for a Trilingual Sri Lanka had been appointed under the Chairmanship of Secretary to the President Lalith Weeratunga to implement the 10 - year national plan which was launched officially on January 21.

Eastern Province Chief Minister of Sri Lanka Sivanesathurai Chandrakanthan alias Pillayan said any decision to dissolve the EPC 2012, would be made only after discussing about the matter.

A Presidential Task Force for a Trilingual Sri Lanka had been appointed under the Chairmanship of Secretary to the President Lalith Weeratunga to implement the 10 - year national plan which was launched officially on January 21. The Task Force would ensure that Sinhala and Tamil will be the languages of modern intellectual discourse, debate, perception and discussion within the country along with English as a life skill and an instrument of communication within and outside the country.

TNA leader R. Sampanthan sought President Mahindra Rajapaksa's intervention to secure the release of several youth taken into custody during the recent search operations in the Eastern Province, particularly in the Trincomalee District.

The United States Department of Justice is seeking a 15-year prison sentence for a Canadian Tamil man who pleaded guilty in a United States district court to charges of conspiring to provide material support to the LTTE, a proscribed organization in the US. Mylvaganam, a Canadian citizen who previously lived in the US, was arrested by Canada's RCMP officers in Toronto and extradited to US in 2009, following his indictment in the Eastern District Court of New York. He pleaded guilty on February 8, 2012 to conspiring to procure sophisticated technology, including submarine design software and night vision equipment for the LTTE in 2006. Mylvaganam faces a maximum term of 15 years'' imprisonment.

President Mahindra Rajapaksa said that people from foreign countries without name or address come to Sri Lanka to destabilize the country with their anti-national campaigns, and, unfortunately, some countries assist them in the hope of a regime change; but, he cleared that a regime change would be possible only by the people for the people of this country through free and fair elections and not by conspiracies hatched with the assistance of foreign powers. "This Government commands the confidence of the people. Sri Lanka is one of the oldest democracies in Asia. Therefore, conspiracies, uprisings or rebellions have no place in this land; and this Government will never let them happen," he asserted.

Defence Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa said that the international community should ask the LTTE rump to reveal the number of children killed and maimed while 'in service' with the group. He said that those seniors, who had managed to flee the Vanni during the final phase of the conflict and take refuge abroad, would be able to shed light on casualty figures as LTTE was known for maintaining battle-field records.

SLMC has appointed a committee to study the report of the LLRC. The committee was appointed since the ruling UPFA has sought the opinion of the coalition parties regarding the LLRC report.

Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada has issued deportation orders against two more of the 492 Sri Lankan refugee claimants who arrived in 2010 aboard the smuggling ship MV Sun Sea. One had been a member of a Tamil rebel group in between 2005 and 2006, when he was in his mid-20s. The cases bring to 19 the number of Sun Sea migrants who have been issued deportation orders to date. All have been declared inadmissible to Canada due to their involvement in terrorism and crime.

Former Trincomalee LTTE leader Sivasubramaniam Waradanadan alias Pathuman, who was remanded on charges of having attacked Army camps and attempted to kill Army personnel, will be further re remanded till May 21. He was arrested on an unspecified date.

Presidential spokesman Bandula Jayasekara said that the circumstances leading to ongoing operations in Northern and Eastern Provinces had been clearly explained and emphasized that the President was keen to further improve security in these Provinces. According to spokesman, a strong presence of security forces would be necessary to ensure stability. "MP Sampanthan, who had remained silent while the LTTE forcibly conscripted children to be used as cannon fodder, today criticized the police and armed forces, engaged in legitimate internal security operations," the Presidential spokesman said. The TNA Member of Parliament R. Sampanthan on May 1 had criticized such operations.

Colombo High Court ordered the Prison Commissioner to transfer Sarath Fonseka to the NHC from the private hospital where he is receiving treatment for security reasons. The court observing the fact that there is a threat to Fonseka from the LTTE and other organisations and the prison authorities are unable to provide maximum security for Fonseka while at the private hospital, ordered his transfer to NHC.

Australia has allocated over $2.7 million for 2012-13 financial year to fund five projects in Sri Lanka supporting displaced people through improved health services and provision of shelter and protection.

Sri Lanka Defence intelligence has found that the LTTE operates 428 schools in the main countries of Europe, reports Colombo Page. These school functions in Germany, Switzerland, France, Netherlands, Italy, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, Norway and Sweden and provide education to 22,500 students across the Europe. Germany has the highest number of such schools with 145 and there are 133 schools in Switzerland, and 65 schools in Denmark. Sri Lanka's defense authorities have complained to the authorities of such countries.

Sri Lankan cabinet has recommended the appointment of a presidential committee to decide which recommendations of LLRC are appropriate for implementation.

The TNA said to the Leader of the SLMC, Rauf Hakeem, who is currently trying to mediate to get the TNA back to the discussion table, that it would resume talks with the Government only on the agreement that the consensus reached in the discussions with the Government earlier is used as the basis of discussion for the proposed parliamentary select committee on formulating a political solution to the ethnic issue.

The TNA is to discuss several key political issues, including the stalled talks with the Government, this week. The party members would discuss the talks with the Government that came to a standstill in January 2012. Some of the TNA party members also want to discuss the issue of waving the national flag by their own leader R. Sampanthan at the joint May Day rally in Jaffna on May 1.

Economic Development Minister Basil Rajapaksa stated that the Government has made arrangements to develop the war affected East as well as the North. Minister Rajapaksa said the Government has initiated programmes to develop infrastructure, livelihood and the living environment, along with several programmes to develop the SME sector and outsourcing of garments, food processing, etc has helped to build up a good SME sector in the East.

SFP General Secretary Maithripala Sirisena, the Minister of Health, accused that the defunct LTTE activists who are active in foreign countries are using the TNA as a bridge to re-enter the country. He also accused UNP of Assisting TNA to get LTTE re-emerge.

The seven-member Presidential Task Force for a Trilingual Sri Lanka held its preliminary discussion under the chairmanship of the Secretary to the President Lalith Weeratunga. During the meeting the members have discussed various issues and practicalities about learning a second language.

United States federal judge in New York sentenced a top Tamil Tiger, who pleaded guilty to terrorism charges, to time served in jail and freed the man. The defendant, Karunakaran Kandasamy (55), had pled guilty to among others, a charge of conspiring to provide material support to LTTE.

Sri Lankan Government has established a mechanism to provide details of the current and past detainees taken into custody by the TID of Sri Lanka Police. The information will be provided only to the close relatives such as the spouse, children, parents and siblings.

The resettlement programme launched by the Government in the Northern and Eastern Provinces is now in its final stage. According to the Army Spokesman around, 284,000 persons in Northern and Eastern Provinces have been already resettled with another 6,022 persons to be resettled. These 6,022 are the persons who have to be resettled in Mulathivu, Pudukuduirippu, Wellamulla and Waikkal areas and also to be resettled in certain areas after completing clearance of landmines.

The largest C4 explosive stock of 6250 Kilograms was recovered from the Pudukuduirippu area by the military. Pudukuduirippu town lies in Mulathivu District in Northern Province.

A man identifying himself as Jeeva Ratnam and claiming to be a LTTE suicide bomber, who requested asylum at US embassy in Colombo, was handed over to Sri Lankan Police on November 7, 2005.

Gen. Sarath Fonseka will be released soon, as a result of President Mahindra Rajapaksa's one-on-one talks with DNA MP Tiran Alles. Gen. Fonseka could leave Nawaloka hospital, where he was receiving treatment for a lung condition, as soon as MP Alles returns from an overseas visit. His jail term technically ends July 2013.

Immigration department of Australia has rejected an offer by Sri Lanka to provide an escape for Tamil refugees branded a threat by security agencies and locked in indefinite detention in Australia. The offer was made by the Sri Lanka envoy in Australia, Thisara Samarasinghe, and several months ago. A majority of the 47 refugees are Tamils and are given an adverse assessment by ASIO. They have been refused a visa for release into the Australian community and are not permitted to see the evidence against them and are effectively barred from appeal. A spate of suicide attempts among those black-banned by ASIO have occurred in the past month, including by two Tamil men in a detention centre in Melbourne's north and a third who threatened to take his own life before being restrained.

TNA has decided to inform its position regarding the Parliamentary Select Committee next week.

Sanmugalingam Suriyakumar, who had been in remand custody for more than 6 years in connection with the assassination attempt of Former Army Commander Sarath Fonseka in a suicide bomb blast was further remanded till May 30.

TID to rehabilitate K.P. Lankasewaran, who had acted as the legal draftsman for the LTTE organization. The former cadre had also worked as a lawyer and later as a judge in the LTTE courts. He had performed duties as a legal draftsman during the period of 2007 to 2009.

A group of 80 ex-LTTE prisoners who are being held at the Colombo Remand Prison in Welikada have commenced a hunger strike, urging authorities to hasten court hearings or to release them.

Sri Lankan President Mahindra Rajapaksa has received the cabinet approval to pardon the former military chief Sarath Fonseka, from his three-year prison sentence. Fonseka is currently serving a three-year prison term after he was found guilty by a civil court for inciting violence in the White Flag case. He was arrested on February 8, 2010 and court martial action was initiated against him. He served a 30-month prison term given by a Court Martial in 2010 after finding him guilty of four charges related to alleged irregularities in military procurements during his tenure as Army Chief. That prison term ended in April 2012.

Prof. G.L. Peiris met with the United States Secretary of State Hillary Clinton for a discussion on Sri Lanka's measures and progress on the implementation of recommendations made by the LLRC.

TNA held a commemoration of war victims in Vavuniya of the Northern Province.

Another 100 former LTTE in remand prison joined the hunger strike launched by 80 of their colleagues on May 17, demanding that the authorities either expedite their court cases which according to them had been dragging on for years or in the alternative to release them.

President Mahindra Rajapaksa signed the papers to enable the release of Sarath Fonseka and handed over the papers to Chief of Staff Gamini Senerath. Papers will be sent to the Ministry of Justice on May 21.

President Mahindra Rajapaksa signed the papers to enable the release of Sarath Fonseka and handed over the papers to Chief of Staff Gamini Senerath.

Sri Lankan President Mahindra Rajapaksa said that Sri Lanka will not abandon its responsibilities to the Tamil community. Marking the three-year anniversary of the military victory over the LTTE, the President said the LLRC, commission that investigated the war, was appointed to bring reconciliation among communities, not divisions.

President Mahindra Rajapaksa said that the Sri Lankan Government will not remove any military camp from their current locations in the country as long as threats exist to national security. "The military still has a key role to play, to secure the peace that has been won," he said adding that the troops are also involved in the development work. He noted that it is not advisable to remove any military camp or reduce the strength of the forces while threats to national security exist from overseas, especially from the Tamil Diaspora, who has not given up the Eelam dream yet. He dismissed the allegations that the military is involved in civilian administration in the North.

TNA has softened its stance on its long standing demand for the re-merger of the northern and eastern provinces, and has instead noted that the modalities for such a merged unit could be discussed subject to the interests of the Muslim community.

Former Army Commander General Sarath Fonseka released on an unconditional presidential pardon granted by President Mahindra Rajapaksa.

TNA has once again called for the reduction in military presence in the North and East.

TNA leader R. Sampanthan said that as many as 234 Tamil prisoners had been on a hunger strike since May 17 and their health condition had deteriorated. He requested for the release of all 'Tamil political prisoners'.

According to Rehabilitation and Prisons Reform Minister Chandrasiri Gajadeera, Sri Lankan authorities have taken measures to accelerate the legal procedures regarding persons detained in prisons.

