"I also explained that the military presence has increased in Vanni region, and [the military] have acquired the majority of lands in the area in the meantime."

The editor of the Daily News, a paper owned by the Sri Lankan state, has called for the arrest of Al Jazeera journalist Dinouk Colombage, for his coverage of recent violence by Sinhalese against Muslims, reported The Australian.

Rajpal Abeynayake took to Twitter to accuse Colombage of inciting religious tension through his coverage of the violence in Aluthgama, which left 3 Muslims and one Tamil dead, after attacks by Sinhala mobs.

“Lock up this scum to save lives” Abeynayake sid in one tweet, linking to Colombage’s own Twitter page, before tweeting that the journalist and other media were “twitter murderers” who “incited” the violence.

U say arrest Atte Gnanasara. Arrest the twitter murderers Groundviews, Colombage etc. what's the differnce? Both didn't do it but incited

— Rajpal Abeynayake (@Abeynayake) June 22, 2014

The editor mentioned President Rajapaksa, his son Namal and Consul-general to Australia, Bandula Jayasekara, in many of his tweets, in one of which he described the journalist as a “Twitter murderer sicko scumbag”.

A monk was arrested on his release from hospital, for the “staging” of his attack and abduction, police in Colombo said.

Watareka Vijitha was found beaten, naked and tied up, after he campaigned against the anti-Muslim violence in southern Sri Lanka.

Police afterwards claimed that the monk’s injuries were self-inflicted using keys and blades.

28-year-old Murukesupillai Nimalraj has been found dead in Jaffna this morning, reported the Uthayan.

Sri Lanka is using the mask of ‘counterterrorism’ to hide its own terror, whilst increasingly becoming a hub for international crime, said award-winning exiled Tamil journalist J.S. Tissainayagam in a piece for Foreign Policy.

Tissainayagam, a former a Nieman Fellow at Harvard Univeristy, said that by continuing to paint itself as a victim of terrorism, Sri Lanka “absolves itself of its own inaction if not outright compliance with exporting terrorism”.

Whilst Sri Lanka may continue to claim the alleged revival of the LTTE as a reason for receiving international assistance, Tissainayagam argues that meanwhile, with government and military involvement, the island has become a hub for international crime.