As part of their continuing involvement in civilian life in the North-East, the Sri Lankan military was seen planting coconut trees in Myliddy this week. 

Over 200 trees were planted as part of the project initiated by the Jaffna army commander, Major General Darshana Hettiarachchi. 

The decision by the Sri Lankan government to resume implementation of the death penalty on the island could lead to the loss of GSP-Plus preferential trade concession, reports AFP this week.

The report comes after heads of delegations of several Western states, including the European Union, wrote to Sri Lanka’s president expressing their opposition to the reported resumption of capital punishment.

"If Sri Lanka resumes capital punishment, Colombo will immediately lose the GSP-Plus status," an EU diplomatic source told AFP.

The head of Sri Lanka’s military declared opened a range of new buildings at military bases in Amparai last week.

The head of Sri Lanka’s army met with a US Army Pacific Command (USPACOM) delegation last month, where he spoke of the military’s much criticised involvement in civilian projects across the Tamil North-East.

Sri Lanka’s Prime Minister stressed to Parliament yesterday that the government had not made any plans to reduce the number of military personnel or camps in the North-East.

Responding to a question about a Sri Lankan Army circular indicating the removal of certain personnel and camps, Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe claimed that the Army made its own decisions on numbers.

The Sri Lankan government spent more than Rs 1 million to bring the controversial British politician Lord Naseby for a one-day visit to the island, reports Ceylon Today.

According to a Right to Information (RTI) request obtained by Ceylon Today, the 2012 visit cost Rs 1,273,534.79. The total includes the Commander of the Sri Lankan Air Force chartering a              B412 helicopter ride for the British Lord, who has in the past been labelled an “apologist” for the Rajapaksa regime.

The Sri Lankan Army has admitted to holding a military intelligence report on a Tamil journalist, a Right to Information Commission report has revealed.

The information was revealed during the proceedings of a Right to Information request submitted by Uthayan journalist Dileep Amuthan, when the Sri Lankan Army submitted that it was hesitant to release the requested information – about military hospitality ventures and the Haiti child sex abuse case – because of a Military Intelligence Report held about Mr Amuthan.

The Sri Lankan military held a two day workshop for Tamil schoolchildren in the Vanni earlier this month, with an aim to “build up the image of the Sri Lanka Army”.

The event is the latest in a long history of the Sri Lankan military involving itself in civilian activities across the North-East, despite almost constant criticism from Tamil politicians and civil society activists. Of particular concern has been the military’s involvement in schools in the region, where uniformed soldiers have frequently held various events.

^{File photograph:Mr Paisley with MP Liam Fox who himself resigned in 2011 after reports emerged of his dealings with the Sri Lankan government.} 

British parliamentarian Ian Paisley Jr has been suspended from parliament after being found guilty of accepting all expenses paid trips funded by the Sri Lankan government, before he lobbied against an United Nations Human Rights Council resolution.

The Sri Lankan military has been accused of attempting to mislead the Right to Information (RTI) Commission over the extent and nature of sexual abuse committed by Sri Lankan troops whilst deployed as United Nations peacekeepers in Haiti.

A confidential United Nations investigation identified 134 Sri Lankan soldiers who are alleged to have sexually exploited nine Haitian boys and girls from late 2004 to mid-2007, during a peacekeeping mission in the country. “The acts of sexual exploitation and abuse were frequent, occurred usually at night, and at virtually every location where Sri Lankan military were deployed,” said the report.