Buddha statue on private Tamil land appropriated by the military in Kokkilaay

Sri Lankan police arrested the owners of land which was grabbed by the army to build a Buddhist vihara after they held a protest at the location in Kokkilaay, Mullaitivu.

The owners, Thirugnanasambanthar Mannivannathas, Katharkamu Sivayogeswaran and Loganathan Jude Nimalan, held a symbolic fast outside the vihara, which is being constructed by the military, earlier today.

Police arrested the men and pressured them to abandon their protest, before releasing them a few hours later.

The first Tamil to die in the liberation struggle was remembered in Jaffna today, on the 41st anniversary of his death.

Locals gathered at a statue of Ponnuthurai Sivakumaran in his hometown Urumpirai in Jaffna earlier today, and commemorated his life. TNA NPC Councillors Ananthy Sasitharan, AM Shivajilingam and Pradeshiya Sabha member Sajeevan also attended the event.

The getaway vehicle used in the murder of Tamil National Alliance MP Nadarajah Raviraj has been found said Sri Lanka’s Criminal Investigations Department (CID), amid reports that the weapon used in his killing belonged to the Sri Lankan army.

The CID informed Colombo Additional Magistrate Nirosha Fernando that the trishaw used in the murder of the Tamil parliamentarian had been found and the magistrate approved further investigations into the vehicle.

The court was also reportedly informed that the murder weapon used belonged to the Sri Lankan army.

Sri Lanka’s president Maithripala Sirisena, speaking to the UN Secretary General Ban ki-Moon on Thursday, expressed his intention to attend the 30^th session of the United Nations Human Rights Council in September.

A statement by the president’s office on Friday, said,

A protest march demanding swift justice for the rape and murder of schoolgirl Vithiya took place in Point Pedro on Wednesday.

Photographs: Tamil Guardian

Police had reportedly filed for the protest to be barred by the Point Pedro court, but the presiding judge refused to issue a ban on the grounds that it would be undemocratic.

Jaffna Press Club (JPC) has called on Sri Lankan President, Maithripala Sirisena, to ensure impartial inquiries are conducted into the murder and disappearance of Tamil journalists.

In a letter addressed to the President, JPC outlined that many, many Tamil journalists and media workers had been killed or gone missing , particularly in the last two decades.

Welcoming the President’s announcement to conduct an inquiry into the disappearance of Sinhalese cartoonist Prageeth Eknaligoda, JPC stressed the need for inquiries into the killings and disappearances of all journalists and media workers, particularly in the North-East.

JPC emphasised that any such inquiries should be carried out under the watch of impartial international media organisations.

Mr Sivananthan, who is currently held at the Morton Hall detention centre in Lincolnshire, is thought to have been tortured in Sri Lanka and held captive for 10 days by Sri Lankan police.

Over 100 MPs from the UPFA have signed a no-confidence motion against Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe.

Anura Priyadarshana Yapa, the general secretary of the SLFP, the party of which President Maithripala Sirisena is chair, also signed the motion, alongside opposition leader Nimal Siripala de Silva, general secretary of the UPFA, Susil Premajayantha and several other senior SLFP members.

The United States plans to “do a lot to support Sri Lanka” said the Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary from the Bureau of South and Central Asian Affairs, during an address made to the Washington International Business Council this week.

Richard E. Hoagland said that the Sri Lankan presidential elections which saw the defeat of former president Mahinda Rajapaksa had “brought about a sea-change in our relationship with Sri Lanka.”

“The new president has moved the country away from divisive politics and crony capitalism toward a new path of reconciliation and inclusive development,” said Mr Hoagland.