A Tamil woman who has been protesting for more than three years, demanding information on her forcibly disappeared grandson, passed away on Wednesday.

Selvam Sivapakkiyam, originally from Mukamalai, Jaffna, but temporarily living in Puthukkudiyiruppu, has been joined hundreds of other Tamil protestors across the North-East, as she searched for her grandson in Mullaitivu. 

A group of Tamil torture survivor, who suffered rights violations at the hands of Sri Lankan security forces, wrote to the UN human rights chief earlier this week, criticising her failure to acknowledge ongoing torture on the island.

Your report this week… caused us great hurt and anguish,” said the letter. “You erased us from the record.”

Sri Lanka’s foreign minister spoke out against member states who had expressed disappointment at Colombo’s withdrawal from a UN resolution this morning, as he launched a staunch defence of the Sri Lankan army chief who was recently subjected to sanctions by the United States.

The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights expressed her “regret” at the Sri Lankan government’s announcementof officially withdrawing co-sponsorship of a resolution and called on the Human Rights Council to “to remain alert to this situation in terms of prevention and to explore all possible avenues for advancing accountability”.

Sri Lanka’s foreign minister has officially announced the country’s decision to withdraw from co-sponsorship of the UN Human Rights Council resolutions ‘Promoting reconciliation, accountability and human rights in Sri Lanka’.

Speaking in Geneva on Wednesday, minister of foreign relations Dinesh Gunawardena criticised the previous government’s decision to co-sponsor Resolution 30/1 and subsequent resolutions.

“It remains to date a blot on the sovereignty and dignity of Sri Lanka,” he said.

The paramilitary leader Pillayan who is in detention over the 2005 assassination of TNA MP Joseph Pararajasingham has had his remand extended by the Batticaloa High Court.

The Batticaloa High Court judge adjourned the trial further until March 17, extending the remand of Sivanesathurai Chandrakanthan, alias Pillayan, formerly a deputy of LTTE defector turned paramilitary leader Karuna.

In October last year, Pillayan was visited in jail by current Sri Lankan prime minister Mahinda Rajapaksa.

Tamil journalist Puniyamoorthy Sathiyamoorthy, who was killed by Sri Lankan army shelling in the ‘No Fire Zone’ 11 years ago, was commemorated in Batticaloa this week.

Sathiyamoorthy was massacred alongside tens of thousands of other Tamils during the military offensive more than a decade ago, as he sheltered inside a government declared ‘No Fire Zone’. The area was repeatedly subjected to Sri Lankan military shelling, despite the state’s pledges.

Sri Lanka’s defence secretary lashed out at Tamil politicians this week, as he criticised demands for “devolution of power” and offered military training to Zambia.

Kamal Gunaratne celebrated the defeat of the LTTE in a meeting with a visiting Zambian army official, but claimed the “the challenge of defeating its separatist ideology still remains”.

“Some Tamil politicians are attempting to propagate it in the minds of Tamil people,” continued Gunaratne.

Sri Lanka’s former foreign minister Mangala Samaraweera claimed his regime saved current prime minister Mahinda Rajapaksa from the “electric chair” and “saved” Sri Lankan soldiers from international prosecution, as he addressed parliament last week.

News First reported Samaraweera telling parliament that the former regime’s decision to co-sponsor a resolution at the UN Human Rights Council “saved Mahinda Rajapaksa from the electric chair”.

Economy Next reported that the former foreign minister added co-sponsorship “stopped international investigations against the brave soldiers who fought the war and their leaders”.

Sri Lankan security forces have released 41 Tamil youths without any charges, after they were arrested during a raid on a hotel in Maruthanarmadam in Jaffna on Monday evening.

A Sri Lankan army officer confirmed that the raid was carried out yesterday evening, with armed Special Task Force (STF) officers, following a tip off that security forces had received.

The arrested Tamils were taken to Chunnakam police station for further questioning. After interrogations and police ensuring that there were no pending arrest warrants or cases against them, all the youth were subsequently released.