The Sri Lankan military held a lecture on ‘Human Rights and International Humanitarian Law’ in Mullaitivu earlier this month.

Soldiers were given a lecture on the subject as part of a training day “under the supervision of Major General P.U.S. Vithanage, Commander, SFHQ-MLT,” reported a military website.

The lecture was given alongside another talk on “Earth Moving Machinery”.

Former Eastern Province Chief Minister Sivanesathurai Chandrakanthan, also known as Pillaiyan, had his bail application rejected by Batticaloa magistrates on Friday.

Mr Chandrakanthan, a former member of the LTTE who was embraced by the Sri Lankan government after he turned against the movement, is in custody over the killing of TNA parliamentarian Joseph Pararajasingham.

He was initially arrested on October 11. His next court hearing will take place on April 1.

Sri Lanka's "joint opposition" staged a huge rally in Colombo today. The rally was attended by former president Mahinda Rajapaksa, who was cheered by the thousands of people in the crowds.

The Chief Minister of the Northern Province, C.V. Wigneswaran, said to the Australian High Commissioner to Sri Lanka that the people in the province are against the continued presence of the military.

High Commissioner Bryce Hutcheson visited Jaffna with a delegation on Wednesday and met with the chief minister during his time in the North-East.

After the meeting, the Chief Minister, said to reporters,

"I can see the Central government and the Australian government are jointly involved in some activities. The role of the provincial government in these activities is less. I conveyed that it is proper to discuss with us, when it comes to helping our people."

An EU delegation currently in Sri Lanka said the government should remain patient with the application for the reinstatement of GSP+ trade preferences until there is a strong chance of it being able to secure the tariff facility, the Daily Mirror reported on Tuesday.

“This is why we are advising them (GoSL) to wait with the application for GSP+ until the conditions are ready so the EU can annul the revoke of GSP+, we want to be confident. Normally it takes about eight months to the process of granting the access, assuming the access will be granted. Neither the EU nor the GoSL want the application to be rejected,” said Paul Godfrey, the Chargé d' affaires of the EU delegation to Sri Lanka and the Maldives.

The official further stressed that there needs to be clear evidence to ensure that progressive measures have been taken to improve human rights and to achieve an irrevocable status to regain the trade concessions granted by the EU. Mr Godfrey said the government had achieved remarkable progress in reconciliation over the past year.

Photograph: Sri Lankan Foreign Minister Mangala Samaraweera and EU Commissioner for International Cooperation and Development Neven Mimica

The European Commission announced it is to sign two new support programmes worth €38 million to support ‘rural development’ in the Central and Uva Provinces of the island.

The announcement was made as EU Commissioner for International Cooperation and Development, Neven Mimica, arrived for a three day visit where he is to meet with senior government officials.

A European Commission press release quoted Mr Mimica as saying the “EU has made an important contribution in providing humanitarian assistance and reconstruction support to help Sri Lanka recover from the war and the tsunami”.

“Now our focus is on providing long-term support towards poverty reduction and local economic development,” he added. “We have a new opportunity to support governance and reconciliation efforts and help address the root causes of the conflict in Sri Lanka.”

€30 million will go towards a single project entitled ‘Integrated Rural Development in the Most Vulnerable Districts of the Central and Uva Provinces’, which is designed to “improve livelihoods and household incomes, as well as access to drinking water and healthcare services for the most vulnerable of the population in Sri Lanka”.

The remaining €8 million “will go towards trade related assistance to help Sri Lanka reap the benefits of further integration into the global and regional trading system,” said the press release.

Meanwhile Lanka Business Online quoted Mr Mimica as saying it was the “correct time” to help the Sri Lankan government regain the GSP+ tariff preferences.