Sri Lanka's State Minister of Defence said his government would provide welfare benefits for military personnel, at a ceremony at a Buddhist temple on Tuesday.

Ruwan Wijewardene was speaking at the launch of a book on Sri Lankan soldiers, where he told the audience that troops would be “honoured eternally”.

The official Sri Lankan Ministry of Defence website quoted the minister as saying that “with the guidance of the President Maithripala Sirisena” he would be “always working to assist and to provide welfare benefits for the military personnel”.

Human rights activist and campaigner for the families of the disappeared Balendran Jeyakumary continues to be required to attend court, despite her not knowing why she was arrested.

Campaigners who met with her recently said there were two cases ongoing against her and, as part of her bail condition, she is required to report to the police station in Kilinochchi once a month.

Ms Jeyakumary is forced to travel long distances from her home in Kilinochchi for her cases as one is being heard in Colombo and another one in Padaviya in the North Central Province.

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The Sri Lankan military’s 221 Brigade celebrated its anniversary last month by distributing lunch to Tamil civilians at an orphanage and elderly care centre in Trincomalee.

Soldiers from the Security Force Headquarters East (SFHQ-E) handed out meals and “essential sanitary items” on March 20, according to an official army website, which also said:

“Inmates were entertained by the Calypso Group of the 2 (V) GR”.

An abandoned well near Thirukketheeswaram in Mannar is to be examined later this month for possible skeletons, reports Lankasri.

The well is located by mass grave sites which were unearthed in Mannar in 2013.

Mannar district judge, Alexraja ordered an investigation into the well, which will begin on April 29.

The mass grave was first discovered in December 2013, when construction workers found two human skeletons whilst digging in Thirukketheeswaram.

Speaking ahead of the release of the UK Foreign Affairs Select Committee report, Director of Policy and Advocacy at Freedom From Torture, Sonya Sceats expressed concern at the UK government’s conduct with Sri Lanka.

The arrest of eight Indian citizens in Colombo last month shed light on Sri Lanka’s illegal organ trade, after it was revealed six of the men had their kidneys removed as part of an alleged racket operating on the island.

The men were originally arrested by Sri Lankan police on March 3rd for allegedly overstaying their visas, a charge that has used to arrest and deport many Indians on the island. It was only later that details regarding their kidney removals were released.

Processes in Sri Lanka towards accountability and justice must keep victims at the centre, said Dharsha Jegatheeswaran in an article for the University of Toronto Faculty of Law’s Rights Review Magazine.

Commenting on the erosion of victims’ confidence since UN Resolution 30/1, alongside the government’s reneging on its commitments thereunder, Ms Jegatheeswaran said,

“Initial cautious hopes of Tamil victims and war-affected communities have turned to distrust and skepticism of the government’s intentions as a result of this mixed messaging. This distrust has been further deepened by the government’s failure to undertake any meaningful confidence-building measures and address ongoing human rights violations, including: demilitarizing the North-East; repealing the draconian Prevention of Terrorism Act and releasing all political prisoners arrested thereunder; returning all illegally acquired lands; and ending a culture of impunity/condonation for sexual violence and torture.”

The Indian government will provide 150 boats and equipment to 300 fishermen in Mullaitivu, in the North-East.

The Indian high commissioner to Sri Lanka, YK Sinha signed a MoU to the effect with Sri Lanka's fisheries secretary W Adikari.

A statement by the Indian high commission said the SLR100mn project will be implemented in consultation with Sri Lanka's Ministry of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources Development and relevant local authorities.