The Committee for International Solidarity, made up of 14 different organisations from nations around the globe, held a rally in Basel this weekend expressing solidarity with oppressed peoples around the world.

Marching through the centre of Basel, Tamil groups joined Kurds, Catalans, Basques, South American groups and with Swiss left organisations. The rally aimed not only to highlight the solidarity amongst the groups, but also to showcase resistance to oppressive policies of the Swiss state in supporting repressive regimes around the world.

A Tamil family of four from Biloela, who were detained last year by Australian authorities and sent to detention on Christmas Island, will be spending their second Christmas there.

They will await the verdict of their ongoing battle against to gain asylum, at a Federal court hearing in February. The family will remain in detention until the case concludes, with a two day hearing expected around mid-to-late February, with the final date to be confirmed. 

Sri Lankan authorities have arrested a Swiss embassy employee who was allegedly abducted and molested at gunpoint last month, according to the latest media reports from Colombo.

The woman, who the Sri Lankan government prevented from leaving to receive medical treatment in Switzerland, had been interviewed several times by Sri Lanka’s Criminal Investigation Department this week. She was also reported to have undergone a psychiatric examination.

Latest reports indicate that she has now been arrested, supposedly on charges of falsifying evidence.

Sri Lanka’s prime minister Mahinda Rajapaksa slammed attempts at holding the military accountable for war crimes through United Nations resolutions as a humiliation, as he vowed to use “whatever means necessary” to defeat “terrorism”.

Memorials were held across the North-East for Anton Balasingham, chief negotiator and political strategist of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), on the thirteenth anniversary of his death on Saturday.

Sri Lankan authorities have arrested a man who had admitted to being the driver of a ‘white van’ squad that murdered people and fed bodies to crocodiles, as well as another who claimed to have been the victim in a press conference last month.

Douglas Anthony Fernando, the man who had admitted to being the driver of a ‘white van’ and Athula Sanjaya Masanyake, a man who had come out as a victim of the ‘white van’ abduction have both been arrested by the Criminal Investigations Department.

Sri Lankan President, Gotabaya Rajapaksa, met with officials from the Ministry of Power and Energy to discuss issues within the energy sector.

During this meeting, Rajapaksa emphasised the importance of attracting foreign invading into the country to meet increasing energy demands. 

The Minister of Power and Energy stated that whilst there were agreements with foreign countries, many were with private companies and not States and steps would need to be taken to ensure that a proper protocol was followed.

Japan’s Foreign Minister, Toshimitsu Motegi, met with Sri Lankan President, Gotabaya Rajapaksa, to reaffirm their bilateral relationships and commitment to key areas of cooperation despite human rights concerns.

Toshimitsu Motegi greeted the newly appointed President during his three-day visit, congratulating him on his victory and stating that Sri Lanka is a “special friend of Japan”. He further stated, Japan will be hosting a conferenced called “Friends of Asia” to which President Gotabaya Rajapaksa has been invited.

A Muslim councillor who was shot in the head just weeks before the Easter Sunday attacks, described how his warnings to the Sri Lankan police were ignored, adding to evidence that the security forces received intelligence that an attack was due to take place, but may have allowed it to proceed.

In his first interview with journalists, Mohammad Taslim described how he had tried to warn authorities about two brothers, Sadiq and Shaheed Abdul-Haq, and rumours that they had been stockpiling weapons.

However, Sri Lankan authorities took no action.