Defence Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa called for a meeting with the Sri Lanka head of USAID, accusing the organisation of attempting to turn people against the government through a voter education programme.

US ambassador to the country, Michele Sison, has refused to authorise the meeting, unless she was also invited, The Island reported, causing Gotabhaya to order senior military officers as well as heads of other institutions under his purview to only meet the ambassador or her representatives in his presence. The defence secretary said that the government welcomed visits by diplomats from other countries and military commanders to the North-East and usually briefed them but that from now on there would be restrictions on these meetings.

Rajapaksa told The Island last night that he wanted to discuss what he called a move to influence the electorate through a voter education project called ‘Election Support through Voter Education (ESVE) programme, adding it was nothing but a “ruse” by USAID to turn people against the government and if it goes ahead, bilateral relations would be further undermined.

Malaysian police have arrested four more people for allegedly having links to the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, reported Reuters.

Police inspector general Khalid Abu Bakar said the two Tamils, one Muslim and one Sinhalese, "were planning to reactivate the group by making Malaysia as their base of operations" adding that some had “exploited their status as refugees to pursue illegal activities”.

The Sri Lankan government’s adherence to policies by the IMF, was behind the annual cuts in social welfare, health and education budgets, UNP MP and financial analyst Eran Wickremeratne told The Island.

A Chinese embassy official said that a stable and peaceful Sri Lanka was to India’s advantage and that the country can gain a lot from its southern neighbour, reported Colombo Gazette.

Speaking at an event in Colombo, Ren Faqiang said that India was one of the first countries to make use of the Chinese funded Hambantota port and that Sri Lanka was now more like a developed country due to the many infrastructure project funded by the Chinese.

Photo: @AiyoMalli

The paramilitary leader and Minister Douglas Devananda represented the Sri Lankan government at an event to celebrate the US independence day at an event in Colombo.