Sri Lanka’s president Gotabaya Rajapakasa, has announced an all Sinhala task force, which includes Buddhist monks and the head of the Derana media network, to “preserve the historical heritage of Sri Lanka” in the island’s Eastern province.

The announcement, made through a gazette release this morning, comes after the president met with the Buddhist Maha Sanga last week to discuss Buddhist sites in the East.

Former Prime Minister and leader of the UNP, Ranil Wickremesinghe has urged Sri Lanka to enter into a free trade agreement with India, stating that there was “no option” and that it was necessary to recover from the economic impact of the coronavirus.

Sri Lanka’s president Gotabaya Rajapaksa announced a Presidential Task Force consisting entirely of military and police personnel to build a “secure country and a disciplined, virtuous, and lawful society,” as the state continued with its militarisation of the island.

An elderly disabled man was falsely accused and arrested by police officers and tortured in custody. A complaint regarding the incident has been lodged at the Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka, in Jaffna.

In his complaint, he stated that he was brutally tortured on the night of the incident by the police officers and arrested under a false accusation, despite not being involved.  

<p>Sri Lanka plans to reopen its tourism industry on August 1 by allowing small groups of tourists to visit the island.</p> <p>Speaking to Reuters, Kimali Fernando, chairperson of the Sri Lanka Tourism Promotion Bureau said that visitors will be able to visit from August and “stay in approved five-star hotels that have put strict safety measures in place.”</p> <p>Tourists will be required to carry a “COVID-19 free” certificate issued by their governments and will also need to wait on arrival at the airport for coronavirus testing.</p>

Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa has vowed to overhaul the prison systems in Sri Lanka to eradicate the criminal underworld however the appointment of war criminals to head these reforms is a reason for concern.

Tamil National Alliance (TNA) leader R Sampanthan refused to answer several questions on Sri Lanka’s flag and the armed Tamil struggle in a hot-headed interview with Sooriyan FM last week, where he distanced himself from spokesperson M A Sumanthiran as the party’s senior leadership continued to come under criticism.

Speaking to Sooriyan FM, Sampanthan became visibly irate during the interview, shaking his fist and refusing to elaborate on several questions, stating that many topics were “old stories”.

The United National Party (UNP) has cancelled the membership of 99 members who joined the Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB), which includes the membership of deputy leader Sajith Premadasa.

The SJB is a breakaway political faction which seeks to contest the 2020 Sri Lankan elections which have been postponed due to the outbreak of the coronavirus.

Commemoration events to mark 39 years since the burning down of the Jaffna Public Library, were observed yesterday in Jaffna.

The library, which housed over 95,000 unique Tamil literature, was targeted and set ablaze by Sri Lankan security forces and state-sponsored mobs on the midnight of May 31, 1981.

Sri Lanka’s Supreme Court has unanimously dismissed a petition challenging the president Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s decision to reconvene parliament.

Rajapaksa had dissolved parliament, with hopes of holding a general election to build on his party’s popularity after his electoral victory in presidential polls last year. However, the coronavirus pandemic has led to the elections being delayed.