Amid increasing criticism of Sri Lankan military involvement in civilian life in the North-East, the Sri Lankan army undertook a project to distribute drinking water in Jaffna last month.

Sri Lanka’s President Maithripala Sirisena announced that he would be holding a series of conferences on constitutional reform in order to “prevent incorrect information” regarding a proposed new constitution.

The Sri Lankan government said it had “pledged to re-assert lost sovereignty by taking ownership of processes that were in the international domain” with regards to reports that over 40,000 Tamil civilians were killed by a Sri Lankan military offensive in 2009.

Responding to a query from a journalist from The Island, Sri Lanka’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mahishini Colonne said, “Since Sri Lanka is not a signatory to the Rome Statute regarding international jurisdiction with regard to war crimes, ensuring justice with regard to such matters will be the business of national independent judicial mechanisms”.

The statement continued to say,

A delegation from the EU is to embark on a four day visit of Sri Lanka today in order to monitor the implementation of international commitments associated with the granting of GSP+. 

“The MEPs Jean Lambert, Richard Corbett, Ulrike Müller and Wajid Khan would also visit EU-funded projects in the North and would conduct an inter-parliamentary dialogue,” the EU delegation said in a statement. 

The delegation is expected to meet with representatives of the government and civil society. 

The University of Jaffna remained shut today in an act of protest against the ongoing detention of Tamil political prisoners in Sri Lanka. 

Students and staff at the university, along side Tamils across the North-East, have held a series of protests over recent months calling for those detained to be release immediately. 

The Sri Lankan parliament today began its debate on the interim report by the constitutional steering committee.

It takes place amid criticism from Sinhala political groups, Buddhist clergy, military personnel and the Sri Lankan Bar Association regarding the process of formulating a new constitution, arguing that it will pave the way for federalism. 

The three day debate is expected to conclude on Wednesday, the Daily Mirror reported. 

A Tamil motorist was killed in a crash with a military vehicle in Jaffna on Saturday night.

36-year-old father of two, Balakrishnan Vijitharan was taken to hospital with severe injuries after a speeding military vehicle crashed into his motorcycle in the Inuvil area.

He died shortly afterwards at the Jaffna Teaching Hospital.

The driver of the military vehicle was arrested by Chunnakam police.

Plans to outlaw the extraction of toddy from palmyra and coconut palm trees has angered unions in the North-East who say the law specifically attacks the palm wine trade in Tamil regions.

While Sri Lankan law usually states that the extraction of palm wine is prohibited except from kithul palms, palmyra trees and coconut palms, a recent gazette notification about amendments to excise duties omitted palmyra and coconut palms in the exemptions.

The next US - Sri Lanka Partnership Dialogue is to be held in November, with the US Under Secretary for Political Affairs Ambassador Thomas Shannon visiting Sri Lanka, Economy Next reported. 

“The Partnership Dialogue demonstrates the consolidation of cooperation between the United States and Sri Lanka and serves to further strengthen and enhance bilateral relations in the widest sense, through regular and structured engagement,” the US State Department said in a statement. 

Eleven companies have put in bids to explore the Mannar oil basin, Sri Lanka's Director Benefits and Mechanical Engineer at the Petroleum Resources Development Secretariat Preeni Withanage told The Sunday Leader.

The block was formerly due to be developed by Cairn India Ltd, however the company chose to exit the area in 2015. 

The government had called for tenders for the block known as M2 earlier this year.