The Tamil National Alliance (TNA) MP S Sritharan condemned the Sri Lankan military's ongoing encroachment and control over Tamils lands, and urged the Tamil people to continue the struggle for freedom.

“The army that had encroached on the LTTE cemeteries are standing there with shoes over the faces of our our children who lie buried there. How can we ever consider rapprochement while the army stands over the faces of our children with their shoes?" MR Sritharan said whilst speaking at an event at the University of Jaffna on May 6th.

The Australian government confirmed that it deported a group of asylum seekers to Sri Lanka.

A group of 12 men, women and children were returned to Sri Lanka on May6 , confirmed Immigration Minister Peter Dutton, adding,

“They were in a good state – they had made the journey down and they quickly made the journey back.”

Responding to opposition that the Labor party was not briefed before the decision to turn back the asylum seekers was made, Mr Dutton added,

The Sri Lankan prime minister Ranil Wickremesinghe was reportedly furious over the conditions agreed to in order to regain the preferential trade deal, GSP plus, the Sunday Times reported.

Stating that it had obtained a document detailing 58 conditions including the repeal of the Prevention of Terrorism Act, the devolution of power under the new constitution, the return of private land in the North and the release of detainees, the newspaper cited government sources as saying that Mr Wickremesinghe was "furious" to learn of the commitments made.

The United States government announced that it will ease a set of long standing trade restrictions on Sri Lanka and review all further applications on a “case-by-case basis”.

The US Department of State's Directorate of Defense Trade Controls (DDTC) stated that “effectively immediately” it will “review applications for licenses to export or temporarily import defense articles and defense services to or from Sri Lanka”.

Previous restrictions on Sri Lanka blocked the use of US assistance for defence exports, apart from services related to demining and disaster relief.

A briefing note by Together Against Genocide (TAG) on the capability of Sri Lanka’s judiciary to deal with international crimes found that it was “not yet capable of justly administering a war crimes tribunal to the standard expected by victims and the international community.”

The 5 page document concluded that,

“the lack of independence, poor attitude towards fundamental freedoms and lack of judicial competence significantly endangers a future tribunal.”

The Sri Lankan government under President Maithripala Sirisena continues to torture Tamils who have gone to Sri Lanka from the UK said Freedom From Torture, reiterating remarks made by UN Special Rapporteur Juan Mendez on Saturday.

Ann Hannah, International Advocate and Researcher at Freedom from Torture, said that the organisation supports demands for “an internationalised justice process for torture and other serious human rights abuses which took place during and after the civil war”.

Freedom From Torture went on to state that “while torture is still being practised any efforts towards long-term stability are undermined”.  “The number of referrals Freedom from Torture has received for people tortured since the January 2015 presidential election is deeply worrying,” said the organisation.

“Our clinical evidence shows that torture continues in Sri Lanka under President Sirisena,” said Ms Hannah. “Ahead of scrutiny by the Human Rights Council in June, we hope that the Government will announce a credible and effective torture prevention programme as part of efforts to fully implement its international commitments and build a sustainable peace.”