A motion on Sri Lanka, put forward by the SPD opposition parliamentary group, was rejected in parliament on Thursday, according to the Sri Lankan embassy in Berlin.

The motion called for more pressure by Germany on Sri Lanka, and encouraged it to play an active role in the current UN Human Rights Council session.

Sixteen Indian fishermen have been arrested by the Sri Lankan Navy reports the DailyMirror.lk.

The fishermen were arrested along with their three trawlers off the coast of Kalpitiya on Sunday morning, said the Navy spokesperson, Commander Kosala Warnakulasuriya. 

Speaking to The Hindu on Saturday, the Sri Lankan president commented on Sri Lanka's relationship with India, with particular reference to the arrest of fishermen, stating:

The United States has expressed "really deep concerns" over human rights in Sri Lanka and noted that the government has not taken any steps to initiate an investigation into allegations of war crimes.

Speaking at the US State Department's Daily Press Briefing, Acting Deputy  Spokesperson Patrick Ventrell noted the "strong concern" over violations of international humanitarian law in Sri Lanka. The question has been reproduced below.

Sri Lanka’s Foreign Minister GL Peiris has had a busy schedule over the last week, visiting both Palestinian and Israeli Presidents in visits to Ramallah and Jerusalem.

On meeting Palestinian President Mahmood Abbas in Ramallah, the Sri Lankan Ministry of Defence reported,

The Sri Lankan Army has opened a cinema at their Jaffna headquarters, and what better way to inaugurate the building than to provide free transport to Tamil primary school children and their teachers to watch a screening.

Cairn Lanka has abandoned an oil exploration well in the Mannar basin, after no traces of oil or gas were found.

“The well was plugged and abandoned and the rig is being demobilised. The Petroleum Resourced Development Secretariat (PRDS) is being notified,” said Cairn India, which owns Cairn Lanka

The Sri Lankan government has again requested the TNA to engage in talks to discuss power sharing, but only through the controversial Parliamentary Select Committee.

In an interview with The Hindu, Sri Lankan president Mahinda Rajapaksa has denied that the Sri Lankan Army killed the 12 year old son of the LTTE leader, Balachandran Prabakaran.

Rajapakse is quoted as saying:

“Had it happened, I would have known [it]. It is obvious that if somebody [from the armed forces] had done that, I must take responsibility. We completely deny it. It can’t be,”

“We must not merely look at one side. They must not merely listen to one group and the Opposition [in Sri Lanka]. So they [the Opposition] are trying to get the support of other countries to create an ‘Arab Spring’ here. That won’t happen in Sri Lanka.”

The Social Democratic Party’s parliamentary group at the Bundestag has proposed a motion to urge the German government to act on Sri Lanka.

The motion details the accusations made by UN reports, including torture and abuse, extra-judicial killings and violence against women, singling out Tamil women as victims of the military and the police.

The documentary “ No Fire Zone: The Killing Fields of Sri Lanka”, illustrating war crimes and human rights abuses by the Sri Lankan government, was screened in a side-line event today at the United Nations Human Rights Council amidst strong formal opposition from the Sri Lankan delegation.

The Sri Lankan delegation strongly opposed the event, lodging a formal protest to the United Nations. Despite boycotting the event, Sri Lanka’s ambassador to the United Nations in Geneva, Ravinatha Aryasinha, made an appearance at the end of the screening. In an attempt to discredit the documentary he said,

“By providing a platform for the screening of this film which includes footage of dubious origin, content that is distorted and without proper sourcing and making unsubstantiated allegations, the sponsors of this event seek to tarnish the image of Sri Lanka.”