As Sri Lanka gears up for a presidential election in just a few weeks time, Tamils on the island find themselves faced with a familiar decision. Almost five years after an election that was hailed as the dawn of a new era for Sri Lanka, the island has instead seen pledges of reforms broken and the failure to address key issues towards accountability, justice and a lasting peace. With leading candidates choosing to boast their Sinhala nationalist credentials, for Tamils in particular, the future seems bleak.

<p>Two administrators of a historic Tamil temple in a Vavuniya village were arrested on Friday and have been detained at Vavuniya prison following a complaint lodged at the Omanthai Police Station by the Department of Archaeology, claiming they had dug up underground bricks while cleaning the temple.</p> <p>Tamil National Alliance (TNA) MP Sivasakthy Ananthan slammed the arrest on Saturday following a visit to the prisoners Subramaniam and Akilan, two administrators of the Kaatu Vinayagar temple in the village of Maligai.</p>

Outrage has erupted over social media after images of recently issued stamps in Sri Lanka with a racist depiction of Tamils surfaced.

Tamil families of the disappeared demonstrated outside the Ilankai Tamil Arasu Katchi (ITAK) central executive committee meeting on Sunday, as the party’s leadership decided unanimously to endorse Sajith Premadasa in the upcoming presidential election.

Although the protestors were blocked from going near the meeting’s venue, they continued their rally on the main road nearby.

 

Ali Sabry, a member of the legal team of Gotabaya’s presidential counsel, has reportedly claimed that Muslims will need to vote for Gotabaya or may face reprisals, according to a report in the Colombo Telegraph.

In a video that has been circulated on Facebook and Twitter, Sabry is seen speaking to a Muslim crowd and asking the audience;  “If we don’t support him, what will happen?” 

 

Gotabaya Rajapaksa has visited Jaffna and during his visit emphasised that he would support economic development in the north but failed to comment on political demands made by Tamil political parties.

The Ilankai Tamil Arasu Katchi (ITAK), the largest party of the Tamil National Alliance (TNA), has announced its decision to endorse Sajith Premadasa in the upcoming Sri Lankan presidential candidate, despite the candidate refusing to engage with demands put forward by Tamil parties.

Speaking in Vavuniya today, TNA spokesperson M A Sumanthiran said the decision to back Premadasa had been made unanimously by ITAK but that TNA leader R Sampanthan would communicate with the other constituent parties of the alliance to reach a decision.

Sri Lanka’s Civil Aviation Authority (CAA)announced that daily commercial flights between Jaffna and Chennai will commence from November 10. 

Alliance Air, an Indian airline,  will operate seven flights a week from Chennai to Jaffna International Airport.  Jaffna International was officially opened on October 17 by President Maithripala Sirisena and Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe.

The New Democratic Front is (NDF) was formed on Friday with several parties, including a component of the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) backed by former President Chandrika Kumaratunga, to support presidential candidate Sajith Premadasa. 

The Sri Lankan Foreign Ministry said that the Philippines is studying the eradication of insurgency in Sri Lanka, Colombo Gazette reported.

Shobini Gunasekera, the ambassador designate of Sri Lanka met with Teodoro L. Locosin Jr, the Secretary of Foreign Affairs of Philippines.