National Police Commission of Sri Lanka has received 224 complaints since its reinstatement on February 23 2012. Among them, 129 complaints have been selected for investigations in the initial stage. The activation of the National Police Commission was one of the recommendations made by the LLRC.

Government will establish three new High Courts in Anuradhapura, Vavuniya and Mannar within a month to expedite the prosecution of LTTE suspects.

The 2011 country reports on human rights practices published by the US State Department claimed that unlawful killings by SFs and Government-allied paramilitary groups are a major human rights problem in Sri Lanka, often in the predominantly TAMIL areas. In addition, attacks on and harassment of civil society activists, persons suspected of being LTTE sympathizers, and journalists, by persons allegedly tied to the Government created an environment of fear and self-censorship, the report says. The report also mentioned that the Sri Lankan Government prosecuted a very small number of officials implicated in human rights abuses but had yet to hold anyone accountable for alleged violations of international humanitarian law and international human rights law that occurred during the conflict. The report recognized that although enforced and involuntary disappearances continued to be a problem, the number of such disappearances appeared to have declined from previous years.

Over 200 suspected LTTE prisoners have called off their hunger strike, after authorities promised to address their issues. They had started their hunger strike on May 17.

Sri Lanka's ex-army Chief Sarath Fonseka is barred from political office for seven years, despite being freed from jail on May 21, his lawyer said. Terms of his release prevent him from running for office.

The pro-LTTE lobby in the United Kingdom is planning to stage protests when President Mahindra Rajapaksa arrives in London to participate in the Queen's Diamond Jubilee celebrations. Queen Elizabeth II will celebrate 60 years on the throne on June 5.

TNA is yet to announce its official position regarding its participation in the committee. TNA MP Suresh Premachandra said that their party has not decided about having talks with the Government on participating in the PSC sessions.

Sri Lankan authorities are to release another 75 former LTTE cadres next month, who have successfully completed their rehabilitation programme.

Defence secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa has said it is not appropriate to view the North of the country as a predominantly Tamil area

Jaffna Security Forces Commander Major General Mahinda Hathurusinghe said that military was gradually reducing its presence in Jaffna and are being replaced by the Police since civil administration had been established in Jaffna.

Government will complete the demining process in all land areas required to resettle the remaining IDPs in the North, by the end of July. He also said there are only 6,031 IDPs in the only two remaining welfare centres. There are only 2,562 IDPs in the Kadirgamar Welfare Centre and another 3,469 at Anandakumaraswamy Welfare Centre.

TNA MP Suresh Premachandran reacting to a remarks made by Defence Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa- in which he said that North is not predominantly Tamil area- said that the statement was a prelude to changing the demographic patterns of the North. "The most recent census revealed that out of the 954,000 residents in the North, 900,000 are Tamils and 23,000 Sinhalese." MP Premachandran asked.

A group of 36 asylum seekers that included 28 Tamils returned to Sri Lanka on a special charter flight from London after the British Government rejected their asylum requests. Britain court granted a last-minute reprieve to 40 other asylum seekers.

A school boy was injured due to a blast believed to have occurred from anti personnel mine on the Chalai-Chundikulam lagoon in Mulathivu.

R. Sampanthan, the leader of the TNA, has denied reports of a rift in the party.

A 15 year old boy was killed in a bomb blast in the Nainathivu islands of Jaffna District. According to MCNS, the bomb is called 'Arul bomb', which was manufactured by the LTTE.

Former TNA MP M.K. Sivajilingam revealed that TNA leadership had ignored a request by some party members and parliamentarians to form an NGO to raise funds from the Tamil Diaspora to help war affected people in the North and East. This request was made soon after the war ended in 2009.

Government is developing infrastructure in the Northern Province to set up massive Industrial Zones within a year, which will see the creation of hundreds of thousands of employment opportunities and bring development to the region on an unprecedented scale. The development of infrastructure in a few Industrial Zones in Actchuveli, Jaffna, Kilinochchi, Mannar and Vavuniya has begun.

Canada Revenue Agency has fined two Hindu temples in the Toronto area for sending money to TRO for Sri Lankan rebels following the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami. The Richmond Hill Hindu Temple and the Hindu Mission of Mississauga, both registered charities, have been hit with $140,000 and $300,000 fines over money they sent to "non-qualified donees," the CRA said.

British Sri Lankans in London held a Peaceful demonstration against violent methods adopted by the LTTE rump in UK.

The Government is demanding the release of a vital UN report on the war, mentioned in the UN Secretary General's Panel of Experts report on accountability issues in Sri Lanka, as the number of deaths due to war contained in the document runs counter to claim that over 40,000 people perished in the final stages of the war from January to May 2009.

Meanwhile, Sri Lankan-born Channel 4 TV channel, journalist Shirani Sabaratnam and her husband, also a Director London based Channel-4 TV station, Stuart Cosgrove, who managed to enter Sri Lanka on June 3 despite being blacklisted, were detained and deported back to UK.

Sri Lanka military said that it had further reduced the number of military personnel deployed in the former war zone of Jaffna Peninsula in the Northern Province. "The number of troops in the Jaffna Peninsula, at present has been further reduced to around 15,000, a reduction of over 60 percent troops deployed at the beginning of the humanitarian operation," said Military Spokesperson Brigadier Ruwan Wanigasuriya.

President Mahinda Rajapaksa was forced to cancel his speech at the Commonwealth Economic Forum in London, amid demonstrations by hundreds of Tamil and human rights activists protesting against human rights violations in his country. Hundreds of Tamils and human rights activists carrying LTTE flags gathered outside Marlborough House in central London protesting Rajapaksa's presence at a lunch for Queen Elizabeth.

Swiss Director of Prosecutions revealed that the LTTE had taken fraudulently substantial funds as loans from financial institutions on the basis of false documents, reports Lank Web. It was also revealed that these funds were channeled to LTTE for purchase of arms through S. Ramachandran, a leader in the LTTE overseas front.

Sri Lankan minister Reginald Cooray had to cancel his participation in a function and leave due to a planned protest by the LTTE supporters in Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu.

The murderers of Andrew Mahendrarajah Anthonipillai, a Canadian of Sri Lankan origin, who was killed at Kaagncheepuram lane, near Paranthan junction, on May 3, have been arrested. Police have arrested five persons, including a former LTTE militant, identified as A. Akilan. All five were produced before the Kilinochchi Magistrate's Court on May 24 and remanded pending further inquiries.

Former Sri Lankan Army Chief Sarath Fonseka said that his life is under threat and he needs to be provided with tighter security. Fonseka said he was not satisfied with the current security provided to him, and he needs more based on threats he faces.

Swiss prosecutors have planned to interview the head of finance of the LTTE who is imprisoned in Netherland. They have also planned to question some 25 senior ranks LTTE members; some of whom are currently imprisoned in Sri Lanka. They are investigating into suspected money laundering by 12 members of the Swiss LTTE to the Netherlands and Sri Lanka. The prosecutor office suspects that the Tamils used fake pay slips of Sri Lankans resident in Switzerland to obtain loans of $73,000 - $104,000.

According to the 2012 GPI released, Sri Lanka has achieved great improvement in the GPI. Sri Lanka's GPI score experienced the largest year-on-year improvement of the 158 nations surveyed and it climbed 27 places to 103rd position overall and 17th in the Asia Pacific region ahead of India (142) and Pakistan (149).

According to Secretary to the President Lalith Weeratunga, President Mahinda Rajapaksa ran the risk of being physically attacked by the UK-based LTTE activists during his recent visit to London.

The task force appointed to oversee the implementation of the recommendations made by the LLRC has selected 33 recommendations out of the 135 listed by the LLRC to be implemented at the national level.

The TNA blamed the translator, who has translated the constitution of the alliance's main constituent, ITAK that had called for a separate state for the Tamil people in Sri Lanka. The TNA leaders told that a certified translator has made a "deliberate false translation" of the ITAK constitution, which was in Tamil, to English and the translated sworn affidavit filed in the Supreme Court has portrayed the ITAK as a party that stood for secession of the Tamil parts from Sri Lanka.

Sri Lanka's former Army Commander Sarath Fonseka said that he would continue to pursue his political ambitions amidst obstacles. Fonseka said he will topple the Government at the 2016 elections with the help of other opposition parties although he himself is barred from contesting in politics for seven years.

The Government has allocated LKR 46,211 million for infrastructure development in Vavuniya, Mannar and Mullaitivu district. Under the development programme LKR 14,479 million has been allocated for Vavuniya district, LKR 11,584 million for Mannar district and LKR 20,148 million for Mullaitivu district.

According to Northern Governor, Major General G.A. Chandrasiri said that state land will be provided to relocate troops who are currently occupying civilian property in the Jaffna peninsula within the next 2- 3 months. He said that 56 per cent of the private land occupied by troops had been handed over already and at present troops were only occupying 400 private houses within the peninsula.

Belgium Government said that it would continue to remain vigilant against any activities by the LTTE on its soil.

Sri Lanka's Representative at the 20th session of the UNHRC in Geneva, Manisha Gunasekera, said that Sri Lanka remains committed to implement the recommendations of its LLRC.

Residents in the Valikamam area of Jaffna protested, saying their lands were still being held under a HSZ. Close to 12,000 families have applied to resettle in the HSZ claiming their original lands are located in the area. Most families claimed that the lands had been taken under the HSZ in 1990.

The UNHCR said that it would protest if Sri Lanka deported registered asylum seekers and refugees living within its territory.

Mavai Senathirajah, Secretary General of the ITAK said that TNA has decided to bring to the notice of the UN against the illegal acquisition and forceful occupation of lands in the Jaffna Peninsula.

A Sri Lankan court ordered the authorities to rehabilitate former female political wing leader, Subramaniam Sivathai alias Thamalini of LTTE. Thamalini has been in remand custody since her arrest by a special Police team on May 27, 2009 at the IDPs camp in Vavuniya District of Northern Province. She was charged with training LTTE cadres and establishing connections with LTTE members overseas.

The Sri Lankan Government has taken steps to recruit the rehabilitated cadres of the LTTE into the country's Civil Defense Force. The Civil Defense Department is to recruit 300 rehabilitated LTTE cadres from each of the five Northern Province Districts - Jaffna, Kilinochchi, Mannar, Mullaitivu and Vavuniya.

The Sri Lankan Government strongly denied the allegations that SFs in the North are forcibly taking over the land belonged to residents of the Vanni region, Northern Province. The TNA had accused the Sri Lankan SFs of forcibly occupying the lands belonging to civilians in the Northern Province. The TNA is to launch an agitation campaign on June 25 in Vanni demanding release of occupied lands.

A group of LTTE suspects at the Vavuniya Prison have taken three jailers hostage, demanding the authorities to recall the LTTE suspects who had been transferred to Boossa. Three jailers are forced into a cell and locked up by the LTTE suspects.

Police STF rescued the three prison officials taken hostage by the LTTE inmates at the Vavuniya prison in Northern Province of Sri Lanka. No reports of threats or assaults on the hostages have been reported. The inmates at the Vavuniya prison who were engaged in a hunger strike have been transferred to the Anuradhapura Prisons Complex.

Vavuniya Police arrested three persons, two men and a woman, who the Police believe are LTTE spies. They were alleged of passing information on STF movements to the LTTE suspects detained in the Vavuniya prison.

