A resolution on stopping the military from being invited to take part in school and civil events in the Northern Province will be considered by the NPC, reports Uthayan.

Speaking to press after a meeting with the French ambassador, the Chairman of the Northern Provincial Council, C V J Sivagnanam, outlined that the resolution was being discussed and drafted within the Council leadership.

The Sri Lankan government has expressed its regret at the “unconstitutional removal” of the President of Ukraine, Viktor Yanukovych.

In a statement, the External Affairs Ministry said the removal aggravated the political crisis.

The Health Minister for the Northern Province, Dr P Sathiyalingam, stated that families had made complaints that over 100 acres of land in the Vavuniya, were in the process of being appropriated by the Sri Lankan government to settle Sinhala military families.

The minister reiterated that the land was native to Tamils, and had been occupied by the military, whilst civilians fled the region during the end of the ethnic armed conflict in 2009.

Tamil National Alliance MP and spokesperson, Suresh Premachandran said the UN Human Rights Council resolution addressing accountability in Sri Lanka was not satisfying and called for it to be strengthened, reports the Thinakurral newspaper.

According to Thinakkural, the Jaffna MP met with representatives at the US embassy on the island, demanding an international mechanism that will address accountability and for the subject of demilitarisation to be explicitly mentioned in the draft resolution.

The speaker for the Northern Provincial Council S Sivagnanam met with the French Ambassador earlier this week, where he described the ubiquitous militarisation in the North and asserted that normality could not return whilst the army occupied the region.

Acclaimed journalist J. S. Tissainayagam, wrote in Asian Correspondent on Wednesday, calling for a strengthening of a United Nations Human Rights Council resolution on accountability in Sri Lanka, stating one that does is not “will only enhance turmoil and violence”.

Tissainayagam was detained by Sri Lanka's Terrorism Investigation Division in 2008 and sentenced to 20 years of "rigorous punishment" for inciting "communal feelings". Following international pressure, including a mention from US President Barack Obama, Tissainayagam was eventually pardoned and is currently living in exile.

See his full piece in the Asian Correspondent here.

Extracts have been reproduced below.

Language in the draft resolution now before the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) for an investigation into past and ongoing human rights abuses in Sri Lanka lacks teeth say critics. A resolution that establishes a weak investigating body will only render ineffectual what the international community says it is working for – strengthening human rights to promote reconciliation in a country recovering from war.

Adding to this, post-war militarisation in the former warzone of northern and eastern Sri Lanka, continues to spawn grave human rights abuses – disappearance, torture and sexual violence. In the face of Colombo’s stonewalling, the only option for justice and accountability for past and ongoing violations was an international investigation.

The TNA met with US and UK diplomats in Colombo, in order to discuss the resolution tabled on Sri Lanka at the UN Human Rights Council, reported the Daily Mirror.

The TNA delegation, led by the TNA leader R. Sampanthan and including MP Mavai Senathiraja and MP MA Sumanthiran, met with the British High Commissioner John Rankin and US Embassy Chargé d’Affaires William Weinsteinin on Monday.

Speaking to the Daily Mirror Mr. Sumanthiran said,

“Yes we met the British High Commissioner and the Deputy Ambassador and a US embassy official and discussed the ongoing UNHRC sessions."

A report by the Human Rights Law Centre has found that Autralia’s policy of cooperating with the Sri Lankan government on the issue of asylum seekers’ arrival by boat, prevents genuine refugees from accessing safety and increases the likelihood of being subject to torture.

The country currently seeks to stop boats carrying refugees from entering Australia’s territorial waters, and cooperates with the Sri Lankan government to return the people. HLRC accused Australia of blocking the escape of people in need of protection, saying that historically, 90% of arrivals from the island were found to be genuine refugees.

The Jaffna University Student’s Union has expressed disappointment in the omission of international investigation mechanisms in a proposed draft of the UN Human Rights Council resolution on Sri Lanka. In a statement released on Monday, the Union said:

“The current draft resolution’s exclusion of proposals for an international investigation mechanism – for which Tamil demands have been firm – has disappointed those affected [by war crimes].”

“It is important to note that in the case of Sri Lanka, a domestic investigation is impossible.”

The former head of the Sri Lankan Air Force, Harsha Abeywickrema, will be appointed as the new chairman of the Bank of Ceylon this week.

Abeywickrama resigned from his post with the air force last week and was in charge of air operations during the final phase of the armed conflict. Under his command, the air force is thought to have taken part in indiscriminate attacks on civilians.