Speaking at the International Cuban Solidarity Day held in Colombo, the minister for housing and construction, Wimal Weerawansa said, 

“The country which is the most insecure in this world is US. They live with an insecure mentality. That is why the American police have imprisoned five Cuban patriots while labelling them as terrorists when those people have done nothing wrong.”

TNA MP and TELO political coordinator, Sivajalingam, was arrested and detained by the Sri Lankan Army on Thursday for remembering the massacre of political prisoners at Welikade prison during the 1983 pogrom, reported TamilNet. 

Posters had been put up remembering the 54 Tamil prisoners that were killed by their Sinhala inmates, including TELO leaders, Kuddimani and Thangathurai. 

"When you start deporting, then this problem will ease for us,"

“We assumed that the threat came from Sinhalese extremists.”

Paramilitary operatives are reportedly intimidating and threatening voters in the district of Batticaloa, TamilNet reported.

Voters have been threatened that they will be driven out of the area if they are found to be voting for the TNA (Tamil National Alliance) party at the forthcoming election to the eastern provincial council.

The first Tamil asylum seeker to be deported from Australia since the end of the 2009 massacre, Dayan Anthony, has withdrawn all claims of torture and mistreatment by Sri Lankan authorities , immediately after being released from 16 hours of interrogation in Sri Lankan police custody.

Mr Anthony was released from Sri Lankan police custody and was presented at a media conference, warning of the ‘dangers’ of getting involved with people smugglers.

Ceylon Petroleum Corp, the Sri Lankan state-owned oil company, failed in its appeal to have a London court ruling over turned.

The ruling last year ordered the company to pay $162 million plus interest for non-payment of dues to Standard Chartered Bank.

The company appealed against the ruling; however government officials announced on Friday that this had failed.

The ever-growing Sri Lankan Defence Ministry may now also be taking over the Prisons Department, annulling the already existing Ministry according to reports.

According to ColomboPage, sources stated that the move is being considered “due to the deterioration of discipline in prisons”.

Just last week, a branch of the Ministry of Defence also announced their latest “commercial venture” – catering services.