Protesters in Jaffna were pursued and assaulted by Sri Lankan police on Wednesday after dispersing from a demonstration outside the Jaffna court complex.

A video obtained by IBC Tamil shows Sri Lankan police calling out an individual from a property and beating him on the street.

Former president Mahinda Rajapaksa urged police to act against the protestors in Jaffna, as the LTTE also "began in a similar fashion."

“Stones were pelted at police stations and the courts in Jaffna. The LTTE too began in a similar fashion. This is a dangerous situation. Therefore the police should act immediately. The law should take its course in a similar manner whether it is the North or the South of the country,” he said speaking after attending religious observances at the Samadhi Buddha statue in the Mahiyangana town, the Daily Mirror reported.

“Everyone should be equal before the law, whether it is in the north or the south. Law and order should be maintained. The prevailing situation must change soon. It is obvious that the ongoing incidents are well organised,” he said.

The Tamil Civil Society Forum, in a statement said a post-war environment of heavy militarisation, lenience towards drugs and alcohol abuse and damaged social networks were contributing factors to rape within the society.

Expressing condolences to the family of the recently murdered Vithya, the TCSF note that this was not an isolated incident and that gang rapes had happened before in post-conflict Jaffna.

Sri Lanka's President Maithripala Sirisena on Wednesday denied the state was holding any political prisoners, Ceylon Today reported.

Speaking to journalists during a press brief, the president said the government had no list of political prisoners to release as there were no such prisoners.

"We don't have political prisoners or a list of names", he said to a question posed by Ceylon Today.

Tamil politicians have long complained that the government is not addressing the issue of political prisoners. The TNA leadership raised this with US Secretary of State John Kerry during his visit earlier this month.

Sri Lanka’s former president, addressing a 'Victory Day' event,  said the new government should be ashamed of ‘sabotaging’ Sri Lanka’s Victory Day celebration reports, DailyFT.lk.

Photographs: DailyFT.lk

Speaking at a ‘War Heroes Memorial’ ceremony in Colombo, Mahinda Rajapaksa, said,

“The day we defeated terrorism is the day of victory. However, this day should be celebrated as the Victory Day no as Remembrance Day.”

Sri Lanka’s President reiterated that international investigators would not be allowed into the country to probe war crimes allegations, reports Shanghai Daily.

“We have had talks with the UN on investigations. As a government we have told them we will not allow foreign investigators coming to Sri Lanka. However we will take advice from the UN and conduct a domestic investigation,” said Maithripala on Wednesday.

The promotion of the accused war criminal Major General Jagath Dias to Chief of Staff of Sri Lanka's army is a major setback for peacebuilding on the island, a group of NGOs has charged, calling on the government to revoke the position.

The European Centre for Constitutional and Human Rights (ECCHR), the Society for Threatened Peoples (STP) and TRIAL (Track Impunity Always), condemned the promotion.

“The promotion of a suspected war criminal to the post of the Army Chief of Staff is a serious setback for the Sri Lankan process of reconciliation announced by President Maithripala Sirisena on taking office in January”, the NGOs said in a joint statement released on Wednesday.