US Secretary of State, Mike Pompeo, has arrived in Sri Lanka as part of his larger trip which includes stops at India, the Maldives, and Indonesia.

Responding to US Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of State, Dean Thompson’s, statement that US Secretary of State, Mike Pompeo, will “continue to urge Sri Lanka to advance democratic governance, human rights [and] reconciliation”, China accused the US of coercion and bullying.

The United National Party has alleged that Sri Lankan Muslim Congress (SLMC) has betrayed their voters made a “secret deal” with the Rajapaksas in exchange for votes on the 20^th Amendment.

The 20^th amendment, which seeks to centralise power within the executive presidency and removes checks and balances on the presidency, passed on 22 October. The amendment was passed with support from opposition MPs voting alongside Rajapaksa’s Sri Lankan Podujana Peramuna (SLPP), including four MPs from the SLMC. Only SLMC leader, Rauff Hakeem, opposed the measure. The amendment passed with 156 parliamentarians voting for the amendment whilst 65 votes against.

In response to US Secretary of State, Mike Pompeo’s, visit Sri Lanka Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP), accompanied by Sinhala Buddhist monks, have staged a protest outside the US Embassy in Colombo against what they see as US “imperial ambitions” attempting to undermine Sri Lankan sovereignty.

“The people of Sri Lanka have no intention of tying its fortunes to a regime, which has been violating every decent principle of international cooperation, collaboration and diplomacy”, read the JVP statement.

As US Secretary of State Mike Pomepo lands in Colombo today, close attention will be paid to his meetings at Temple Trees, where he will meet with Sri Lanka’s war crimes-accused president and prime minister. The Sri Lankan government will no doubt spin this as an US attempt to court the regime in Colombo or even as international applause for how the Rajapaksa siblings have ruled since they returned to power. The Secretary of State must make clear that this is far from the case. 

The Colombo-based Defence Advisors of Australia, Bangladesh, China, India, Japan, Pakistan, Russia, United States and the United Kingdom held a meeting with the war crimes accused head of the Sri Lankan military last week, to discuss the government’s response to the coronavirus pandemic.

Sri Lankan Opposition leader, Sajith Premadasa, has called for the reinstatement of the death penalty for “terrorists and drug dealers”.

The call for reimplementing the death penalty, which has currently been on a hiatus for the past 44 years, follows discussions between Sri Lanka’s Justice Minister, Ali Sabry and Premadasa on the removal of constitutional checks within the 20^th amendment.

Speaking in parliament, JVP MP, Vijitha Herath, claimed that the murder of Makandure Madush, a notorious drug “kingpin” who was under police custody at the Maligawatte Housing complex, was done to protect 80 politicians complicit in drug trafficking.

According to Sri Lanka’s police, Madush who had taken the police officers to the housing complex to recover a stock of heroin was killed when a shootout ensued at the complex. Two police officers were also injured during the shootout.

A biopic of Velupillai Prabhakaran, the leader of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) is back in the works according to an announcement made by Kollywood actor Bobby Simha last week.

The actor told his fans on social media that the film titled “Seerum Puli” - 'Raging Tiger', in which Simha would play the lead role could be expected for release soon. It is expected to chronicle the early life of Prabhakaran and chart his rise as a liberation fighter.

Ahead of US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo’s visit to Sri Lanka tomorrow, Tamils families of the disappeared in Vavuniya called on the United States to ensure that it pushes into the wherabouts of their disappeared loved ones, as roadside protests continue across the North-East.