The Government is to take measures to recruit another 5,000 former LTTE combatants to the country's Civil Defense Force. Director General of the Civil Defense Department Rear Admiral Ananda Peiris said that steps will be taken to recruit 5,000 rehabilitated former LTTE cadres to the Department. The Government earlier recruited 1,500 former cadres, 300 each from the five districts in the Northern Province.

The recent unrest in the Vavuniya Prison in Northern Sri Lanka is a well-planned conspiracy of the LTTE international network, Prisons and Rehabilitation Minister, Chandrasiri Gajadeera said. He noted that the LTTE suspects at the prison have had in their possession satellite mobile phones and various communication equipments and added that some of the suspects transferred to Colombo following the incident were prepared to confess to that effect.

A LTTE suspect who was transferred from the Vavuniya Prison to the Mahara after the unrest died, a prison spokesman said. The deceased has been identified as a 29 year old resident of Nelumkulama in Vavuniya.

The CID informed the Colombo Magistrate Court that the Attorney General's advice has not yet been received regarding the two former leaders of the LTTE. The two former leaders are Velayuthan Dayanidhi alias Daya Master, who was the media spokesman of the LTTE, and Velupillai Kumaru Pancharathnam alias George Master, who was the translator for slain LTTE leader V. Prabhakaran.

Security Forces on clearing operations discovered a massive cache of weapons and ammunition, including some anti-aircraft missiles, belonging to the LTTE in Kilinochchi District.

People's Movement of the East for National Harmony coordinator S Amarasinghe said many EPRLF and PLOTE activists of Eastern province have decided to support the UPFA at the upcoming election. Around 15 members of Batticaloa, Ampara, Wawunathivu, Kalawanchikudi, Kokkadicholai and Wellawali Pradeshiya Sabhas and more than 600 chief organisers serving as active members of the EPRLF and PLOTE for a number of years will support the Government at the polls, he said.

The Sri Lankan Government assured that the elections to the Northern Provincial Council (NPC) will be held before September 2013. Youth Affairs and Skills Development Minister Dulles Alahapperuma said that the Government expects to hold NPC elections when the country is celebrating the 25 years of provincial council system.

Senior Cabinet Minister and former chairman of the APRC Prof Tissa Vitarana said that the lack of commitment by TNA leaders to make their participation in the PSC to find a progressive solution to the national question has raised various uncertainties in regard to where they stand as a political party.

The Sri Lankan Government through a special Gazette Notification has banned the use of dog and tiger as party symbols by any political party in the country. Elections Commissioner Mahinda Deshapriya said that accordingly no recognized political party will be permitted to use the tiger or the dog as their party symbol. At present, there are 64 recognized political parties in Sri Lanka.

The leader of the TNA R. Sampanthan making a special statement in the parliament urged the government to pardon all the LTTE detainees, who he described as political prisoners, without prosecuting them. The TNA leader told the parliament that the government had failed to expedite the judicial process with regard to the prosecution of these despite assurances to do so.

President Mahinda Rajapaksa, in response to demands of the public, focused his attention on the increasing crime in the country and called for establishing new Police Stations and checkpoints in the country to battle criminal activities. President Rajapaksa advised the Inspector General of Police (IGP) N.K. Ilangakoon to submit a report on where the new Police Stations and check points should be established.

National Freedom Front (NFF) Politburo member Piyasiri Wijenayake said that the government is carrying out a host of development projects in the North.

President Mahinda Rajapaksa said that despite the country having a concise foreign policy the threat of the pro- LTTE Diaspora in the West remains to be a massive challenge and asked the country's diplomatic envoys to counter them. The President said the Sri Lankan diplomats in overseas missions, especially in countries where, the pro-LTTE Diaspora is active, to be aware of the relentless campaign carried out by them to discredit Sri Lanka.

The TNA announced that they will contest the Eastern Provincial Council election separately without aligning with major parties. The leader of the TNA R. Sampanthan said that the TNA would contest the election to show the unity and the strength of the Tamil people appearing for re-merging of the Northern and Eastern Provinces.

Defence and Urban Development Ministry Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa said that opportunity will be given to North and East youth and also ex-cadres of LTTE during enlistment to man police stations which are being established. He said that they could join hands with the Civil Security Force personnel in the development drive while doing a prestigious service and assist in the development of their areas.

Ruling UPFA decided to nominate the incumbent Sivanesathurai Chandrakanthan alias Pillayan for the chief minister post of the Eastern Province. The General Secretary of TMVP P. Prashanthan confirmed the ruling party's decision in a media release, local news site Ada Derana reported.

TNA called for re-merging the Northern and Eastern provinces demerged by a court decision. The TNA national list parliamentarian M.A. Sumanthiran said that according to the Constitution any two provinces in the country can be merged and the time has come to permanently remerge the Northern and Eastern provinces which had been once temporarily merged.

Commander of Security Forces in Jaffna (SF-J) Major General Mahinda Hathurusinghe said that the Sri Lanka Army (SLA) has no plan to acquire civilians' lands in the Jaffna peninsula to establish Army camps. He rejected the allegations of land grabbing as "media exaggerations spread with hidden agenda."

Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa said that elections to Northern Provincial Council (NPC) will take just over a year from now. "We want to hold elections in September 2013. We are working towards it [the elections] in a systematic manner," the President said.

Army Commander Lieutenant General Jagath Jayasuriya categorically denied the statement that there is an Army strength of one to five civilians in the Jaffna peninsula and stated that there was a population of half a million in Jaffna while the strength of the army was 10,000. He added that the Army remaining in Jaffna is confined to barracks.

Election monitoring group, CaFFE, complained of election law violations even before the handing over of nominations for the three provincial councils scheduled to hold polls in September. It complained to the Elections Department of election law violations in the Kegalle District of North Central Province and Trincomalee District of Eastern Province.

A memory card containing a six minute LTTE war video was seized and two suspected former LTTE cadres were arrested by the Muthur Police in Trincomalee District. The memory card was seized while the suspects were watching the video. In addition to the memory card the suspects had in their possession cash to the value SLR 50,000. The arrested were residents from the Pathanapuram area in Muthur.

Sri Lankan prison authorities at the Magazine prison in Colombo recovered 32 mobile phones in the possession of LTTE detainees at the prison. According to the Ministry of Rehabilitation & Prison reforms, five amongst the 32 recovered mobiles were sophisticated in nature.

National Language Unit Director General Prasad Herath said they have started Sinhala language courses for former LTTE combatants at the Protective Accommodation and Rehabilitation Center (PARC) in Welikanda in Polonnaruwa District. He said 90 former militants are being given Sinhala language training at the rehabilitation centre. There are 698 former LTTE cadres remaining in the PARCs at present and the Government has released over 11, 000 former LTTE cadres after rehabilitating them.

Police have gathered information that the recent unrest in the Vavuniya Prison was a conspiracy with links to the LTTE international network and it was the same evil forces that tried to mask the particular incident by Vavuniya prison inmates, as a humanitarian act.

The incident occurred when three prison officials were held hostage for 19 hours by inmates during a protest by prisoners at the Vavuniya remand prison against the transfer of a suspected LTTE prisoner to another location. The suspect who was a former LTTE leader was being transferred on a court order to be handed over to the Terrorism Investigation Unit.

Sri Lanka Police arrested Sinnatambi Pathmanathan, a former LTTE leader for the Batticaloa area in the Eastern province, at the Colombo airport upon his return to Sri Lanka. Pathmanathan was arrested by the Terrorism Investigation Bureau when he returned to Sri Lanka after staying abroad. Pathmanathan had fled the country in 2002. He had reportedly led several terrorist attacks in the East.

The elections for three provincial councils in Sri Lanka will be held on September 8. Elections will be held for the North Central, Eastern and Sabaragamuwa Provincial Councils. The three provincial councils were dissolved on June 27 before their terms were to expire.

An unnamed senior government member said "The government will make some amendments in order to add the progress made with regard to the implementation of LLRC recommendations on the human rights front". The changes to the UPR report regarding the LLRC recommendations are to be made by Presidential Secretary Lalith Weeratunga who is heading a Presidential Committee to oversee the implementation of the LLRC recommendations. Sri Lanka's UPR is to be taken up in November at the UNHRC in Geneva. The UNHRC has appointed India, Benin and Spain to the troika that is scheduled to review Sri Lanka. All three countries voted in support of the UN resolution on Sri Lanka.

TNA requested from the Election Commissioner to deploy international monitors to monitor the polls of the Eastern Provincial Council. TNA sources said that the Election Commissioner has agreed to discuss the matter with the political party secretaries that contest the election.

Defence and Urban Development Ministry Secretary Gotabaya Rajapaksa said that the members of the SFs have not been involved in any sexual assault in North and East. He said according to the statistics and revelations of a study conducted at hospital level no evidence was found that the personnel attached to the SFs were involved in sexual assaults in North and East.

Rehabilitation and Prison Reforms Minister Chandrasiri Gajadeera said low interest loans will be provided to the rehabilitated former LTTE cadres to start self-employment, small industries, agricultural projects and other vocational training programmes. He said over 1,200 rehabilitated ex-LTTE cadres reintegrated into mainstream society will receive the loans on July 30. The loans with a maximum limit of SLR 250,000 will be administered through Bank of Ceylon, People's Bank and National Savings Bank. It will have a four percent interest rate with a 10 year repayment period. Only the interest is required to be paid back during the first year.

Over 750 Sri Lankan refugees, who were living in India, have returned to Sri Lanka in 2012 with the monetary support from the UNHCR. The UNHCR paid the air fare for their travel and another 4,000 rupees allowance for road transportation from Colombo to their home towns. The returns are part of a voluntary, facilitated repatriation programme, supported by the governments of both India and Sri Lanka.

Three persons, including a TNA candidate for the upcoming Provincial Council elections in the Eastern Province, were arrested by the CID in connection with a mega human smuggling racket where more than SLR 25 million had been swindled from unsuspecting people who sought asylum in other countries.

Ambassador Ravinatha Aryasinha, who presented credentials as new Permanent Representative of Sri Lanka to the United Nations in Geneva last week urged the UN not to allow overseas-based rump elements of the defeated Tamil Tiger terrorist group LTTE and some Tamil Diaspora groups to "'hijack multilateral processes" to serve their narrow agendas.

Sri Lanka's cabinet of ministers approved the National Action Plan submitted by the President Mahinda Rajapaksa and appointed a Task Force headed by the Secretary to the President Lalith Weeratunga to monitor the implementation of the recommendations of the LLRC.

Hundreds of Muslims in Sri Lanka took to the streets in the capital Colombo to express support to the government minister who has been ordered to appear before courts for allegedly threatening a judge and demand justice to the Muslim IDPs in the country. Thousands of Muslims in many other parts of the country also protested in their local areas following Jumma prayers to support the Industries and Commerce Minister Rishad Bathiyutheen.

Secretary to the President Lalith Weeratunga said the Sri Lankan government is to release the Sinhala and Tamil versions of the LLRC report next week. He said the LLRC report that was initially released in English last December has now been translated into Sinhala and Tamil and the Sinhala and Tamil versions would be released next week. He attributed the delay in releasing the report was to the delay in the Government Printer's Department. According to the Secretary, some of the recommendations will be implemented this year while the others may be implemented next year.

Justice Ministry Secretary Suhada Gamlath said some 20 hardcore LTTE cadres who are alleged to have committed war crimes will be prosecuted within the next six months under the PTA and Emergency Regulations, thus bringing to a closure the uncertainty over the fate of the detainees. He said the remaining group was believed to have participated in LTTE military activities because they had no other option but to carry out the dictates of the LTTE under severe threat. He said the investigations were not easy or simple because many LTTE cadres maintained links with the LTTE network and refused to grab the opportunity offered by the government to be rehabilitated.

