The UK opposition MPs have expressed concern about the British government's decision last month provide £6.6 million to the Sri Lankan government which will include funds towards military reform without sufficient clarity on what sort of reform is expected. "The conduct of the Sri Lankan military is in need of serious improvement, but if the UK Government is intent on providing taxpayer’s money to Sri Lanka you must be explicit about what reforms you want to see in return. In addition, we request that you clarify how this part of the funding allocation will be spent and whether any of the £6.6m pledged will be given directly to the Government of Sri Lanka," the Labour MP and Senior Vice Chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group for Tamils, Siobhain McDonagh, backed by fellow opposition MPs - Joan Ryan MP, John Mann MP, Stephen Pound MP, Steve Reed MP, Wes Streeting MP, and Stephen Timms MP, in a letter on Thursday to the Minister of State, Hugo Swire. "We attended the Freedom from Torture parliamentary reception on Tuesday 8th December where we were informed that they have received 7 referrals for people tortured in Sri Lanka since the elections in January, including as recently as July 2015." "In light of these circumstances we would urge, at the very least, extreme caution by the UK Government when making decisions to significantly increase assistance to Sri Lanka and we would not be willing to support any changes to Home Office asylum policy in Sri Lanka which might make it even more difficult for survivors to secure protection in the UK."

Tamils are a persecuted nation said the Canadian Member of Parliament for Scarborough-Rouge Park in his maiden parliamentary speech on World Human Rights Day. What an Incredible First Week!It was an absolute honour to serve my first full week at Parliament Hill as the first elected Member of Parliament for Scarborough-Rouge Park. I was able to rise for the first time on Tuesday Dec. 8th to make my Maiden Speech in the House of Commons, as well as make a statement on Thursday Dec. 10th on the United Nation's Human Rights Day. I'd like to thank my constituents again for putting their trust in me. There is much work ahead and I look forward to working with each and every one of you.Yours very truly,Gary Posted by Gary Anandasangaree on Friday, December 11, 2015 In his maiden statement at Canadian parliament Gary Anandasangaree MP, speaking on the experiences of Tamil refuges, said, “The Tamil people are a persecuted nation. Over 100,000 Tamils have died in a bloody war. The UN HC for human rights has found that war crimes and crimes against humanity took place in Sri Lanka in the last phase of the war. Tamils are seeking justice. An international independent criminal investigation into war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide. Although the war ended in 2009 peace has evaded the island. Reported cases of sexual violence, military occupies land traditionally owned by Tamils and Tamil political prisoners linger in jail, in some cases for decades. It is in this context that people fled seeking a safe secure place to raise their family. In 2010 I had the opportunity to meet some of the Tamil refugees who came on the MV Sun Sea… I met countless men women and children. I will never forget the stories of one of the women. In the last days of the war she was hiding in a bunker with her husband and there children. She left the bunker to get water for her family. Has she left the bunker a shill hit and destroyed her life. her three young children and husband vanished in seconds. This mother had the courage to get on ship with strangers risk her life in order to put her life back together. This is one refugee experience.”

The Sri Lankan government has given clearance to resume the Chinese funded Colombo Port City project reports Colombo Page. Speaking to Chinese press on Friday, Sri Lanka’s finance minister Ravi Karunanayake said, “On our part, the government is happy with the environmental impact assessment (EIA) report for the project. It is now under public consultation.” The Colombo Port project was temporarily suspended in March 2015 by the new government. I twas valued at a total of US $1.4 billion at the time. China unhappy at Port City suspension order (08 March 2015)

Thousands have been affected by ongoing heavy rainfall in Kilinochchi in a new round of floods. Sri Lanka’s met department found that the highest amount of rainfall during the monsoon period had occurred in Kilinochchi. The Kilinochchi Secretariat estimated that over 7000 people may have been affected by the most recent floods. The North-East of Sri Lanka was hit by severe flooding last month. Over 100k affected by severe floods in North-East Sri Lanka (16 Nov 2015)