Sri Lanka's human rights violations against Tamils as well as the ongoing militarisation and illegal land appropriation are aimed at suppressing the Tamil people's right to self-determination said the Tamil Civil Society Forum (TCSF) in an oral statement to the Human Rights Committee in Geneva today, during Sri Lanka's International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) review.

Stating that the HRC was silent on the denial of Article 1, which related to the right to self-determination of peoples, the TCSF said, "as we noted in our written submissions to this committee the ability of Tamils to enjoy the entire array of rights enshrined in the ICCPR both as individuals and as a collective, rests on their ability to self-determine, the subject of Article 1."

Fishermen in Jaffna held a hunger strike today, protesting against the military assistance provided to fishermen from the South who have come to the North, as well as a government ban on traditional fishing methods.

The protest, which was organised by the Valvettithurai East Fisheries Union, was addressed by NPC councillor Shivajilingam, who said “fishermen from South are using banned equipment and fishing with military monitoring in Kokkulai Nayaru regions.”

“Why do the Department of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources not question them, but bar us?” he asked.

“They (Southern fishermen) are fishing in regions that belong to the Tamil people, in Kokkulai and Nayaru," Shivajilingham told the Tamil Guardian on Tuesday.

Teachers in Jaffna demonstrated in a protest, coinciding with International Teachers Day on Monday, against military and government influence in their schools and universities.

Photograph: Tamil Guardian

The protestors were met by pro-government individuals that attempted to disrupt the protest adds the Uthayan. The pro-government individuals dispersed after the protesting teachers voiced their condemnation of attempts to disrupt the demonstration.

Distancing itself from Sri Lankan media reports, the Sri Lankan government said it had never said US stance on Sri Lanka was softening, in a statement released Monday.

The Ministry of External Affairs said it "wishes to clarify that the Government of Sri Lanka did not issue a press statement or comment on the meeting which took place between President Mahinda Rajapaksa and the US Secretary of State John Kerry on the margins of the on-going UNGA."

The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees has spoken out against the deportation of asylum seekers by the Sri Lankan government, which has continued after a Supreme Court ruling allowed their forcible return.

At least 312 people, mainly from Pakistan and Afghanistan, have been deported from ` August until the 3 October. A further 61 remain in detention.

The UNHCR office in Colombo commented,

“As you are aware, UNHCR continuously advocated against deportations and for the release of asylum-seeker and refugees that have been arrested and detained since June and will continue to do so. UNHCR has on numerous occasions, in different forums- both nationally and internationally, advocated for the cessation of arrests, detention and deportations.”