Defence and Urban Development Ministry Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa said, "The resettlement of IDPs in the North will be accomplished 100 percent by mid-August this year. He said vast development projects have been initiated in the North and East including the A9, rail track, electrification, construction and developments in the irrigation systems and most of all a peaceful environment to live.

Power and Energy Minister Patali Champika Ranawaka said, "TNA Leader R. Sambandan is trying to start a second Eelam war, while Tamil racists are trying to revive Eelam racism through countries and towns such as New York, London, Australia, France and India. The Secretary General of the United Nations is also helping this movement with Suresh Surendran a spokesman of Global Tamil Forum (a British based LTTE front) and Tamil Nadu politicians such as Muthuvel Karunanidhi, Jayalalithaa Jeyaram, Sumandiram who are having discussions to create the Tamil Eelam again."

Senior Minister of Scientific Affairs Prof Tissa Vitarana said that TNA's non- participation in the proposed PSC remains a major fetter to implement LLRC recommendations even as the government's National Action Plan to implement LLRC recommendations within a specific time frame is made known internationally. "If TNA should persist with their known non-participation to the PSC, the government will be compelled to take action to resolve matters regardless of their "objections" to keep to the broader national view," he pointed out.

A batch of 1,250 rehabilitated ex-LTTE cadres reintegrated into main-stream society received livelihood loans at a ceremony held under the patronage of President Mahinda Rajapaksa at Temple Trees in Colombo. The former combatants from Jaffna, Vavuniya, Mullativu and Kilinochchi districts, who have undergone a year of vocational training at rehabilitation centers, received the loans to start self-employment of small industries, agricultural projects and other vocational training programs.

UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) and response division director John Ging said Sri Lanka has achieved excellent results in its North - East rehabilitation and resettlement programme and post-conflict economic development drive. Ging said OCHA will provide assistance to resettle all Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs).

Country Reports on Terrorism 2011, an annual report mandated by the US congress noted "The government of Sri Lanka, although not immediately concerned over a possible resurgence of the LTTE, remains concerned over its overseas financial network." The report said that in 2011, there were no incidents of terrorism in Sri Lanka and most counterterrorism activities undertaken by the government targeted possible LTTE finances as the government remained concerned that the LTTE's international network of financial support is still functioning.

External Affairs Minister G.L. Peiris and Secretary to the President Lalith Weeratunga met Colombo's diplomatic community for a 'comprehensive briefing' on the work carried out to implement the proposals of the LLRC. The LLRC has come up with a number of proposals to increase the liberties of all citizens, justice and rule of law, some of which may involve deep rooted changes to the structure of the state.

TNA parliamentarian Suresh Premachandran said the LLRC Action Plan would not provide a solution to the ethnic issue. He noted that according to the Action Plan it takes around five years to implement some recommendations. He charged that the Action Plan was yet another time buying exercise by the government put forward for the consumption of the international community.

A senior police officer from the Batticaloa Range said Sri Lanka Police and Army will carry out a joint operation in the Eastern Province to disarm groups and people possessing unauthorized weapons ahead of the Eastern Provincial Council election in September. He has been quoted as saying, "We have received details from the police headquarters in Colombo to tighten security, in order to conduct the election in a free and fair manner.

United States welcomed the National Action Plan presented by the Sri Lankan government to implement the recommendations made by the post-war LLRC. The US Embassy in Colombo in a statement said, "We have long encouraged the full implementation of the recommendations outlined by the LLRC.

The Director of Operations of the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), John Ging, who finished a three-day visit to the country, said "The scale of what Sri Lanka has accomplished over the past three years, the pace of resettlement and the development of infrastructure, is remarkable and very clearly visible".

Sri Lanka's Elections Commissioner, Mahinda Deshapriya ruled out the possibility of having foreign election monitors for the upcoming PC polls. Deputy Commissioner of Elections M.M. Mohamed also said that the Election Commissioner has informed his decision at a meeting held with secretaries of contesting parties and the leaders of independent groups at the Election Secretariat.

A senior government official said Sri Lanka's report for the UPR at the UNHRC in Geneva scheduled for November 2012 has been amended to include the latest developments in the country's human rights front and the implementation of the post-war reconciliation LLRC's recommendations.

Sri Lanka Minister of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources Rajitha Senaratne said that the Government does not need to protest the TESO conference to be held in Chennai, the capital of Indian state of Tamil Nadu on August 12 under the aegis by DMK leader Muthuvel Karunanidhi. The Minister expressed his views in response to a statement by the Government coalition Sinhala Buddhist party JHU which says Sri Lanka Government needs to protest the conference.

Economic Development Minister Basil Rajapaksa said resettlement in Kollonkath, Selvapuram, Mavattapuram and Mavattapuram in Valikamam North Divisional Secretariat Division was effected on July 20. During the war, all these villages were within the High Security Zone. However, lands are now returned to their original owners. Accordingly, 650 families were resettled.

Another LTTE suspect, who was transferred from the Vavuniya Prison to the Mahara prison of Gampaha District after the June unrest died at the Ragama Hospital in Colombo District. The deceased, identified as Mariyadas Nevil Dilrukshan (36), was arrested by the security forces in 2009. He was injured during a hostage rescue operation at the Vavuniya prison where a police STF operation was launched on June 29 to rescue three prison officials who were taken hostage by the LTTE suspects in the prison when the police tried to remove a detainee from the prison under a court order.

External Affairs Minister G.L. Peiris said Sri Lanka will send to the UNHRC a document outlining its performance in areas of international concern to be taken up at the UPR next month in Geneva. The UNHRC adopted a resolution against Sri Lanka in March, urging the Sri Lankan government to address accountability issues during the last stages of the war and to implement recommendations by the LLRC. The government has already prepared a National Action Plan to implement these recommendations.

External Affairs Ministry Secretary Karunathilaka Amunugama said Sri Lanka's UPA report that outlines the country's latest progress on the Human Rights front will become a UN document from August 10. The minister said the report could be accessed by any nation wishing to know about the UPR report.

The TESO Conference, sponsored by the opposition DMK scheduled to be held at YMCA grounds in Royapettah in Chennai, India on August 12 to support the rehabilitation of Sri Lanka's Tamil population ran into trouble with the Tamil Nadu Government telling the Madras High Court that it cannot grant permission for the event. State advocate-general A. Navaneethakrishnan told judges Elipe Dharma Rao and M. Venugopal that the venue will give rise to several problems as it is located in the centre of the city. He also pointed out that 100,000 people will attend the event, but the venue cannot hold more than 8,000 people.

Janatha Party president Dr. Subramanian Swamy said in Colombo that India was a major beneficiary of Sri Lanka's decisive military victory that ended the three-decades long terrorism unleashed by the Tamil Tiger terrorist group LTTE.

Special Envoy for Human Rights, Minister Mahinda Samarasinghe said that the Sri Lankan government will seek a 'fair and impartial hearing' on its human rights review when it is presented to the UPR on human rights process at the UNHRC in Geneva in November. He said Sri Lanka will share the progress it has made in all aspects of the promotion and protection of human rights before the international human rights forum.

After Chennai police denied permission to hold the planned TESO conference in public grounds, India's DMK leader, M. Karunanidhi held an assembly on the issue in a private hotel. Describing Eelam, a separate Tamil homeland in Sri Lanka, is his 'unfulfilled dream', Karunanidhi said that he will continue to struggle towards realizing that and will strive for a separate homeland with the help of other stakeholders. The TESO conference passed several resolutions at the conclave seeking greater UN intervention to pressure Sri Lanka into granting self-governing rights to the Sri Lankan Tamils.

Sri Lanka's Collective of Nationalist Organizations staged a demonstration march in the capital Colombo to protest the TESO Conference. The Chairman of Sri Lanka's Sinhala nationalist Patriotic National Movement Gunadasa Amarasekera called the TESO Conference an attempt by India's Tamil Nadu politicians to divide the country and is launched with the support of the central government of India. The activists carrying placards and shouting slogans marched to the High Commission and set fire to effigies of DMK leader M. Karunanidhi and Sri Lanka's TNA R. Sampanthan.

The senior Minister of Good Governance & Infrastructure Facilities and former Prime Minister Ratnasiri Wickremanayake said the government needed to arm the three armed forces with modern arms and increase the defense expenditure since the threat of dividing the country still prevails as the elements that obstruct the freedom of the country are active both locally and internationally.

External Affairs Minister Prof G L Peiris said it is incorrect to think that all challenges before the country ended with the defeat of LTTE. He said some segments of the diaspora were very keen in investing in the North and East areas to uplift living standards of people in the post war scenario. The minister said the objectives of pro-LTTE groups among the diaspora are the same, even though their methods are different. He said these groups possess a mammoth wealth and possess a highly effective communication network with latest technology and their aim is to isolate Sri Lanka amidst the international community.

Resettlement Minister H M Gunaratna Weerakoon said hundreds of displaced families living in Manik Farm Welfare Village in Vavuniya District have left for their original homes to resettle in their homes of origin in the Kilinochchi District's Pudhikudiiruppu Divisional Secretariat area.

President Mahinda Rajapaksa said that the Eelam project is still alive. "The aim of the Eelamists is to break the unity and trust among us and reduce the feeling for the country and make us criticise the motherland", the President said. "On the other hand, patriotic Sri Lankans should not allow those criticising their motherland abroad or allow foreigners to criticise the country in their presence. We should not play into the hands of Eelamists," the President said.

United Nation's Resident Representative Subine Nandy said, "Sri Lanka has achieved excellent results in the demining programme. The country can complete demining process soon in continuing the present institutional setup and machinery. The works carried out by the Ministry and the centre in this humanitarian movement is tremendous and now Sri Lanka can share its demining experience with other countries."

Former LTTE Chief Arms Procurer Kumaran Pathmanathan said a group of 22 members of the Tamil Diaspora from Canada, Australia and five European Countries had visited Sri Lanka last week and held talks with Defence Secretary Gotabaya Rajapaksa in Colombo. Pathmanathan said that Rajapaksa had assured the delegation that the rehabilitation of ex-combatants would be expedited.

Sinhala settlers in Sri Lanka's eastern district of Trincomalee say that a conspiracy is underway to evict them from the land they have been living for a long time. The settlers in the Andankulam area of Trincomalee demanded the government to grant land licenses to 154 families that had been living in the land for over 45 years.

The translation of the whole text of the LLRC Report, into Sinhala and Tamil, undertaken and completed by the Central Bank of Sri Lanka, was handed over by Central Bank Governor Ajith Nivard Cabraal to External Affairs Minister Prof G L Peiris and Secretary to the President Lalith Weeratunga, at the External Affairs Ministry.

Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa said progress of academic activities and development projects in Sri Lanka's conflict-affected Wanni region is at a higher level when compared to the other districts of the country.

Head of the Presidential Task Force on the implementation of the LLRC recommendations and Presidential Secretary Lalith Weeratunga said the Sri Lankan Government will allocate funds in the 2013 budget to implement the recommendations of the LLRC. He said funding was required for most ministries to carry out the implementation work.

An office of the EROS was attacked by a group of unidentified persons in Sri Lanka's Eastern Province at Batticaloa city. The Police said the attackers had caused severe damage to the party office and had also attempted to set fire EROS leader's van.

