Gotabaya Rajapaksa officially assumed the duties as the seventh executive President of Sri Lanka today.

The event was attended by former President Maithripala Sirisena and several other Sri Lankan Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) members. Also in attendance were senior Sri Lankan army personnel, including those accused of rights abuses. Douglas, Devananda, the notorious leader of the government-aligned  EPDP paramilitary group, was also present. The group stands accused of a vast array of crimes including assassinations and child trafficking. 

British parliamentary candidates express their concern over the recent election of Gotabaya Rajapaksa as president of Sri Lanka.

The election of Gotabaya Rajapaksa as Sri Lanka’s new president only adds to the suffering of Tamil families searching for their loved ones, writes Aaron Fernandes for SBS News. 

US Secretary of State Michael Pompeo highlighted Sri Lanka’s commitments to “security sector reform, accountability, respect for human rights, and non-recurrence of violence” in a statement marking Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s assumption as president of Sri Lanka.

“The United States congratulates the people of Sri Lanka on their democratic election and stands ready to work with Gotabaya Rajapaksa as the new President of Sri Lanka,” said Pompeo in a statement today.

“We call on President Rajapaksa to uphold Sri Lanka’s commitments to security sector reform, accountability, respect for human rights, and non-recurrence of violence,” he added.

The Vavuniya Agricultural College held a remembrance ceremony to remember a group of Tamil students who were killed by the Sri Lankan army in 2006, when current president Gotabaya Rajapaksa served as Sri Lanka’s secretary of defence.

Atchuthan of Batticaloa, Gopinath of Trincomalee, Rizwan Mohamed of Batticaloa, Sinthujan of Vavuniya and Hindujan from Batticaloa, were all shot dead by the Sri Lankan army.

A group of unidentified Sinhalese men attacked Tamils in Kegalle earlier today, as violence broke out in the aftermath of Sri Lanka’s presidential election this weekend.

Political parties in Tamil Nadu have reacted to Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s victory in the Sri Lankan presidential elections, with many commenting on their fears for the future of the Eelam Tamil people.

Updated 1600 GMT

Sri Lanka’s latest president Gotabaya Rajapaksa vowed to lead the government based on “Buddhist philosophy” and paid tribute to his Sinhalese voters, as he took up the office of president in an overtly religious Buddhist ceremony in Anuradhapura today.

In the wake of Sri Lanka’s presidential elections this weekend, fear has gripped the North-East. Gotabaya Rajapaksa, the man who engineered the massacres of tens of thousands of Tamils a decade ago, is back in power. This time, he occupies the highest office in the land. The result, though unsurprising, is terrifying.

The Sri Lankan presidential elections were watched closely by journalists and human rights observers around the world, with much being written and broadcast during the campaign period, and much more expected in the aftermath of the result.

The Telegraph today captured the fear which rippled through the Tamil North-East, which voted overwhelmingly against Rajapaksa, with record numbers coming out to deliver over 80% of the vote to Sajith Premadasa. Qadijah Irshad speaking to Tamils in the North writes: