In a statement released earlier today, the international NGO Human Rights Watch (HRW) called out the Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa for “pursuing policies that are hostile to the Tamil and Muslim communities” and using the military to “intimidate and suppress human rights activists and the families of victims of enforced disappearance.” 

As Sri Lanka’s economic crisis continues to worsen amidst staggeringly low tourist numbers, visitors from Russia remain the islands highest source of tourists.

Before the coronavirus pandemic, an estimated 200,000 visitors would visit Sri Lanka in February. This year, the number was just 96,507. Leading the way, however were Russian tourists, who made up 15,340 arrivals followed by India with 12,744, UK 10,642, Germany 7,740 and Ukraine 5,620.

However, at least one of those Russian arrivals has caught international attention.

#SriLanka: UN experts call for an immediate moratorium on the use of Sri Lanka’s Prevention of #Terrorism Act, and urge the Government to substantively review and revise the legislation to comply with international human rights law: https://t.co/TsNYNKZbsZ pic.twitter.com/Lq2EwZFJlE

— UN Special Procedures (@UN_SPExperts) March 2, 2022

UN human rights experts have called on the Sri Lankan government to issue an immediate moratorium on the use of the Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA) amidst increasing scrutiny over the draconian legislation.

The risk of default has increased in Sri Lanka as tourist numbers and tea exports are negatively impacted by the conflict in Ukraine.

In recent years Sri Lanka has invested heavily in promoting holidays to citizens from Ukraine and Russia. Last year tourists from Ukraine were amongst the first to visit the island following the government's reopening of borders. Almost a quarter of all tourist arrivals in Sri Lanka this year were from Russia and Ukraine, Bloomberg reports. As the conflict in the Ukraine escalates following Russia's invasion, it is expected that tourists, which provide a vital source of foreign currency to the country, will drop. Last week  Ukrainian tourists in Sri Lanka staged a protest outside the Russian embassy in Colombo

The strict economic sanctions on Russia will damage the exports of tea from Sri Lanka. Russia was the third-biggest buyer of tea from Sri Lanka over the past two years and rose to second place in January. In total it is estimated that tourism and tea earned Sri Lanka more than USD $260 million this year, Bloomberg reports. This figure is due to be severely impacted following the escalation of conflict in Ukraine. Sri Lanka which faces a forex crisis is due to make debt repayments of USD $5.7 billion in 2022, it's foreign reserves dropped to USD $2.36 billion in January. The January foreign reserves only provide 1.4 months worth of import cover. However, critics have pointed out that the actual number to be at USD $800 million of useable reserves, roughly 3 weeks worth of imports. The USD $2.36 billion includes the Chinese swap of 10 billion yuan, which equals roughly USD $1.5 billion. The holding of yuan although bolstering the nation's reserves is not being used to finance vital imports or settle debt repayments as the country spirals into a deepening economic crisis. As the island nation battles with rising inflation, essential good items have reached record highs restricting vulnerable households access to food.

The Sri Lankan government was one of a handful of countries to abstain on a United Nations General Assembly resolution that condemns Russia’s invasion of Ukraine earlier today.

The resolution, supported by 141 of the assembly's 193 members, “deplores in the strongest terms the aggression by the Russian Federation against Ukraine”, demands “the Russian Federation immediately cease its use of force against Ukraine” and “immediately, completely and unconditionally withdraw all of its military forces”.

US Ambassador to Sri Lanka, Julie Chung, made visits to both the Hindu Ponnambalawaneswaram temple and the Buddhist Gangaramaya monastery amidst heightened concerns of religious persecution in Sri Lanka.

When visiting the Buddhist temple, she noted that it “provided valuable insight into the role Buddhism plays in Sri Lanka’s history and culture” whereas the Hindu temple was a “beautiful representation of Sri Lanka’s rich diversity and historic cultural heritage”.

As Russia continues its offensive in Ukraine, it has been accused of launching deadly types of weaponry during its assault – thermobaric and cluster bombs.

Both types of weaponry have been used around the world before, including in Sri Lanka. We look back at their deployment by the Sri Lankan military.

With global outrage and distress at Russia’s actions, however, there has also been growing dismay around the world at the radically different lens through which Western states have viewed Moscow’s offensive and Ukraine’s resistance to it. The past week has made it abundantly clear to many peoples around the world; it is not that Western states do not understand the politics of resistance to oppression. It is that they deem some nations or people as apparently unworthy of practising it.

The Sri Lankan government plans to recruit youth volunteers to monitor and report political, criminal and social activities to police across the country.

The Daily Mirror reports, that the Sri Lankan government plans to recruit at least two youths for each 'Grama Nildhari Division' who will directly report to and assist police officers in obtaining individual and community participation in various activities within their respective 'Grama Niladhari' (GN). There are currently 14,022 GN's across the country, which are a sub-unit of a divisional secretariat, in which there are 331.

The Ministry of Public Security in collaboration with the State Ministry of Community Police Service and the Sri Lanka Police has taken steps to deploy two full-time "community assistants" to each GN division under the Community Police Service Programme.

Young people over 18 years of age residing permanently in the relevant GN division who have held School Prefect positions and active in youth clubs and other voluntary services could apply for Community Assistants positions, a memo to the cabinet prepared by Public Security Minister Sarath Weerasekara had noted.

A Sri Lankan soldier was seen videoing locals signing the 'repeal the Prevention of Terrorism Act' (PTA) petition in Kodikamam this morning. 

Ignoring the soldier's intimidation tactics, locals bravely continued to sign the petition which was initiated last month demanding the Sri Lankan government to repeal the PTA. The PTA has been widely criticised for its disproportionate use against Tamils and Muslims and for suppressing civil society on the island.