A new organisation will be launched by the Buddhist clergy in Sri Lanka, to “protect and safeguard” Buddhism, reported Ceylon Today.

The head of the Malwatte Chapter informed senior ministers of the decision to start this organisation, which will be made up of Buddhist monks.

The Sri Lankan government has accused the outgoing UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay of seeking to influence the OHCHR Investigation in Sri Lanka (OISL).

In a statement released on Thursday, the External Affairs Ministry said it “regretted” comments made by the High Commissioner earlier this week, saying that the access to Sri Lanka was not necessary for the investigation to be credible.

“The High Commissioner who is scheduled to leave office at the end of this month making public pronouncements to the media on an investigation which has commenced only recently is a clear indication of personal bias. It is evidence of an attempt to influence the investigation process and make it follow a preconceived trajectory,” the statement said.

Sri Lanka criticised the “prejudiced” High Commissioner for attempting to create a “distorted impression" of Sri Lanka.

Sri Lanka’s President Mahinda Rajapaksa announced on Thursday that the government will provide $1mn in financial aid to the Palestinians.

The government’s official news portal said that the president “has been a long-time supporter of the Palestinian cause and is the Founder President of the Sri Lanka Committee for Solidarity with Palestine”.

Earlier this year President Rajapaksa visited Palestine, where he met Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.

(Pictures: TamilWin)

Sri Lanka’s Permanent Representative to the UN in Geneva, Ravinath Aryasinha, held talks with the commander of the Sri Lankan Army, General Daya Ratnayake, at the army headquarters on Tuesday.

Aryasinha, who is also Sri Lanka’s Consul General to Switzerland, and Ratnayake discussed “matters of relevance and various world-wide developments taking place in relation to Sri Lanka”, according to the army's website.

Officials from the Jaffna District Office have collected details of households over the last weekend, reported the Uthayan.

Residents were asked by regional secretaries to list individuals in each household, and details were collected about empty houses, rented houses and the homeless.

No explanation was given to the local population.