The Minister of Resettlement Gunaratne Weerakoon said that Sri Lank has begun the final stage of resettlement process to resettle the remaining IDP families in the Northern Province. According to the Ministry, 266,695 displaced persons who had taken shelter in the Menik Farm Welfare Village in Vavuniya had been resettled under the Northern Resettlement programme.

External Affairs Ministry Secretary Karunathilaka Amunugama said the government of Sri Lanka will not accept any mediator or facilitator roles by foreign governments or organizations in finding solutions to its internal problems. He said 'President Mahinda Rajapaksa's position was very clear in this regard right from the beginning of his office as the President'.

The Government of Japan provided US$ 89,825 in grant aid for a project to improve livelihoods of the resettled people in the Vavuniya District of Northern Sri Lanka.

Sri Lanka's major Tamil political party, the TNA said the Action Plan for the implementation of the LLRC recommendations has been prepared without due consultations with parliament. TNA parliamentary group leader, R. Sampanthan made this comment during the adjournment motion debated in the parliament on the implementation of the LLRC recommendations and the Action Plan. He added that elected representatives of the people affected by the war have not been consulted as well.

Leader of the House, Minister Nimal Siripala de Silva told parliament that a solution to the national issue would have been finalized by now if the proposed PSC to find a political solution was activated. He blamed the non-cooperation of TNA in constituting the PSC which in fact is delaying the process to find a solution to the national issue.

Cabinet approval was granted to a proposal by External Affairs Minister Prof G L Peiris to instruct the Legal Draftsman to draft amendments to the Convention on Suppression of Terrorist Financing Act No 25 of 2005. Information Department Cabinet Spokesman and Media Minister Keheliya Rambukwella said this is in keeping with the recommendations of the Financial Action Task Force of the G 7 countries to eliminate the remaining deficiencies in the law. He pointed out that primarily a legal framework is required to move forward to prevent financing terrorism. Only thereafter that action can be taken to suppress financing terrorists. The proposed amendments will cover all uncovered areas. This is the first step to move forward, he said.

The leader of TNA R. Sampanthan said that the party will negotiate with other parties to forge an alliance to form the provincial government of the Eastern Provincial Council in case of loss of a majority. He said that the party has focused mainly to form an alliance with the Tamil speaking Muslim political party SLMC which is powerful in Ampara and Batticaloa Districts.

President Mahinda Rajapaksa said Sri Lanka will continuously support multilateral efforts to prevent all forms of terrorism and to safeguard global peace and security addressing the 16th Heads of State Summit of the NAM in the Iranian capital of Teheran. The President noted that a domestic mechanism similar to Sri Lanka that is based on the people of the country is required to thwart such a threat. International community should support countries that have faced threat of terrorism, he said stressing that there should be no double stance or policies favoring one side of the issue.

Police Headquarters said that 48977 suspects were arrested in raids carried out around the country. The raids were carried out on instructions from Police Chief N.K Illangakone. This is sequent to the arrest a few months ago of underworld gangster Julampitiye Amare. The highest number of arrests was recorded from the Central Province with 7329 suspects taken into custody.

Senior DIG of Elections Gamini Navaratne said that about 21,000 officers will be deployed for security duties. According to Navaratne, security has been strengthened in transporting ballot boxes, at the voting centers and counting centers. The Police have received 76 complaints of election law violations but they are minor incidents and to the most part the election campaign has been peaceful, the Police official said.

Deputy Elections Commissioner M. M. Mohammed said the situation of polling Districts in Eastern, North Central and Sabaragamuwa Provinces, is conducive to a free, fair and peaceful Provincial Council election.

Resettlement Minister Gunaratne Weerakoon said Sri Lanka Government will welcome more Tamil refugees who fled the country to India and want to return home after nearly three decades of war with the LTTE. He told "They have been returning from time to time, in small groups. My ministry along with the defence ministry would jointly welcome them if more want to return. They could be resettled in their places of origin". According to statistics more than 100,000 Sri Lankan refugees are in Tamil Nadu, out of which some 68,000 are housed in 112 government-run camps. More than 5,000 Lankans have returned to the island nation under a UNHCR-facilitated voluntary repatriation scheme. They are the Tamils who fled fighting in the north and east during the separatist military campaign of LTTE.

As a special measure to ensure a free and fair election, Deputy Elections Commissioner M.M. Mohammed said that the Elections Department of Sri Lanka will deploy a group of special officers on September 7 to the election centers in the provincial councils where elections will be on September 8. The Department will assign three officers to each election center in the Sabaragamuwa, North Central and Eastern provinces. The officers would be assigned the task of evaluating the progress in each election center and would remain in their posts until the conclusion of the elections.

The CaFFE stated that Muslim-dominated Akkaraipattu town in Amapara District is likely to become another Kolonnawa with several Muslim parties contesting for the power in the Council. Kolonnawa in Colombo District turned violent last October during local government elections with a shooting incident that killed four persons including a Presidential advisor and severely injured a governing party parliamentarian.

TNA lawmaker M.A. Sumanthiran said that a victory in the Eastern Provincial Council would be a key step though the party wants more power to be devolved based on federalism. Sumanthiran told that with Sri Lanka's human rights periodical review at the United Nations approaching, the Government was trying to portray to the international community that the Tamil people are not seeking political rights but are satisfied with infrastructure development.

Deputy Speaker Chandima Weerakkody said the parliamentarians attending the CPA's 58th annual conference from September 7 - 15 could travel to the North during their visit to the country to see firsthand the human rights and law and order situation and the development in the post-conflict areas. He pointed out that the delegates could use the visit to Sri Lanka to clear any doubts they may have had about the situation in the country.

Elections Commissioner Mahinda Deshapriya said over 35,000 officials have been deployed to ensure a free and fair election in the Eastern, Sabaragamuwa and North Central Provinces. He said only persons permitted by the Elections Commissioner are allowed to enter counting centres. The official added that any unlawful act during the election would be seriously dealt with by the Elections Commissioner. He said officials on election duty have reported to Senior Presiding Officers.

The UPFA led by President Mahinda Rajapaksa has won all three provincial councils -North Central, Eastern and Sabaragamuwa election. The UPFA was able to win all the three Provincial Councils obtaining 51.05 per cent of the total votes and securing 63 seats out of 114. The main opposition UNP obtained 27.67 per cent, TNA obtained 9.63 per cent and the SLMC 6.46 per cent. Significantly, the UPFA won 14 seats in the Eastern Provincial Council out of 35 seats, while the TNA secured 11.

TNA which secured the second highest number of seats at the EPC said it would stake a claim to form the council with the support of the SLMC and the UNP. The TNA won 11 seats at the election, the UNP four and the SLMC four. Commenting on the outcome, TNA MP M.A. Sumanthiran said "The UPFA got 14 seats and its ally National Freedom Front won a single seat. Altogether, they have 15 members elected but the parties that are opposed to the UPFA exceed that. Therefore, we stake a claim for the formation of the council". Mr. Sumanthiran said the TNA initiated a dialogue with these parties. 'We will write to the Governor staking a claim to form the council," he said.

UPFA General Secretary, Minister Susil Premajayantha said the governing party has not yet made a final decision on the chief ministerial appointments in the Sabaragamuwa, North Central and Eastern Provinces. He said the governing party is to decide this week on the appointments to be made to the chief ministerial posts. The appointment of chief ministers to the North Central and Eastern Provinces has now come under focus with the SLMC demanding one of its representatives to be appointed as the Eastern province Chief Minister.

Minister Rauf Hakeem, the leader of Sri Lanka's major Muslim party, SLMC pledged the support of his party to the ruling party to establish the EPC administration. Minister Hakeem expressed his support when the leaders of constituent parties of the ruling alliance met with the President. The SLMC winning 7 seats at the EPC elections held on September 8 became the king maker when none of the parties won a clear majority.

SLFP General Secretary and Minister Maithripala Sirisena said that the UPFA would definitely form a coalition with the SLMC to govern the Eastern Province. The Minister also told in a lighter vein that the TNA could also join the coalition as it had no other option left now.

President Mahinda Rajapaksa invited the Commonwealth members to see for themselves the post-war development in the country. Addressing the delegates of 54 Commonwealth nations at the 58th Commonwealth Parliamentary Association Conference in Colombo, the President said their presence in the country gives them a good opportunity to see for themselves the progress of democracy in Sri Lanka, after the major threat the country faced under terrorism. He added that the conference is extremely important to show the international community the manner democracy has been established in the country after defeating terrorism.

UPFA General Secretary, Minister Susil Premajayantha told that the Alliance would decide on September 13 on the appointment of chief ministers to the Sabaragamuwa, North Central and Eastern Provinces. He said the decision would be made after the Elections Department gazettes the names of elected candidates. Speaking on reaching an agreement with the SLMC, Premajayantha said the governing party was hopeful of receiving a response from the SLMC.

SLMC has laid out conditions to support the UPFA to form the administration of the EPC. SLMC has demanded two ministerial portfolios of the EPC plus a bonus seat of the council. In addition, SLMC has also demanded a cabinet portfolio or three posts of deputy ministers from the central government. SLMC also wants to guarantee Muslim demands in power sharing as well.

Irrigation Minister Nimal Siripala de Silva said that the work of the proposed PSC on finding a political solution to the ethnic issue has been delayed by the major Tamil party TNA. De Silva during a meeting with visiting United States Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asia Robert O. Blake said the TNA's failure to name representatives to the PSC has delayed its work. De Silva however has explained to Secretary Blake that the PSC could commence its deliberations even now if the TNA nominates its representatives to the committee.

TNA decided to offer the chief ministerial post in the Eastern Province to the SLMC for the first half of the term of the EPC if the two parties agree to form a joint administration.

A UPFA administration will be set up in the EPC, Mass Media and Information Minister Keheliya Rambukwella said. He said in accordance with the result of the recent Provincial Council election for the Eastern Province, the UPFA obtained the majority returning 14 members. Therefore, the UPFA as the party, which obtained the majority, has the right to set up the administration in the Eastern Province. When the minister was asked whether the UPFA receives the support of the other parties to set up the administration, the Minister said that discussions are being held with several parties in a friendly manner for setting up administration.

Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa said that Sri Lanka would not have eliminated the scourge of terrorism without the help and support of Pakistan. The President told the Pakistani Parliamentary delegation led by Dr. Nafisa Shah, Member of the National Assembly of Pakistan and Chairperson of National Commission for Human Development when she paid a courtesy call on the President at Temple Trees in Colombo. The President noted that Pakistan extended unflinching support to Sri Lanka during the 3 decade internal conflict and immensely helped in the elimination of the menace of terrorism from the Sri Lankan soil.

US Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asian region and former US ambassador to Colombo Robert O Blake stressed the importance of early resumption of talks between the Sri Lankan Government and the TNA to agree on power devolution to the provinces. He emphasised the need to have an accelerated process to implement the LLRC recommendations and its action plan.

Sri Lanka's major Tamil party TNA leader R. Sampanthan said that five of the party's newly elected councilors of the EPC have fled to Colombo in fear of their lives. He said that they have been promised perks and privileges in return of their support. TNA won 11 seats in the EPC and the ruling UPFA won 14 seats of the 35-member Council. He said that the party was awaiting the response of the SLMC to form a coalition rule in the EPC. TNA has agreed to offer the Chief Minister position to the SLMC.

Leader of SLMC and Justice Minister Rauf Hakeem said the post of Chief Minister of the Eastern Provincial Council would definitely be given to a Muslim. He observed that the SLMC has discussed with the government and the TNA about the Eastern Provincial Council. According to Hakeem, the SLMC wanted to act in the best interest for the people in the East, keeping in mind their diverse nature.

