If Tamils demanded devolution then “a river of blood will flow in the North and East,” warned a group of extremist Sinhala Buddhist monks as they reacted to the release of the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) manifesto.

“Devolution means secession,” said the monks, in remarks reported by Kalaikathir. “It means a separate state. A solution through devolution would divide Sri Lanka.”

“We will not allow the Tamils to find a solution through devolution. If they demand a separate state again, a river of blood will flow in the North and East.”

The Sri Lankan government is set to introduce a de-radicalisation process for terror suspects and detainees, under the Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA), according to the Sunday Times.

It vows to include “all those in detention for holding violent extremist views, those who have undergone weapons training and/or have engaged in violent activities.”

Sri Lankan navy officers assaulted a group of Tamil fishermen, leaving one man hospitalised with severe injuries.

The incident prompted the local fisherman in the area to gather and express their discontent in protest over the unprovoked attack near the Mannar bridge, yesterday.  

Sri Lanka is in negotiations with China regarding a currency swap, according to the Daily Mirror.

A Chinese embassy representative said that the People's Bank of China (PBOC) and the Central Bank of Sri Lanka (CBSL) would have a “negotiated amount” and “concrete developments” by the end of this month. 

On the 13 July 1985, the initial draft of the Thimpu principles was read aloud during “peace” negotiations mediated by the Indian government. Whilst the supposed peace negotiations have themselves come under criticism as merely being a ploy by the Sri Lankan government to stall the armed conflict and rearm themselves, this was a defining moment in the Tamil liberation struggle. It was the first time that a coalition of Tamil political organisations had unanimously agreed on a set of basic principles which centred on the right to self-determination.

Former TNA MP and Kilinochchi candidate Sivagnanam Sritharan backtracked on comments he made comparing TNA spokesperson M A Sumanthiran with LTTE political strategist Anton Balasingham, just three days after making the initial remarks.

Following weeks of controversy after Sumanthiran was criticised for expressing anti-LTTE sentiments which he was forced to recant, Sritharan urged Tamils to accept Sumanthiran’s “immense skillset and analytical strategies”, even commenting on his resemblance to Anton Balasingham.

Elliot Colburn, MP for Carshalton and Wallington, was elected as the new Chair for the All-Party Parliamentary Group for Tamils (APPGT).

"I am delighted to have been elected as chair of the APPG for Tamils. My constituency is home to a significant population of Tamils, making Tamil the second language in the borough of Sutton," the MP said in a press release. 

A committee of seven members has been assigned by Sri Lankan president Gotabaya Rajapaksa to explore possibilities of granting pardons to convicts imprisoned for ‘minor offences’.

The committee is reported to be headed by the lawyer Kalinga Indatissa. Official estimates of prisoners in Sri Lanka is currently 26,000, a great deal higher than the maximum limit the prisons are intended to hold. The measure is purportedly to reduce overcrowding in prisons.

The Sri Lankan navy announced it has “doubled” its patrol units in the Northern seas, after a father and daughter from Mannar crossed “illegally” to the island, after decades living as refugees in India.

Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) Chairman G.L. Peiris claimed yesterday that a two-thirds majority was needed to draft legislation that would “rid the country of extremism” and “strengthen the defence apparatus”.