A vigil was held today to remember the Indian Peacekeeping Force’s (IPKF) massacre of 14 Tamils in Batticaloa district 31 years ago.

After being targeted by a landmine on November 5, 1987, IPKF soldiers fired indiscriminately at Tamil civilians in Kaluvanchikudi, killing 14.

<p>A Sri Lankan army officer has been arrested by the police over the abduction of a Tamil youth in Kilinochchi last week.&nbsp;</p> <p>The family of the youth said he was abducted from his home in Ponnagar, Kilinochchi by unknown people on the day of Deepavali and taken to Polonnaruwa where his captors demanded Rs 5 lakhs in ransom for his release.&nbsp;</p> <p>The officer, who has not been named, is understood to have been station at the Thirumurikandi army camp.</p> <p>His arrest follows the previous arrest of two men from Polonnaruwa over their involvement in the abduction. A vehicle has also been confiscated.&nbsp;</p>

Over 16,600 families have been affected by heavy rains and subsequent flood this month in Batticaloa, with 242 families displaced. 

Students from the Vanthaarumoolai campus of the University of Batticaloa have launched makeshift teaching lessons for children living in camps with their parents, displaced by flooding. 

<p>International lawyers from the Sri Lanka Monitoring and Accountability Panel called for an independent evidence gathering mechanism in the country, in an op-ed published in Justiceinfo.com&nbsp;</p> <p>"Steps should include setting up an independent evidence-gathering mechanism related to atrocities for Sri Lanka with a similar mandate to those on Syria and Myanmar to investigate international crimes; and urging prosecutors in third states to pursue cases against Sri Lankan war criminals under the doctrine of universal jurisdiction," co-authors and lawyers Andrew Ianuzzi, Richard Rogers and Heather Ryan wrote.&nbsp;</p>

Sri Lanka’s speaker of parliament has called upon the public to “peacefully accept” the Supreme Court decision to stay the dissolution of parliament, as the political crisis in Colombo continued on Tuesday.

In a special statement, speaker of parliament Karu Jayasuriya said,

“It is important that the general public and especially persons in positions of responsibility conduct themselves in a calm and dignified manner in order to avoid unnecessary provocation and instability”.

“I ask Sri Lankans to peacefully accept the determinations of the judiciary and Parliament”.

The statement praised the Supreme Court decision to temporarily stay Sri Lankan president Maithripala Sirisena’s move to dissolve parliament, with Jayasuriya saying “the public can take pride in our judiciary”.

Jayasuriya’s statement comes after Sirisena met with heads of the military earlier this evening, in the wake of the Supreme Court decision.

Sri Lanka’s president Maithripala Sirisena met with the heads of the military at his office in Colombo this evening, after his move to dissolve parliament was temporarily stayed by the Supreme Court.

Maithripala Sirisena met with the heads of the army, navy, air force, police and the chief of defence staff. The newly appointed Secretary to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Ravinatha Ariyasinghe was also present at the meeting.

<p>Ranil Wickremesinghe, the UNP leader who is battling for position of prime minister, has called for the Sri Lankan police force to adhere to the speaker of parliament’s demands in the wake of a Supreme Court decision that will see parliamentarians reconvene tomorrow.</p> <p>“Today we have witnessed a resounding victory for the people’s franchise,” Wickremesinghe said on the Supreme Court’s decision to temporarily stay an order from president Maithripala Sirisena to dissolve parliament.&nbsp;</p> <p>“The powers of the president are limited and he must act according to the law,.” He added. “He is not above the law.”</p>

<p>Sri Lanka’s parliament looks set to be reconvened on Wednesday morning, following a decision from the Supreme Court to temporarily stay the dissolution of parliament.</p> <p>Speaker of parliament Karu Jayasuriya met with the JVP following the Supreme Court decision, with UNP leader Ranil Wickremesinghe urging him to recall parliament. Wickremesinghe is currently contending with former Sri Lankan president Mahinda Rajapaksa for the seat of prime minister, with both men tussling to control a majority of lawmakers in Sri Lanka’s parliament.</p>

Sri Lanka’s Supreme Court on Tuesday temporarily stayed president Maithripala Sirisena’s order to dissolve parliament, as political turmoil on the island continues.

The court said that hearings for a decision on the legality of parliament’s dissolution will be fixed for December, 5, 6 and 7. 

Political parties including the United National Party (UNP), Janantha Vimukthi Permanuna (JVP), the Tamil National Alliance (TNA), Tamil Progressive Alliance (TPA) and the All Ceylon Makkal Congress (ACMC), Sri Lanka Muslim Congress (SLMC) and civil society organisations filed petitions with the court, challenging Sirisena’s move.

This week Kilinochchi district residents continued to clear their local thuyilum illams, LTTE cemeteries, in preparation for Maaveerar Naal - the Tamil National Remembrance Day - on November 27.

Clearing took place at Mulankavil and Kanagapuram, with locals, families of fallen cadres and local politicians contributing.