The Central Bank of Sri Lanka (CBSL) condemned the Tamil diaspora and international media for carrying out an alleged “extraordinary and vicious campaign” against the country, in a statement justifying the hiring of United States-based lobby firm.

The Central Bank reportedly signed a $760,000 agreement with Liberty International Group LLC “to provide an accurate account of the Sri Lankan political and economic environment to US leaders... to keep them abreast of the true situation in the country”.

The contract will run until July 2015.

In a statement released on Monday, CBSL stated that it “regularly faces many challenges due to various erroneous and mischievous statements that are also publicized by many persons, both local and international.”

The Japanese government is considering providing the Sri Lankan Navy with patrol boats later this year to strengthen Sri Lanka’s maritime surveillance capacity, according to reports.

Kyodo News International reported that a Japanese government source said the move was being considered ahead of Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s scheduled visit to Colombo in early September.

The proposal is expected to be discussed in September, with the Japanese government also considering extending a loan to Sri Lanka, enabling the Sri Lankan government to purchase the vessels. No decision has been made yet on the number of patrol boats to be provided, or on whether they will be new boats or Japanese patrol boats which are already in service.

Sri Lankan Minister S.B. Dissanayake warned that granting land and police powers to the North and East will result in the LTTE regrouping and rallied against the 13th Amendment, on Sunday.

Speaking at a public rally in Passara, Dissanayake spoke out against implementation of the 13th Amendment and slammed the Tamil National Alliance (TNA), saying,

“We cannot allow terrorism to raise its head again. We cannot give what the TNA wants. We cannot give what the Northern Provincial Council wants. We cannot give land and police powers.”

The body of a young male was found hanging in woods near Thalaimannar on Sunday.

The man, identified as 31 year old, Dharmaseelan Hariharan, is a father of a young child and is originally from Selvanagar in Mannar, the Uthayan reports.

His body was spotted by passersby, who reported the death to the police. The police are treating it as a possible murder inquiry, as his body was found hanging off a very small branch, with his knees touching the ground when it was found, leading police to believe he was murdered before being hung up.

The latest addition to the Presidential Commission’s panel of advisors says that India should respect Sri Lanka’s sovereignty in solving the Tamil question and not add fuel to the fire.

Avdash Kaushal, who heads an Indian NGO, also appealed to Tamils on the island to consider themselves as Sri Lankans now and abide by Sri Lanka’s laws and constitution.

“How will we in India feel if Sri Lanka calls and talks to Indian separatists?” he asked, referring to the recent meeting between the TNA and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

“You can talk to the Sri Lankan government and give them advice, but you cannot ask them to behave. India and Sri Lanka must respect each other’s sovereignty,” he said in an interview with the New Indian Express.

China's People's Bank and the Central Bank of Sri Lanka signed a Bilateral Investment Agreement on Bond Investment Sunday, in order to allow Sri Lanka to increase its investment in China's bond market.

“As a result, the Central Bank of Sri Lanka could now access one of the largest and growing securities markets in the world, while also enhancing the cooperation between the two central banks, and the two countries,” the Central Bank of Sri Lanka said in a statement.

British Tamils demonstrated, on Sunday, outside No 10. Downing Street  to remember the killing of 53 girls in Sencholai orphanage by Sri Lankan Air-Force strikes in 2006.

Photo: Tamil Guardian

The demonstrators held placards calling for an end to the Sri Lankan state sponsored genocide of the Tamil people and demanded an internationally monitored referendum on an independent Tamil Eelam in Sri Lanka.

14 Aug 2006: 53 Tamil school girls killed by Sri Lankan air strike on children's home (14 Aug 2014)

Sri Lanka’s Deputy Minister of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources Development stated the government would not allow any Indian fishermen into their waters, even for short periods of time.

Deputy Minister Sarath Kumara Gunarathne dismissed the notion of allowing Indian fishermen permission to enter Sri Lankan waters saying,

“We cannot agree to let Indian fishermen fish in Sri Lankan waters even for a day.”

His comments come after Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi held a meeting in Delhi to discuss the issue of repeated arrests of Indian fishermen by the Sri Lankan Navy. Frequent attacks on Indian fishermen by the Sri Lankan Navy has led to the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu Jayalalithaa writing several letters to the Prime Minister, expressing her concern and calling for a “strong and robust" response to the arrests, whilst protests against the arrests have taken place in Tamil Nadu.

The Commander of the Sri Lankan Army said that the military was still working on the “psychological elimination of the threat” since the end of the armed conflict and rejected suggestions of reducing the size of Sri Lanka’s armed forces.

Speaking in an interview to Adaderana, Lieutenant General Daya Ratnayake justified the increased involvement of Sri Lanka’s expanding military in civilian affairs, saying,

“Winning a war of this nature has basically two parts. That is physical elimination of a threat and psychological elimination of the threat. What we achieved in May 2009 is physical elimination of the threat. Thereafter achieving psychological elimination is a process and there are no shortcuts to it,” added Ratnayake.

Sri Lanka’s External Affairs ministry has confirmed that a visa for US journalist Gardiner Harris has been “put on hold” following advice from the Sri Lankan High Commission in India, reports the Sunday Leader.

Harris, South Asia Correspondent for The New York Times, tweeted that he had applied for a visa more than 50 days ago, yet was still waiting to hear from Sri Lankan authorities.

I applied for a J-visa to Sri Lanka on June 30. 50 days later, still no word. Press freedom? @Abeynayake @tingilye @CHOGMSriLanka — Gardiner Harris (@GardinerHarris) August 18, 2014