UPFA's M. N. Abdul Majeed was appointed Chief Minister of the Eastern Provincial Council. He took his oaths before President Mahinda Rajapaksa at Temple Trees, Colombo. He came third in the list from the Trincomalee District obtaining 11,726 preference votes at last week's EP poll where the UPFA emerged ahead of all contenders.

Minister Nimal Siripala de Silva said the Election Commissioner of Sri Lanka will decide the right time to hold the elections for the Northern Provincial Council when the environment is conducive for an election. He said it is the duty of the Election Commissioner to decide when to hold elections in the war-battered Province and not up to the government or to the head of state.

Ruling UPFA decided to appoint S. M. Ranjith as the Chief Minister of the North Central Province. Ranjith, the councilor of the NCP who received the highest number of preferential votes at the election held on September 8. Ranjith gained over 100,000 votes surpassing former Chief Minister Berty Premalal Dissanayaka.

Konstantin Dolgov, Russian Foreign Ministry Commissioner for Human Rights, Democracy and the Rule of Law said in Colombo that the Sri Lankan government is making serious efforts in rehabilitation of former LTTE combatants, their reintegration into society and reconciliation with the minority. Dolgov expressed his view that the Human Rights situation in the country is improving rapidly following the end of war.

India's Prime Minister Manmohan Singh raised the issue of devolution of power in Sri Lanka with visiting President Mahinda Rajapaksa in order to allow the Tamil population "to look forward to a future where they can live with dignity and respect".

TNA said there are doubts over the government's commitment to implement the recommendations of the LLRC. TNA has expressed their doubts during a meeting with the members of the UNHRC who are currently in the country. The TNA team delegation led by R. Sampanthan discussed matters about lands being taken over ostensibly for development purposes and on which, persons of the majority community were being settled, cultural and religious places being denied to the Tamil people, issues relating to demilitarization, disappearances, detainees, changes in the demographic composition in the North and the East, accountability and the evolution of an acceptable political solution.

UPFA informed the newly elected councilors of the North Central, Eastern and Sabaragamuwa Provincial Councils to come to the Presidential Secretariat on September 24 to take oaths as the members of the relevant Provincial Councils. The swearing in of the councilors as well as the Ministers and Chief Ministers of the three Provincial Councils is to be taken place before President Mahinda Rajapaksa, UPFA sources say.

Public Administration and Home Affairs Minister W D J Seneviratne said the ministry will recruit over 300 administrative officers, including 88 Assistant Divisional Secretaries to the North and East. Eighty eight officers who have completed training are to be appointed as Assistant Divisional Secretaries. The majority of the officers are to be deployed to Divisional Secretariat Offices in the Northern and Eastern Provinces, specially Mannar, Mullaitivu, Jaffna, Batticaloa and Trincomalee.

Major General Boniface Perera, who is the Competent Authority for IDPs in the Northern region told that the last group of over 300,000 displaced persons during the war in the North will return to their original hometowns in the Mullaitivu District on September 24. Maj.Gen. Perera said "The resettlement in the northern region was delayed because of de-mining in these areas. We have to make sure that there are no remnants of any land mines in these areas, because civilian safety is important for the government". He added that the military would continue to assist the resettled people to build their houses and commence their livelihoods although the government has met their needs.

According to the Competent Authority for IDPs in the Northern region, 1,186 people belonged to 361 families left the Manik Farm IDP camp in Vavuniya. The Manik Farm in the Northern Province housed nearly 300,000 IDPs just after the Eelam war ended in 2009.

New chief ministers for Sri Lanka's North Central and Sabaragamuwa provinces were sworn-in before President Mahinda Rajapaksa at the Temple Trees, Colombo. Maheepala Herath as Chief Minister for Sabaragamuwa Province and S.M. Ranjith as Chief Minister for North Central Province took oaths from the President. Both chief ministers have secured the highest number of preferential votes at the provincial elections held on September 8. However, the former chief minister of the North Central Province Berty Premalal Dissanayake contested the expected appointment of S. M. Ranjith.

The newly-elected councilors for the three councils of Sabaragamuwa, North Central and Eastern provinces took oaths from the President Mahinda Rajapaksa at the Presidential Secretariat. Speaking to the new provincial ministers and councilors, President Rajapaksa asked them to dedicate their service to the welfare of the people of the provinces and ensure their well-being.

The UN welcomed the closure of Sri Lanka's last IDPs Manik Farm camp in Vavuniya District. The UN, however, said that it is concerned about 346 people (110 families) who are returning from Manik Farm to Kepapilavu in Mullaitivu District, as they are unable to return to their homes which are occupied by the military.

Military spokesman Brigadier Ruwan Wanigasuriya said that 11,500 ex-LTTE combatants out of the 12,000 surrendered or in the custody of the state have been reunited with their families after rehabilitation. He said that out of the 500 that remained around 320 would be reunited with their families soon. Brigadier Wanigasuriya said that the main reason for the delay to reunite them with their families is that the vocational training courses they are following have not yet been completed.

Environment Minister Anura Priyadharshana Yapa said that the government is always ready to negotiate and this is why President Mahinda Rajapaksa displayed his sincerity by saying he is prepared to accept any collective decision taken by the PSC in connection with the ethnic issue. Minister Yapa said unfortunately the TNA and other political parties are still dithering. The minister said President Rajapaksa has stated that if political parties come to an agreement at the PSC, he will accept it.

JVP parliamentarian Sunil Handunnetti observed that the Government cannot wash its hands off the whole issue by settling the IDPs in a cleared jungle land. He notes that claims made by the President and the Government about resettling all displaced persons in the North have now proven to be false. He explained that the Government had said that the last 361 families in Menik Farm of Vavuniya District have been resettled, but they have not been resettled in their original homes and 110 families have been resettled in a newly cleared jungle area in the Seenimotta area of Mullaitivu District.

Defence Secretary of Sri Lanka Gotabhaya Rajapaksa said that no other country in the world has achieved rapid post war development like Sri Lanka. He explained that the government had also taken steps to rehabilitate former LTTE cadres to re-integrate them to society while also assisting their families. According to Rajapaksa, 80 percent of the de-mining work in the North has been completed. Referring to the construction and renovation of houses, he noted that over 6,000 houses have been constructed and an estimated 7,000 houses repaired or renovated for use.

TNA parliamentarian Suresh Premachandran said the party would participate in the proposed PSC on finding a political settlement if the Indian Government could guarantee that an agreement would be reached at the committee. He explained that there have been many committee reports in the past years on proposals for a political solution that have been discarded without consideration. The Indian Government has invited the TNA for talks in New Delhi on October 9th to discuss the reconciliation process and a political solution to the ethnic issue.

UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon welcomed the positive developments in Sri Lanka, including the complete resettlement of IDPs and the closure of the resettlement village at Menik Farm, holding Provincial Council elections in the Eastern Province, steps taken to reach out to civil society and the action plan to implement the recommendations of the LLRC. He said mutual understanding and continued cooperation would assist Sri Lanka to benefit from UN expertise.

Antonio Guterres observed that UNHCR will trim its operational role in Sri Lanka as the country has shown considerable progress three years after the country emerged from defeating terrorism. Guterres said the "UNHCR will continue to be committed to supporting voluntary repatriation of some of the refugees of Sri Lanka from India, as well as with the resettlement of the remainder of the internally displaced in their places of origin."

The second phase of Indian Housing Project to construct and repair 43,000 housing units for the resettled families in the Northern and Eastern Provinces of Sri Lanka got off to a start. Minister of Economic Development Basil Rajapaksa and High Commissioner of India Ashok K. Kantha jointly launched the project.

Minister of Mass Media and Information Keheliya Rambukwella said Sri Lankan Government will take every measure to curtail extremist acts of violence, and will not allow extremist groups in Sri Lanka to take undue advantage to create unwanted violence in the country.

Two Sinhala Buddhist organizations lodged a complaint in police against the leader of the Left Front Dr. Wickramabahu Karunaratne over his views on ethnic problem of the country. The two organizations, SNF and SR lodged the complaint to the Inspector General of Police.

Sri Lanka's main opposition UNP said that the controversial Divi Neguma Bill cannot be passed in parliament without the approval of the NPC. UNP parliamentarian Lakshman Kiriella said it would be unconstitutional to table the bill in parliament without the approval of the NPC. He noted that the 13th Amendment has noted that legislation have to be passed by the provincial council.

Sri Lankan Government announced that it will initiate legal action against some former hardcore LTTE cadres. A committee of legal council appointed to look into the pending cases under the PTA has announced that it has finalized the prosecution process. Additional Solicitor General Suhada Gamlath told the media that the Government would file cases against 60 former LTTE cadres in the next few weeks. He said that the TID was investigating into 80 more former LTTE cadres based on new evidence received on their involvement in the war.

TNA sought assurances from India's central Government for constructive suggestions in negotiating with the Sri Lankan Government on the ethnic issue. The TNA said that it will participate in the PSC proposed by the Government to resolve the ethnic issue if the Indian government can provide an agenda for talks.

Sri Lankan Government has recruited another 2,000 former LTTE combatants from the Mullaitivu and Kilinochchi Districts to the country's CSD. The Government aims to utilize the service of the former LTTE members who have received vocational training in development activities. The Sri Lankan Government has said that it will recruit 5,000 former LTTE combatants to the country's Civil Defense Force.

Dr. Ajay Chhibber, the UN Assistant Secretary General said that allocation of land and job creation for the people resettled in the conflict-affected areas are the key issues that needed greater attention.

A seven-member delegation of TNA will leave for India on an invitation extended by the Indian Government to hold discussions on the ethnic issue. The delegation, led by TNA Leader R. Sampanthan will include TNA parliamentarians Selvam Adekkalanadan, Mavai Senathirajah, Suresh Premachandran, M. A. Sumanthiran, Appathurai Vinayagamoorthy, and P. Selvarasa. During their four-day tour to New Delhi, the TNA delegation is scheduled to hold discussions with Indian Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh and other government officials in New Delhi on a solution to the ethnic issue. They will however not hold discussions with the Tamil Nadu politicians during their short tour, a TNA member has said.

India's External Affairs Minister S. M. Krishna in a statement said that the visit by the TNA is part of India's continuing engagement with Government and political parties of Sri Lanka on an ethnic solution.

TNA leader R. Sampanthan said that they will consider joining the PSC proposed by the Indian Government to solve the ethnic issue if the Sri Lankan Government assures them that they will not be cheated again. During his hour-long meeting with the External Affairs Minister S.M. Krishna in New Delhi, the visiting Leader of the TNA discussed the party's stance on the Sri Lankan Government's proposals for power devolution to the minority Tamils.

Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh told the TNA delegation that India will not backtrack from its position that Tamils in Sri Lanka should lead a life of "dignity and self-respect" in a peaceful environment.

The Sri Lanka Navy said that it has found the wreckage of a passenger plane believed to have been shot down by LTTE 14 years ago. The Navy searched the seabed on the request of the TID and located the wreckage of the 'Lion Air' domestic passenger plane. The Lion Air flight 602 from Palaly to Ratmalana carrying 48 civilians and 8 crew including two Ukrainian pilots went missing on September 29, 1998 over the northern seas. It was believed that, the LTTE terrorists in a missile attack shot down the Antonov 26 over the Iranativu Island just ten minutes after it took off from Palaly.

