Tamil National Alliance leader R Sampanthan called for Sri Lanka’s new constitution to accept the long standing goal of recognising the identity and dignity of the Tamil speaking people.

Speaking at the launch of the Interim Report of the Steering Committee on Sri Lanka’s constitution, Mr Sampanthan said,

Sri Lanka's recently appointmed foreign minister, Thilak Marapana today defended the former army commander Jagath Jayasuriya stating there was "no provable evidence" against him, the Daily Mirror reported. 

Mr Jayasuriya who was the ambassador to Brazil, was forced to flee Brazil after human rights organisations filed a lawsuit over allegations of war crimes. 

Tamils should not be obsessed with words such as federalism, the TNA leader and leader of the Opposition, R. Sampanthan, has said, adding that a political solution may or may not come.

At a meeting of Tamil newspaper editors held at his working residence, the party leader said that while there may not be 100% satisfaction with the new constitution, it would still be an improvement.

“We must act carefully,” he said. “Both the President Maithripala Sirisena and the Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe must lead their party members correctly and properly. The important junctures are still ahead.”

A new report by the United Nations names Sri Lanka as a state that continues to intimidate and harass activists who co-operate with the global body on human rights issues.

The report stated that the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights was “disturbed” to hear that civil society members had faced intimidation from Sri Lanka in the United Nations Palais des Nations in Geneva earlier this year.

Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena is set to meet with the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein this week, according to a report in the Ceylon Today.

The Sri Lankan president is set to meet with the human rights chief in New York, where he is currently attending the UN General Assembly.

Though the armed conflict in Sri Lanka has ended, many on the island “still face discrimination and hate” said the United Nations Resident Coordinator in Sri Lanka Una McCauley, calling for more to be done for reconciliation.

In an address to mark the International Day of Peace 2017 on Thursday, Ms Cauley said “addressing the root causes of conflict and preventing violence requires our commitment and our unity”.

“In Sri Lanka, the war is over,” she noted. “Yet many still face discrimination and hate.”

She went on to state,

The Sri Lankan Civil Security Department’s (CSD) activities in the Vanni have embedded and normalised militarisation in the region as well as creating an “economic dependence on the military,” stated a report by the Adayaalam Centre for Policy Research (ACPR) today.

“The growth of the CSD in the Vanni points to the larger issue of the Sri Lankan military’s failure to transition into a reduced post-war role,” stated a press release. “Instead, the military’s approach to its post-war role has been to embed and normalize the process of militarisation, thereby extending its control and subjugation of Tamil populations in the Vanni.”

Pakistan's new prime minister, Shahid Khaqan Abbasi assured the Sri Lankan president, Maithripala Sirisena of his country's continued support on Tuesday at the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York. 

"Pakistan will commit to take the economic and trade relationship between the two countries to a stronger level through new a new approach," Mr Abbasi was quoted by Colombo Page as saying. 

Thanking Mr Abbasi for his country's support at the UN Human Rights Council, Mr Sirisena described Pakistan as a "true friend during a period of conflict in the country". 

Stating the government has made tremendous progress towards reconciliation, the Sri Lankan president Maithripala Sirisena told the UN General Assembly on Tuesday to support the country in making progress towards reconciliation. 

“As a country that has suffered violent conflict for 30 years, we are drawing from experience and lessons learned to strengthen national reconciliation, and we are determined to prevent the recurrence of conflict. We have given priority in this context to consolidate freedom and democracy in our country, and through a strong foundation of national reconciliation forged through unity and friendship among communities,” the President said.

Nine Indian fishermen were arrested by the Sri Lankan navy on Wednesday morning for allegedly crossing the International Maritime Boundary Line, Colombo Page reported. 

The men along with their trawlers and fishing equipment were taken to the navy base in Karainagar. 

They will be handed over to the Assistant Fisheries Director of Jaffna, the paper reported.