Former Sri Lankan president Chandrika Kumaratunga praised the history of the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) in a statement this week, where she urged party members to “think wisely” before voting in the upcoming election.

Kumaratunga, who is accused of overseeing the bombing of schools and churches during her tenure as president, slammed the current Sri Lankan president for allowing the party to back Gotabaya Rajapaksa in next month’s presidential election.

She stated Sirisena had “betrayed the party to the conspiracists” in a statement and went on to laud the achievements of the SLFP.

Sinhalese majoritarianism remains a problem in Sri Lanka, said anthropologist Syed Mohammad Ali, calling on it to be “rolled back” to achieve reconciliation on the island.

Writing in The Express Tribune, an English-language daily based in Pakistan, he compared the history of the island to that of Rwanda, stating that...

<p>The Attorney General has instructed to charge three suspects, including former Navy Commander, Admiral Wasantha&nbsp;Karannagoda, in connection to the&nbsp;abduction of eleven&nbsp;predominantly Tamil youths in 2008 - 2009.&nbsp;</p> <p>Lieutenant Commander Nilantha&nbsp;Sampath&nbsp;Munasinghe and businessman Anton Fernando are the other two suspects to be indicted.</p> <p>Nishantha Silva, the Criminal Investigations Department's (CID) OIC, informed the court that a senior government counsel is drafting the charges against Wasantha Karannagoda.</p>

A test flight to Jaffna from Chennai landed at Palaly airport yesterday, marking the first successful commercial flight from India to the Jaffna peninsula in decades.

The Alliance Air flight made its arrival, ahead of Palaly airport’s official commercial opening on Thursday.

Sri Lanka’s former defence secretary laughed off blame for the disappearance and execution of surrendering Tamils during the final phase of the armed conflict a decade ago, claiming he had no responsibility over what happened.

“I was not the commander of the army,” Gotabaya Rajapaksa told a press conference yesterday when asked about surrendering Tamils who had disappeared. In the same press conference, Rajapaksa had earlier rejected a UN Human Rights Council resolution on accountability for mass atrocities committed during his tenure as defence secretary.

<p>On May 21 2009, Sarojini Naganathan had a final&nbsp;phone call with her son, Rajiv Naganathan, a 19 year old who was&nbsp;abducted on September 17 2008, reports the Sunday Observer in a piece this week.&nbsp;</p> <p>Rajiv was one&nbsp;of 11 predominantly Tamil youths&nbsp;at the centre of an abduction for ransom racket run by Sri Lanka Navy personnel.</p>

The spectre of the LTTE is “is always raised by the Sinhala-majority political parties, ahead of an election” notes R.K. Radhakrishnan in Frontline magazine on Tuesday, after a former Tamil fighter was arrested in Kilinochchi this week.

"Although there has been no terror incident involving the Tamils in Sri Lanka since the conclusion of the war between the Sri Lankan state and the Tamil Tigers in 2009, the LTTE bogey is always raised by the Sinhala-majority political parties, ahead of an election,” he writes. “It is no different for the presidential election to be held on November 16.”

A former LTTE cadre was arrested on Saturday after Sri Lankan police claimed to have received a tip-off that he was hoarding weapons.

<p>UNP Presidential candidate, Sajith Premadasa has called for the implementation of death penalties on “terrorists”.</p> <p>Speaking at the New Democratic Front rally in Nittambuwa, the presidential candidate said;&nbsp;</p> <blockquote><p> "The death penalty must not be regulated it must be implemented,” </p></blockquote> <p>His call for the death penalty was followed by calls for greater surveillance in order to “defeat terrorism”.</p> <blockquote><p> "Information must be obtained from individuals in all communities who have a great vision for the country,"&nbsp; </p></blockquote>

Sri Lanka’s former defence secretary and frontrunner in next months’ presidential elections Gotabaya Rajapaksa has vowed to reject a UN Human Rights Council resolution on accountability for mass atrocities, which the current government has co-sponsored.