Sri Lankan police recovered a haul of cannabis worth approximately 14 million rupees in Jaffna on Thursday evening.

The haul was recovered after police at Kopay attempted to stop a motorbike travelling from Point Pedro. The driver of the vehicle however, threw a package on to the road and continued to drive past, refusing to heed police calls.

The package he threw contained the recovered drugs.

Though the driver escaped, police are confident they will catch the suspect soon, noting that they have his vehicle registration number.

Sri Lanka’s presidential commission into disappearances continued public sittings in Mullaitivu on Friday, where hundreds of people made submissions searching for their missing loved ones.

Approximately 290 people filed complaints before the commission, which continues despite government announcement in October that the process was to be scrapped.

Relatives who went before the commission criticised the process, saying that officials were attempting to persuade them to accept death certificates for their missing loved ones. However, they refused.

“We hope that our relatives are alive and under army custody,” said one person who went before the commission on Friday. “We asked them to help us find our loved ones.”

Sri Lanka’s long awaited constitutional assembly is expected to convene on April 5, to appoint a Steering Committee, and fourteen other members to draft a resolution on a new Constitution Bill.

The Constitution Assembly will consist of all Members of Parliament and will determine the Sub-Committee that will work on the constitution making process.

A Steering Committee consisting of the Prime Minister, Leader of the Opposition, Leader of the House, Minister of Justice and eleven other members will also be appointed, reports adaderana.lk.

Sri Lanka's Defence Secretary Karunasena Hettiarachchi said that the government will not return land needed for security purposes to their rightful owners.

Mr Hettiarachchi said while the land will not be released, the owners will be compensated by being paid more than the actual land value.

UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon on Thursday urged states to act to promote truth, reparations for victims of human rights violations, highlighting Sri Lanka as one of the countries where the UN advocated for consultations with victims.

Speaking on the International Day for the Right to the Truth Concerning Gross Human Rights Violations and for the Dignity of Victims, observed on March 24, the Secretary General said,

"Across the world, every victim has the right to know the truth about violations that affected her or him. But, the truth also has to be told for the benefit of all people and communities as a vital safeguard against the recurrence of violations. The right to the truth is closely linked to the right to justice.

"To advance this effort, the United Nations supports fact-finding missions, commissions of inquiry, mapping exercises and truth commissions, which document human rights violations and make recommendations to ensure accountability, reconciliation and other reforms.

The Sri Lankan parliament's Leader of the House Lakshman Kiriella said that the government has set itself a target to close all IDP camps in the North-East and resettle the displaced "soon".

Mr Kiriella said it was one of the government's election pledges to resettle all those displaced by the conflict and assured that the government is determined to meet this promise.

The Sri Lankan  military declared the project will be completed next week.

The Tamil National Alliance rejected Sri Lankan government plans to build a village in the North-East for Sri Lankan soldiers who have married Tamil women, stating that it was a intended to forcibly colonise Tamil areas with Sinhalese soldiers.

The "Sanhindiyawe Sathwirugama" housing project is due to be completed next week, having been entirely constructed by the Sri Lankan navy, air force and army.

The village, at Kokeliya in Vavuniya, will be for Sri Lankan soldiers married to Tamil women and for 51 Tamil women have joined the Sri Lankan military, declared the Secretary to the Ministry of Defence Karunasena Hettiarachchi.

During the Northern Provincial Council’s 48th session this week, where concerns regarding other housing projects were raised, TNA councillor T Sarveswaran objected to the housing scheme, stating that it would forcibly locate Sinhalese soldiers in Tamil areas.