After ten years of displacement and over a month of protest, the people of Mullikulam in Mannar set foot again in their lands for the first time on Sunday.

The Sri Lankan military celebrated the refurbishment of a military base in Vanni this month, which includes the renovation of a badminton court at the 62 Division headquarters.

A bus carrying military personnel was targeted by unidentified individuals throwing rocks, causing damage to the vehicle.

Army Spokesman Brigadier Roshan Seneviratne said on Friday that the bus was travelling to Vavuniya via Mullaithivu on Thursday, during the North-East-wide shutdown, when it was targeted.

Mullaithivu police has launched an investigation to catch those responsible. No arrests have been made.

Today marks the twelfth anniversary since the abduction and murder of Tamil journalist Dharmeratnam Sivaram.

Sivaram, popularly known under his nom-de-plume Taraki, was abducted in front of Bambalipitiya police station in Colombo on April 28 and was found dead several hours later in a high security zone in Sri Lanka's capital, which at the time had a heavy police and military presence due to the ongoing conflict. His killers, highly suspected to be linked to the government of then-president Chandrika Kumaratunga, were never caught.

Tamil journalists terrorised

The motion to deny Sri Lanka access to GSP+ on the grounds of delayed human rights reforms was quashed by a vote in Brussels – where 436 voted against the motion and 119 voted in favor.

An EU Parliamentary Group brought forward the motion due to concerns regarding the lack of progress in the context of transitional justice – citing recent UN Human Rights Council reports. Further, members of the European Parliament told Sri Lanka that the Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA) must be replaced prior to granting GSP+ trade concessions.

President Sirisena requested former army commander Sarath Fonseka to leave his current ministerial position to take a top security post.

"The President said he [Fonseka] can be either the army chief or the chief of defence staff, or have some new position with overall powers over security to bring about discipline in the country," stated Cabinet Spokesman Rajitha Senaratne.

Families of the disappeared in Kilinochchi who have been protesting for over two months blocked the A9 road on Thursday.

Tamil and Muslim groups in the North-East have staged a hartal, with the majority of businesses in towns of the region closed in protest at continuing grievances.

Tamil civil society organisations have called on the European Parliament to deny Sri Lanka restoration of GSP+ until at least a list of surrendees and detainees is released by the Sri Lankan government.

In a joint statement supporting the the demands of the families of the disappeared who have been protesting across the North-East, the civil society organisations also noted “with serious concern, that Sri Lanka has failed to substantively comply with the 27 international conventions which the European Parliament requires compliance with in order for a state to be eligible for GSP+ status.”

Tamils working on military-run farms and preschools were forced to protest against the Northern Provincial Council by civil security department personnel.

Employees of military run agricultural and preschool ventures, including a significant number of former LTTE cadres, were threatened with suspension of wages if they refused to attend the protests.

In recent months the Northern Provincial Council and local agricultural and civil society organisations in Mullaitivu and Kilinochchi have been campaigning to regain control of large agricultural farms and preschools from military control.