Human Rights Watch accused Sri Lankan leaders of backtracking on pledges made to the UN Human Rights Council over a year ago, as the government faces further scrutiny at Geneva later this month.

On the 31st January, 84 Tamil families from Mullaitivu awaited the scheduled return of their lands, only to be turned away by the Sri Lankan air force personnel whose camp was built on the land.

The families of Pilavu village in Keppapilavu, owners of around 20 acres of occupied land, commenced a protest outside the air force camp, announcing they would stay there until they were given access to their properties.

JR Jayewardene discussing the military assault on Jaffna with a commander.

A set of recently declassified CIA reports reveal how Sri Lanka’s former president J R Jayewardene attempted to garner military support from the United States and position himself as a moderate dedicated to solving the island’s ethnic crisis, even as the Sri Lankan army was committing large scale human rights abuses in the North-East.

Relatives of the missing protested in Kilinochchi on Monday calling for information about the whereabouts of their loved ones.

A retired Sri Lankan army major was charged of sexual assault in Hawaii whilst he was there on a training programme with the Disaster Management Center (DMC). 

The army major, who has not been named, was charged of sexually assaulting a female employee of the hotel where he was staying. 

He was arrested by local police before being charged and deported from the country. 

A protest was held in Vavuniya last week run solidarity with the people of Mullaitivu, calling for the return of their lands.

Murdered journalist Sugirtharajan was remembered in Batticaloa following the 11th anniversary of his death on January 24th.

A former LTTE cadre was found dead in his Vavuniya home on Sunday.

31-year-old Ilangarasa Ilangovan, known as Kopu, had undergone rehabilitation and was living in Kothanda Nochchikulam, Vavuniya with his wife and three children.

The death is being investigated by Vavuniya police.

A video series and publication supporting those impacted by childhood sexual abuse (CSA) within the Tamil community was released by Toronto-based non-profit organization Abuse Never Becomes Us (A.N.B.U.).

The publication showcases the lived experiences of five individuals that were impacted by CSA.

Three army officers were arrested on Saturday over the assault of a Sri Lankan journalist in 2008. 

Keith Noyahr, an associate editor of The Nation was abducted from just outside him home in Colombo and tortured before being released in May 2008. 

Major Prabath Bulathwatte, Sergeant Duminda Weeraratne and Sergeant Hemachandra Perera were summoned to the CID headquarters on Friday for questioning. 

The Sri Lankan army has taken exception to a former president’s acknowledgment that Tamil war widows face sexual exploitation.

On its website the army refuted allegations of sexual exploitation of Tamil women, made by former president Chandrika Kumaratunge, as a “baseless allegation”.

Pilavu protests continued for the 19th day today despite pressure for protestors to stop and ongoing military surveillance.

The former president Chandrika Kumaratunge this week acknowledged that Tamil war widows continued to face sexual exploitation from those in power, including by army officers and local government servants.