The Sri Lankan Government has identified 12 new divisional secretariats in nine Districts that are required to use both Sinhala and Tamil as their languages in administration. Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa has declared that Dehiwala - Mount Lavinia, Ganga Ihala Korale and the Kandy Four Gravets and Gangawata Korale, Matale, Lankapura and Welikanda in Polonnaruwa, Ratnapura, Balangoda, Mawanella, Kekirawa, Vavuniya South and Dehiattakandiya divisional secretariats should use both languages in their administrations.

Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa's special envoy for human rights, Mahinda Samarasinghe will lead the Government delegation to participate in the 14th session of the UPR in Geneva from October 22 - November 5, 2012. The Sri Lankan report is said to have focused on the resettlement of the IDPs and the progress made on the recommendations of the LLRC.

Sri Lankan authorities will hold a special discussion next month on the HSZs established in Jaffna during the decades-long ethnic conflict. The discussion would be based on the HSZs in Jaffna and the private lands that are currently occupied by the military in the area.

The UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon urged the Sri Lankan Government to find a speedy political solution to the underlying factors behind the country's civil war which ended three years ago in May 2009. The UN Chief, while noting the Sri Lankan Government's latest efforts on accountability as well as the steady progress on resettlement issues, has raised the issue of a political solution and emphasized the need for a quick measure when he met with Sri Lanka's Special Presidential Envoy on Human Rights, Minister Mahinda Samarasinghe at UN Headquarters in New York.

TNA said the Government needed to agree to have bi-lateral talks with the party based on the five documents prepared earlier in relation to a political solution. TNA parliamentarian M.A. Sumanthiran said that following the party's visit to India that the party would participate in the proposed PSC, if the Government agrees to hold bi-lateral talks with the party.

The Sri Lankan Government said the former international wing leader and chief arms procurer of the LTTE Kumaran Pathmanathan alias KP is free from prosecution as there was no evidence against him. Lakshman Hulugalle, the head of the MCNS said the 58-year-old former LTTE leader is free to carry out work for a charity he founded for the welfare of the conflict-affected people in the North. Hulugalle said KP was no longer in detention and he is running a non-government organization and doing work for the benefit of the people during the last few months.

The United States said that it remains concerned about the rushed resettlement of the final IDPs to close the Menik Farm camp in Vavuniya District. The U.S. Embassy in Colombo in a statement noted that "many of the most vulnerable families of the war-affected population in the North have been placed on land hastily cleared without adequate shelter, water and sanitation, or provisions to continue their livelihoods while many long term IDPs remain unable to return home or access basic services from the government."

The United States Government awarded over $ 3 million to three organizations supporting resettling communities in the Mullaitivu and Killinochchi Districts. The USAID's Office of US Foreign Disaster Assistance awarded funding to ZOA Refugee Care, Sewalanka, and Practical Action to provide the basic needs that many Sri Lankans urgently require. The support will provide help to nearly 50,000 Sri Lankans with basic services such as adequate shelter, access to potable water and proper sanitation and food security. The programmes will also put these individuals on the road to a sustainable future, with support to start generating needed income, and connect farmers and fishermen with markets.

Minister of Mass Media and Information Keheliya Rambukwella said at the cabinet press briefing that the Sri Lankan Government is planning to hold discussions with the Tamil Diaspora soon. The Minister said the planned dialogue will be held shortly under the patronage of President Mahinda Rajapaksa. He further added that the Government has taken initiative in this connection and there are positive developments to hold a dialogue with the Tamil Diaspora.

Sri Lanka's Marxist party, JVP Propaganda Secretary Vijitha Herath said that the 13th Amendment to the Constitution would not provide a solution to the ethnic issue. He explained that the implementation of the 13th Amendment should be able to protect the equal rights of the Tamil and Muslim communities, but it has not happened. According to Herath, the 13th Amendment that has been forced on the country as a product of the Indo-Sri Lanka accord of 1987 has compounded the ethnic issue.

The Sri Lankan Government commenced hearing cases of former LTTE members in two of the four special courts set up for that purpose. Justice Ministry Secretary Kamalini de Silva said that two courts have been established in Mannar and Vavuniya Districts to expedite the hearing of cases against LTTE suspects. She noted that two more courts are to be established in Anuradhapura and Colombo Districts for the purpose. The Government in May had informed parliament that there were some 359 LTTE suspects in local prisons and 309 cases have to be heard.

The Sri Lankan Government is considering repealing the PCS that was established under the 13th Amendment to the Constitution to devolve power. The Government is under pressure from both inside and outside to repeal the PCS since the 13th Amendment has become a threat to the unity of the country. Organizations and individuals supporting the Government have pointed out that a 19th Amendment to the Constitution can be brought to decentralize the power and abolish the 13th Amendment since the Government has a two-third majority.

Three rehabilitated former LTTE cadres have been selected as best shooters to national shooter pool representing Sri Lanka at the SAARC games next year. The Government assessed 135 former LTTE combatants, who have undergone rehabilitation after their surrender to the Sri Lankan security forces at the end of the war, for their sports abilities. The Minister of Sports Mahindananda Aluthgamage presented Kanakasanthuram Rajeevan, Thayabaran Thaventhiran, and Sellamuttu Sureshkumar, who have been selected for the shooting event, with Air Rifles at the Sports Ministry. They will be part of the national pool of the Shooting Federation that will represent Sri Lanka at the SAARC sports festival to be held in New Delhi in 2013.

The closure of Menik Farm camp which once housed 300,000 Tamils displaced during the country's decade-long ethnic war is a milestone in addressing the issue of displacement in Sri Lanka said United Nation's Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator in Sri Lanka Doctor Subinay Nandy.

NFF Leader and Housing and Construction Minister Wimal Weerawansa said that the 13th Amendment to the Constitution is similar to a time bomb waiting to explode. Explaining that the 13th Amendment would result in a federal governing structure where powers are devolved to the provinces, Minister Weerawansa noted that the Government and the country would be faced with many problems in such an eventuality.

Mass Media and Information Minister Keheliya Rambukwella said the government has no intention of abolishing the 13th Amendment. Rambukwella told the President has stressed that the government's intention is to implement the 13 plus. "By the reference of 'Plus' it is envisaged to converge all minority groups in the provinces in a Senate," the Minister said.

Senior Minister D.E.W. Gunasekera warned that abolishing the 13th Amendment to the Constitution would be an invitation to separatism. He said that armed movements in the North had laid down their arms and entered the democratic political process due to the 13th Amendment to the Constitution.

TNA leader R. Sampanthan said that the ongoing discussion on the internal rift that had arisen in the TNA would not impede the headway being made in achieving the objectives of Sri Lanka's Tamil speaking people. He said the rift had arisen mainly over the administration of the party. "This rift is not in any way related to the political goals and aspirations of the Tamil people or the parties in the alliance. Our political aspirations, efforts and commitments towards the Tamil people of this country remain steadfast as always," he said.

Defence Secretary Gotabaya Rajapaksa said that the Sri Lankan Government is looking at seeking legal means of stopping existing illegal operation of the LTTE, operating from the overseas. Rajapaksa said "Most of the hierarchy of the LTTE was killed at the final stages only a few low rung cadres have managed to escape and are now engaged in false propaganda operations in order to collect funds from the Diaspora. They were engaged in illegal operations like gun running and human smuggling using their shipping fleet various organizations and front offices in many parts of the world. The government is looking at seeking legal means of stopping existing illegal operation of the LTTE rump".

An Australian report said that former LTTE combatants wanted for their crimes in Sri Lanka are being funded to migrate to Australia as asylum seekers by the former members of the terrorist group already migrated to Australia. The report said that six former combatants posed as asylum seekers were arrested leaving Sri Lanka this year, with another six people who were apprehended as alleged smugglers.

Minister of Housing, Construction and Common Amenities Wimal Weerawansa met the Chief Prelates of Buddhist Siyam Nikaya to seek blessings for the struggle led by him to abolish the 13th Amendment to the Constitution under which the Provincial Council system was introduced as a power devolution mechanism. The Minister pointed out to the Chief Prelate of Asgiriya Chapter of Siyam Nikaya Ven. Udugama Buddharakkhitha Thero that the Provincial Council system has become a challenge to the Supreme Court as well.

The Army recoverd five artillery guns -130 mm and 152 mm- and a boat fitted with two powerful boats hidden by the LTTE at the Vellamullivaikkal beach in Mullaitivu District.

The much-anticipated second UPR of Sri Lanka's human rights record got underway at the UNHRC in Geneva. President's Special Envoy for Human Rights, Plantation Minister Mahinda Samarasinghe led the Sri Lankan. Addressing the assembly Minister Samarasinghe stated that it is Sri Lanka's consistent stand that the UPR provides the best opportunity to raise questions and seek clarifications about the present situation in the country.

During the UNHRC UPR of Sri Lanka in Geneva, a total of 99 member states of the UN commended Sri Lanka for its progress in the resettlement of the IDPs and the development of the conflict-affected areas. The countries expressed their views in brief statements after the opening statement by the Mahinda Samarasinghe. Meanwhile, the western nations including the US, Britain and Canada called on the Sri Lankan Government to improve the remaining concerns.

DPF, a minor Tamil political party in Sri Lanka, accused the Government of trying to disregard the minority communities in the country. DPF leader Mano Ganesan told that comments made by several ministers indicate that the Government was against the devolution of power. He noted that Ministers Dinesh Gunawardena, Champika Ranawaka, Wimal Weerawansa, and Defence Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa have spoken against the 13th Amendment to the Constitution.

Sri Lanka has supported 20 recommendations made during the UPR at the UNHRC in Geneva. Major recommendations following the review were for Sri Lanka to fully implement the recommendations of the LLRC and the NHRAP for the Protection and Promotion of human rights.

The remains of nearly 2,500 vehicles, burnt or damaged by the LTTE during the final stages of the battle in Pudukudirippu in 2009, were handed over to their owners by the Government following the authentication of ownership. The ownership of another 900 vehicles was identified to hand over to the claimants in due course. The process of handing over the vehicles to the owners is being coordinated by the RMV and the Government Agent. Sixty Eight Brigade Division Commander Major General Jagath Wijethilake said a small number of vehicles cannot be identified and remain unclaimed. The Major General said almost all vehicles belonged to civilians and most had been used by the LTTE. "The vehicles had been taken by the LTTE forcibly and they were dumped or set on fire at the tail end of the battle." He said however none of the vehicles were in working condition.

JHU and NFF led by Construction, Engineering, Housing and Common Amenities Minister Wimal Weerawansa called for the withdrawal of the 13th Amendment to the Constitution. Power and Energy Minister Patali Champika Ranawaka of the JHU also said that the country has to face a series of complicated issues due to the provincial council system that was established under the 13th Amendment to the Constitution and called for the immediate withdrawal of the amendment.

A prominent LTTE leader and leader of the Pro-LTTE TCC Nadarajah Matheenthiran alias Parithy was killed in Paris, France, as a result of internal rift. Police said that Parithy belonged to LTTE's Nediyawan faction. Since the death of Prabhakaran, an internal rift occurred between LTTE Europe Leader Nediyawan and V. Rudrakumaran who was also a prominent LTTE leader based in USA.

Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa said that a change in the prevailing Provincial Council system is necessary to make devolution more meaningful to the people. The President noted that devolution should not be a political reform that will lead the country to separation but a mechanism that would unify the country. He added that devolution should not involve high spending and complex governance structures that will impose further burden on people.

Sri Lanka Government is considering introducing 19th Amendment to the Constitution as a solution to the current national issue of power devolution while the momentum to abolish the 13th Amendment is gathering momentum. The draft amendment will be presented to the PSC that has been proposed to formulate a solution to the current ethnic issue. The 19th Amendment will include options for the devolution of power and will replace the 13th Amendment to eliminate the existing provincial council system.

