President Mahinda Rajapaksa has warned against the threat posed by social media site Facebook, used by those who are pushing for a change of government in Sri Lanka.

Speaking at a rally in Hanwella, Rajapaksa said the country’s youth was being drawn to believe the propaganda distributed on Facebook, reported Colombo Gazette, adding that some people claimed he would face the same fate as Libya’s Colonel Muammar Gaddafi.

The president said that as long as he has the support of the Sri Lankan public, no one will be able to harm him and that he used the powers of the executive presidency to end the war, as the people desired.

Rajapaksa also said he would not remove the High Security Zones, nor would he reduce the military presence in the north, as he will not compromise national security and allow the country to be divided.

The Sri Lankan military is interfering with the functioning of schools in the North says the president of the Ceylon Teachers' Union.

The head of the organisation, Joseph Stalin, said that more than 69 schools under the  Palaly Teachers Training College division remain shut down and occupied by the military.

The Sri Lanka Muslim Congress (SLMC) on Sunday announced that the party will support the common opposition candidate in the upcoming presidential elections.

The SLMC leader, and government’s former justice minister, Rauf Hakeem, announced the decision after sending his resignation to Mahinda Rajapaksa.

Addressing media, Hakeem said that the SLMC had taken the decision after several rounds of discussions with the government and the opposition candidate.

The Sri Lankan government has stated it fears the latest defection from the ruling alliance by the Sri Lanka Muslim Congress (SLMC) is part of an international conspiracy to divide the country.

The ruling United People's Freedom Alliance (UPFA) General Secretary Susil Premajayantha stated that in negotiations the SLMC had demanded a separate Muslim administrative district.

Aalen, Germany

Tamils in Germany held remembrance events on Friday in memory of victims of the tsunami that hit the North-East of the island of Sri Lanka, and across South Asia, 10 years ago.

Events took place in Berlin, Aalen, and Essen where Tamils gathered by the newly erected Mullivaikkal memorial.

The police Special Task Force (STF) has been deployed in regions of Sri Lanka following clashes between opposition and government supporters on Friday night.

Government supporters arrived at an opposition election rally and attacked vehicles of opposition members, including that of the former president, Chandrika Kumaratunga, reports the Colombo Gazette.
 
Clashes occurred after a rally was held in Beruwala in support of the common opposition presidential candidate, Maithripala Sirisena.