A revamped Counter Terrorism Bill will be presented in Sri Lanka’s parliament this week, reports the Sunday Times.

The bill has reportedly been approved by Sri Lanka’s cabinet and would criminalise acts that will cause “harm to the territorial integrity or sovereignty of Sri Lanka”.

The proposed legislation would also criminalise “joining, becoming a member of, supporting or representing a proscribed terrorist organization for the purpose of aiding and abetting the commission of an offence under this Act”.

A group of unknown men broke into a home in Kokkuvil and vandalised the property on Friday.

Residents of a village in Pottuvil, Amparai, are still protesting for the return of their lands, 55 days on.

Sri Lankan military forces occupying Palaly had a post office to meet their needs opened in the area on Saturday.

Families of Maaveerar (fallen LTTE cadres) buried in the destroyed Kanchikudicharu thuyilum illam, in Amparai, cleared the cemetery on Friday, in preparation for Maaveerar Naal.

Protests calling for the release of Tamil political prisoners have continued daily in towns across the North-East.

The director of the organisation Roots of the Nation has been investigated by the Terrorism Investigation Division.

Director Ganeshan Pirapakaran attended questioning on Thursday in Colombo.

Pirabakaran said he was kept from 9 in the morning until 7 in the evening, and was questioned about the organisations activities and memorial events.

The TID warned him that they could call him for investigation again in the future.

Twelve senior LTTE members including Lt Col Kumarappa and Lt Col Pulenthiran were remembered in Valvettithurai on the 31st anniversary of their deaths.

Almost 5000 acres of privately-owned land in Mullaitivu still remains occupied by Sri Lankan military forces, the district secretariat has revealed.

Meanwhile, the Sri Lankan president has reportedly issued a deadline to release all privately-owned lands in the North-East by December 31.

Responding to a private right to information request, the Mullaitivu district secretariat calculated that a total of 4859 acres remained under occupation, compared to 2891.75 that had been released.

Of the five divisions of the district, Karaithuraipatru (Maritimepattu) remained the most heavily occupied with over 4000 acres of the total occupation falling in this division.

The Sri Lankan army continued its militarisation of the North-East with its announcement that a new “state-of-the-art modern facility complex” had been constructed at the 66 Infantry Escort Troops Headquarters in Poonakari last week.