UNP said that the 13th Amendment should be amended to rectify any shortcomings but it should not be abolished. UNP General Secretary Tissa Attanayake said "The government should come up with an alternate unit of devolution in the event it decides to abolish provincial councils." He told that the 13th Amendment to the Constitution contained several shortcomings which needed to be rectified to prevent provincial councils bypassing Parliament. He admitted that the 13th Amendment was enacted in a hurry under an agreement between then President J.R. Jayewardene and Indian Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi.

Two Sri Lankan men were charged with the murder of Paithy, a former commander of Sri Lanka's LTTE in Paris. The two suspects, both born in Sri Lanka in 1979, were arrested on November 11 and are being held in custody in Paris. One of them is suspected of ordering the murder and the other of carrying out the hit on the Sri Lankan-born French national. They have been charged with murder and immigration offences.

House Leader and Minister Nimal Siripala De Silva expressed that the Government is ready to discuss the repealing or amending the 13th Amendment to the Constitution with all political parties including the Tamil parties. He told Parliament the Government is willing to take up this matter in the proposed PSC, which is to be set up to work out a political solution to the national question. The minister said repealing the 13th Amendment was not the official stance of the Government though some of its allies had called for it.

The Secretary-General of the UN, Ban Ki-moon said that the IRP appointed to review the agency's actions during the final stages of Sri Lanka's war that ended in May 2009 has concluded that the UN system failed to meet its responsibilities. Ban admitted that the UN system failed to meet its responsibilities - highlighting, in particular, the roles played by the Secretariat, the agencies and programmes of the UN Country Team, and the members of the Security Council and Human Rights Council.

Sri Lanka Army spokesman Brigadier Ruwan Wanigasooriya said the Army has taken steps to recruit 100 female LTTE soldiers to the force. The Army will hold a special ceremony in the former LTTE stronghold of Kilinochchi District on November 17 to select 100 women in the age group of 18-22 to undergo training as soldiers. The women will be recruited from Kilinochchi and Mullaitivu Districts. The female Tamil soldiers are to be mobilized in peace building and reconciliation programs conducted by the security forces in these areas.

TNA Leader, R. Sampanthan said that any move to repeal the 13th Amendment to the Constitution would cause harm to the country's future. He observed that the 13th Amendment was the only provision that recognized the diversity of the country to a certain extent. According to Sampanthan, the Government should do away with the system of devolution based on the nine provinces and instead must bring about a devolution and administrative system of three or four zones, so that the expenditure to maintain nine Provincial Councils can be reduced.

Minister of Economic Development Basil Rajapaksa said that thousands of Tamil-speaking Muslim people languishing in refugees camps for 22 years after their forcible eviction from their homes in Northern Province by the LTTE will be re-settled in their original places of residence immediately.

A large LTTE flag was hoisted by an unidentified pro-LTTE group at Velvettithurai in Jaffna, the hometown of slain LTTE leader Velupillai Prabhakaran. The Valvettithurai Police said the flag that had been hoisted at the Valvettithurai main junction in Jaffna town was removed later and a group of suspects were taken into custody. They said investigations were being carried out to arrest those behind the incident. LTTE heroes' week used to be celebrated from November 21 to 27.

Traditional Industries and Small Enterprises Development Minister Douglas Devananda said in Parliament that the resolution of the present conflict through dialogue entirely rests on the TNA's participation in the PSC.

The Sri Lankan Government expressed serious concern over the practice of leaking United Nations panel reports on the country's civil war to media before releasing them to public. The UN report which the Government called as "Petrie report" was made public by the UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on November 14, a day after it was leaked to the media.

A local court in Chennai, Tamil Nadu closed a criminal charge filed against slain LTTE chief Prabhakaran, pending before it for many years. The VII Additional Sessions Judge (In charge) Kaliamoorthy declared the charge as "abated," following the Crime Branch-CID request to close it on the ground that Prabhakaran's body was recovered from the Nandikadal area of Sri Lanka in 2009.

Ahead of the next session of the UNHRC in Geneva, the US has decided to hold talks with the TNA for a review of action taken by the Government of Sri Lanka in conformity with the resolution adopted early this year, officials said. The US sponsored resolution against Sri Lanka was adopted at the UNHRC session in March this year. The resolution called for the implementation of constructive recommendations by the LLRC and addressing accountability issues during the last stage of the war.

Some pro-LTTE posters which were pasted by an unidentified group in two places in Uppuweli area of Trincomalee city have been removed by the SF.

Five suspects distributing pro- LTTE hand bills to mark the 'LTTE war heroes' day were arrested by the Police in Akkaraipattu from Ampara District.

The TNA MP Selvam Adaikalanathan threatened to commence a fast unto death if the Government fails to provide a political solution to the ethnic issue by next year.

Students at Jaffna University (Jaffna District) in Northern Province clashes with security forces SFs. The tensions arose as some students marked the death of LTTE guerrillas at small candle-lit memorials, while well-produced pro-Tiger posters appeared in various parts of the formerly Tiger-held territory.

TNA said in the Parliament that steps should be taken to immediately release the political prisoners in the country. The TNA says that there are 810 political prisoners in the country. He said why can't these people, who were arrested for minor offences like giving water or food to the LTTE cadres, be released.

Students at Jaffna University (Jaffna District) in Northern Province started a two-day boycott of classes after clashes with SFs on November 28.

TID arrested four students of Jaffna University (Jaffna District), Northern Province on suspicions of terrorist activities while an unknown Jaffna-based Tamil movement planned to stage a massive demonstration on December 3. The four students are being interrogated over a petrol bomb explosion at the TELO political party office in Jaffna and over the pro-LTTE activities.

Students of the majority Sinhala community have begun to leave the tension stricken Jaffna university (Jaffna District) in Northern Province in the Tamil dominated city.

TNA, TNF and several other civil society organizations based in Jaffna held a mass protest against the arrest of four university students.

The UN said that a group to review the finding of the UN's actions and inactions in Sri Lanka in 2009 or known as Charles Petrie report is being set up.

TID has arrested 25 former LTTE cadres in Northern Province, BBC News reported on December 6. Police are also reportedly hunting several students.

10 former LTTE cadres were taken into custody by the TID in Jaffna on the basis of intelligence reports. Most of the information was gathered from fellow cadres currently in custody with the Police.

Leader of the DPF, Mano Ganeshan said the Tamil people have been deprived of the right to commemorate their dead on the Martyr's Day also known as Mahaveer Day.

Sri Lanka Government has made arrangements to employ 400 rehabilitated cadres of the LTTE as pre-school teachers. These pre-school teachers are to be put in service in Kilinochchi and Mullaitivu Districts.

Sri Lanka Army has withdrawn its personnel serving the areas near the Jaffna University (Jaffna District) in Northern Province in response to a request made by the VC of the University.

TNA told Parliament that it was wrong to assume that the party wanted the armed forces out of the North and the East.

The high level UN delegation in the Sri Lanka to observe the progress on the implementation of LLRC recommendations visited the former LTTE terrorist stronghold of Kilinochchi in Northern Province.

TNA said that the party is opposed to any move to alter the demographic pattern in the North.

A special team of officials has been dispatched to Kilinochchi to probe the tragedy of Lion Air flight 602. The Lion Air flight 602 from Palaly (Jaffna District) to Ratmalana, Colombo carrying 48 civilians and 8 crew including two Ukrainian pilots went missing on September 29, 1998 over the northern seas. Flight allegedly targeted by LTTE.

Citizens in Northern Province told a visiting UN delegation that the Government has not taken action to implement the recommendations of the LLRC report.

President of the Jaffna University Students' Union V. Pavanandan together with another student activist surrendered to the HRC office in Jaffna. The HRC is to study their case before presenting them before courts.

Seven of the eleven Jaffna University students in TID custody were released.

Three days of digging of the coast near Pooneryn in Northern Province has not been successful in locating any remains of 31 passengers of a Lion Air Flight 602 aircraft shot down by the LTTE terrorist group on September 29, 1998.

Sri Lankan Government has paved way for 46 former LTTE cadres to take the General Certificate of Education Ordinary Level examination.

UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said its review of its actions and inactions in Sri Lanka will be finished in the second quarter of 2013. He also claimed that it had no power over, and could not stop, General Shavendra Silva of the Sri Lanka Army, depicted in Ban's report on Sri Lanka as engaged in war crimes, from "inspecting" UN peacekeepers in Lebanon.

Canada's Supreme Court ruled that Canada can proceed to extradite two alleged LTTE terrorists from USA.

TNA said that women from the North have been forcibly recruited to the military and are prevented from leaving even when they have requested to do so.

Army spokesman said the LTTE Diaspora and other interested parties are making a "hue and cry" on the issue since they seem to be worried that the success of the process would mark the end of their campaign for false propaganda.

The Ministry of Rehabilitation and Prison Reforms has made arrangement to release another batch of former terrorists of the LTTE to the society,

Another batch of 48 former fighters will be released on Christmas Eve and on December 30.

Tamil Nadu 'Q' branch investigator arrested four militants of LTTE, including their 'electronics expert' from Nallathambi Street in Pammal near Pallavaram of Kanchipuram District.

The Jaffna office of Sri Lanka's HRC said that 43 people have been arrested in the North within the last month for terrorism related activities.

HRC Coordinator in Jaffna T. Kanagaraja said that the TID had arrested 43 people since November 27th under the Prevention of Terrorism Act.

Tamil National Alliance commenced a hunger strike in Jaffna, Jaffna District in Northern Province demanding the release of the Jaffna University students in the custody of the TID.

Three more LTTE cadres are moving around in Tamil Nadu, said investigators questioning the four LTTE operatives arrested on December 19.

TNA Spokesperson and parliamentarian Suresh Premachandran said that it would make submissions at the next UNHRC sessions in Geneva in March 2013. He told that the party would make its submissions based on the non-implementation of the LLRC recommendations and the issues faced by residents of the Northern Province.

At least 45 former LTTE cadres, who were hiding since long period without surrendering to the SFs, were arrested in the Jaffna Peninsula (Northern Province) by the TID.

The UNSC Working Group on Children and Armed Conflict has decided that children in armed conflict are no longer an issue in Sri Lanka. The Working Group has adopted the 'Draft Conclusions on the situation of children and armed conflict in Sri Lanka' on December 19, 2012, thereby closing the dossier on Sri Lanka in the Security Council.

Two men extradited to US from Canada on charges of supporting LTTE, that has been designated a foreign terrorist organization by the US were ordered to be held without bond during an appearance in Federal District Court in Brooklyn.

UNP MPs Jayalath Jayawardene, Ven. Dambara Amila Thera and Mannar Bishop Rt. Rev. Dr. Rayappu Joseph are to visit the LTTE detainees at the Welikada prisons in Colombo to provide them a Christmas treat.

Several Tamil political parties in Sri Lanka said that they are only opposed to moves at colonization that are aimed at changing the demographic patterns. DPF Leader Mano Ganesan has said the parties opposed and would continue to oppose only the planned colonization projects. TNA parliamentarian M.A. Sumanthiran agreed with Ganeshan saying that the Tamil parties opposed moves to change the demographic pattern.

The Sri Lankan Government is ready at any time to hold talks with the TNA, said Irrigation Minister Nimal Siripala de Silva. The Minister was responding to the allegation made by the TNA that the Government was not serious about talks with the TNA.