Marking Tamil New Year this April, the chief minister of the Northern Province, C V Wigneswaran highlighted that the passing of time had not resolved the problems facing the Tamil people.

"Years keep rolling on, but there delays continue in finding a solution to the problems of the Tamil people," he wrote in a statement.

See statement reproduced in full below:

"Bidding a farewell to the Manmatha Varudam, Durmuki Varudam begins this evening. Years keep rolling on, but there delays continue in finding a solution to the problems of the Tamil people."

"Many of the war-affected people are unable to return to their own houses and lands, and they are still displaced, living amid a lot of hardship."

Sri Lanka is one of the countries where impunity continues, according to former UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay.

Speaking at the second annual N. Sivalingam Memorial Lecture at York University in Toronto, Navi Pillay said, “While international justice decisions show that significant advancements have been made in accountability, there still remain significant challenges.”

“Sri Lanka, Tunisia, and others, are a reminder that impunity for war crimes still continues”, she observed at the event on Thursday. Specifically on Sri Lanka, she noted that during her visit to the country while she was High Commissioner for Human Rights, “even though the fighting was over, the suffering was not.”

The former high commissioner revealed that then-president Mahinda Rajapaksa had approached her when she assumed office and warned her that he was about to launch a huge campaign to end terrorism and that she should not criticise him.

The construction of 65,000 homes by the Indian company Arcelor Mittal will go ahead as planned and will commence within two months, Rehabilitation, Resettlement and Hindu Religious Affairs Minister D.M.Swaminathan told the Daily Mirror.

”Reluctantly though, we have to accept one fact which is that local contractors or investors are not capable of undertaking a massive project of this magnitude. That is why we offered the tender to Arcelor Mittal which is a globally recognised multinational construction company. We also want to finish the task within the targeted time and resettle 65,000 families in two years,” Minister Swaminathan said.

On February 18, the MCSL was invited by the National Planning Department of the Sri Lankan Finance Ministry to submit a proposal for the construction of 65,000 brick and mortar houses in the North. MCSL responded enthusiastically with the relevant details, including a plan for funding from Chinese and other international banks with ADB and Sri Lankan government guarantees.

An Indian minister has contradicted longstanding claims by Sri Lankan officials that the Sirisena-government is opposed to the building of a bridge which would link India's southern-most state Tamil Nadu with Sri Lanka's Tamil-dominated North-East.

The project is under consideration, it is under discussion. But nothing has been finalised," Union Road Transport, Highways and Shipping Minister Nitin Gadkari told journalists at the Foreign Correspondents Club in New Delhi on Monday.

He said discussions have been held on the issue with Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena and Prime Minister Ranil Wickremasinghe, adding that they were also "interested" in the project.

"My hearty New Year wishes to all the Tamil and Sinhala people living across all parts of the world. 

I wish the New Year that has blossomed, brings in prosperity to every one of you.

Tamil New Year is not a mere festival; it is a reflection of our art, culture, traditional sports and many other elements, interlaced with our centuries old heritage in a characteristic way.

Besides, as two distinct unique communities, we celebrate Tamil New Year in the most traditional way. Apart from bonding the Tamil and Sinhala people; it must be borne in mind with pride that Tamil New Year is the only festival that is jointly celebrated by the Tamil and Sinhala communities.

The site of the attack in Kokkuthoduvai village, Mullatitivu

A group of Sinhala fishermen assaulted Tamil government officials in Mullaitivu on Sunday.

The Grama Sevaka officers were visiting Kokkuthoduvai village when the Sinhala fishermen, who have reportedly been settled in the area under a controversial settlement scheme, attacked the officials.

The Tamil officials were then handed over to the Sri Lankan military, which proceeded to confiscate their identity cards and keep them under detention.

The Chairman of the All Party Parliamentary Group for Tamils (APPGt) called for a political solution that recognises the Tamils people's right to self determination and stated the British government are “looking for action” from Colombo, in a message released to mark Tamil New Year on Wednesday.

James Berry said in a statement that the cross-party group of parliamentarians had “been working tirelessly to represent the rights of the Tamil population in the UK and the victims of war crimes and human rights violations in Sri Lanka – a task which to this day remains a priority for our government, especially in light of evidence which suggests that many serious abuses continue”.

“I am proud that there has been some progress, but as the recent 2016 reception of the APPGt clearly illustrated, a lot more work remains,” said Mr Berry. “As the Chair for the APPGt, I know that now is not the time to rest on our laurels.”

“Going forward into this New Year, we need to ensure that the justice mechanism agreed in the latest UNHRC resolution is reliable and independent. Above all we need to achieve a political situation in Sri Lanka that fulfils the aspirations of the Tamil people and recognises the right to self-determination.”

A Tamil man was abducted by men claiming to be from the Terrorism Investigation Department on Sunday.

According to Ceylonews, Rajadurai Jeyanthan was at his house in Nunavil South, Chavakachcheri when the men took him in a white van. The white van abduction culture was very common over the past decades and came to be feared as many of those abducted never returned.

The sources told Ceylonews that Rajathurai Jeyanthan was among those who had gone through the government’s ‘rehabilitation’ programme after the end of the war.

His wife said that the abductors have only given her a telephone number and when contacted she was asked to come the CID office in Ariyalai, near Jaffna town.

UPDATED 1435 GMT

Protestors staged a sit in at the Jaffna Government Agent District Secretariat office in Jaffna today, demanding the Sri Lankan military halt ongoing land surveys.

The protest began after a reported attempt by the Sri Lankan military to survey 16 acres of land in Anaikottai, in the northern peninsula.

Upon hearing news of the surveying taking place, Tamil protestors, including politicians from the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) and Tamil National People’s Front (TNPF), arrived at the scene.

TNA Northern Provincial Council member Balachandran Gajatheepan said the military had also attempted to seize land owned by the Sivapoomi Trust, a charity organisation that supports handicapped children. As protestors gathered, the military began videotaping the demonstration.

“Our land is our culture,” said M K Shivajilingam Northern Provincial Council member. “No Tamil citizen can tolerate his homeland being eradicated at the hands of Sinhalese Chauvinists. We will continue our fight against this. We will expose the true face of the government that is claiming to provide good governance.”