Sri Lanka's navy commander on Sunday rejected reports that officers had fired shots towards Tamil Nadu fisherman and their vessels over recent weeks. 

His statement came after Tamil Nadu fishermen said one of their colleagues was shot dead by the Sri Lankan navy on March 6, and many fishermen boycotted the annual Kachchativu feast in protest at the attacks by the navy. 

The commander of the Sri Lankan security forces in Vanni visited a Sinhala settlement in Vavuniya on Friday, where thousands of Sinhalese villagers were settled in 2013.

The Global Tamil Forum reiterated its call for the full implementation of the UN resolution co-sponsored by Sri Lanka in 2015, adding that the ensure this a new resolution ought be adopted taking into consideration the UN High Commissioner for Human Right's recommendation that the process must include close international monitoring. 

Official data shows that the North-East of Sri Lanka has been worst hit by the ongoing drought.

In the Jaffna district where majority of the rice cultivation is rain fed, crops are facing widespread destruction. The Department of Agriculture stated that almost 99 percent of rice cultivation was fully or partially destroyed.

Batticaloa, Trincomalee, Amparai, Mullaitivu and Kilinochchi are also areas that have been greatly impacted by the drought.

Sri Lanka is to scale back the Hambantota port deal with China after widespread protests by local residents.

The original deal was to transfer an 80% stake to China Merchants Port Holdings through a long lease. However, after protest by local community members and some politicians, it is expected that the deal will be renegotiated.

The Tamil National Alliance (TNA) on Saturday reiterated its call for the UN resolution 30/1 to be fully implemented by the Sri Lankan government, also calling for an office of the UN High Commissioner of Human Rights (OHCHR) to be established in Sri Lanka to monitor progress on implementation. 

Sri Lanka's Deputy Foreign Minister claimed that United Nations resolutions are not binding and dismissed a recently released report by the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights which criticised Sri Lanka's lack of progress in implementing a previously co-sponsored resolution.

Families of the disappeared have been protesting, demanding information about their loved ones, in Bharathipuram, Trincomalee.

Unemployed Tamil graduates have been protesting continuously against the North-East in response to widespread unemployment and lack of employment opportunities for graduates in the region.

A debate took place in parliament earlier this month, where members raised concerns over torture and the treatment of asylum claims, highlighting Sri Lanka as cause of “exceptional concern”.

Tamil civil society organisations, political parties and trade unions have called on the UN human rights council to pass a robust resolution with strong follow up mechanisms in order to put enough pressure on Sri Lanka to deliver on its commitments on issues such as accountability and transitional justice.

Full statement published below:

‘The credibility of the UNHRC has been put at stake by Sri Lanka’

A French Tamil father and daughter were arrested at Colombo’s international airport on Wednesday evening, Virakesari reports.

Mullaitivu-Puthukudiyirippu native, 52-year-old A. Thiyagaraja who has been living in France for the last 25 years, and his 24-year-old daughter Janani, were arrested on arrival at Colombo and presented to court at Negombo.