Photograph courtesy of JDS

Former Eastern Provincial Council (EPC) member and Tamil Eelam Liberation Organisation (TELO) leader, Indrakumar Prasanna, was summoned to the office of the Senior Superintendent Police (SSP) in Batticaloa yesterday. 

TNA members in conversation with a EU delegation last September

Members of the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) are scheduled to fly to the United States of America (USA) this week to engage in talks with the State Department regarding the proposed new constitution. 

It is expected that the TNA delegation would advocate for more expansive provisions for autonomy than the present constitution allows. 

Speaking in parliament, Amanda Milling, Minister of State for Asia, detailed the UK government's concern over continued reports of torture and sexual violence by Sri Lanka's security forces.

As torrential rainfalls ravaged the Tamil homeland over the past week, it has emerged that nearly 5,700 acres of farmland have been severely damaged in the Mannar district. 

Assistant Commissioner to the Mannar Agrarian Services Department, A. Merin Kumar revealed that much of the land, now deluged, was earmarked for cultivation in the farming season between 2021 to 2022. 

Tamil National Alliance (TNA) MP and human rights lawyer, Nadarajah Raviraj, was remembered in the North-East today to mark the 15th anniversary of his assassination. 

A memorial event was held in Chavakachcheri, Jaffna, where attendees lit candles and hung flower garlands on the memorial statue of the former MP. 

Last month, Former Commissioner, Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka Ambika Satkunanathan addressed the Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission at an event entitled "Counter-Terrorism and Human Rights: Striking the Right Balance".  

The ‘Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa Trophy’ tournament kicked off in Sri Lanka this week in what one Sri Lankan politician said was the first FIFA approved tournament “of its kind in Sri Lanka”, as the relationship between the Rajapaksa regime and sports on the island grows even closer.

Today marks 15 years since Tamil National Alliance (TNA) MP and human rights lawyer, Nadarajah Raviraj was assassinated in Colombo. 

Mr Raviraj was shot in Colombo at close range by unidentified gunmen on a motorbike at around 8:30am on November 10 2006, as he got into his car after giving an interview. The MP died later in hospital. His bodyguard was also killed. 

Sri Lankan President, Gotabaya Rajapaksa, has rejected the resignation of Justice Minister, and long-time ally, Ali Sabry who has expressed disappointment over the establishment of a Presidential Task Force headed by the notorious extremist monk, and ex-convict, Galagodaaththe Gnanasara.

Sabry has told reports that his resignation now “is in a sort of limbo”.

As Sri Lanka faces a major economic crisis, Vice President for the World Bank’s South Asian division, Hartwig Schafer concludes his six-day visit of the island pledging support “to invest in people to power the country towards a green, resilient and inclusive recovery”.