The Sri Lankan government will resubmit its applications to regain the EU's GSP+ trade concessions, which were withdrawn over its human rights record/

International Development Minister Malik Samarawickrama told textile industry representatives earlier this month that the EU's ban on fisheries exports will be removed, which would pave the way to regaining GSP+, The Sunday Times reported.

In November the EU's ambassador to Sri Lanka, David Daly said that the reinstatement of the GSP+ benefits were further away than the government claimed, a few days after Mr Samarawickrama told parliament that the concessions would be reinstated in June 2016.

Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe in June claimed GSP+ would be granted after the Human Rights Council last September.

Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena called for the organisers of an Enrique Iglesias concert to be “whipped with toxic stingray tails”, calling the behaviour of concert goers “uncivilised”.

Addressing a public meeting in Amparai, Mr Sirisena was outraged by reports that female fans at the concert had thrown undergarments at the 40 year old singer, while one fan got on stage and kissed him.

Mr Sirisena said that this type of behaviour would have usually elicited violence from locals towards the female fans, but he felt in this instance it was the organisers who deserved the beating.

The new “Tamil Makkal Peravai” TMP platform must act prove that it will act in a way that avoids mirroring the Tamil National Alliance’s (TNA) political naivety to prove itself relevant to furthering Tamil aspirations, writes Colombo based Journalist Kusal Perera.

Highlighting the TNA’s failure to mobilise its electorate into action and pressure the new Sirisena government during the early days of forcing reform, Mr Perera added that the formation of the TMP highlighted doubts regarding the "capability and wisdom of the TNA leadership that seems a failure in advancing the political aspirations of Tamil people for realistic answers."

Full op-ed reproduced below.