"Frankly, Rapp is preparing the ground for human rights violations allegations against Sri Lanka at the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) sessions in March. That was the ulterior motive of his visit to Sri Lanka. We are not surprised at this tweet, as we know that he came to make this kind of statements here, but we urge the members of the UNHRC not to be misled by this kind of imprudent diplomatic mission.”

Whilst meeting the US Ambassador at large for War Crimes, Stephen J. Rapp, Catholic bishops called for an international investigation into Sri Lanka’s use of cluster bombs and chemical weapons against Tamil civilians.

Rev. Rayappu Joseph and Rev. Thomas Saundaranayaga briefed Rapp, who was accompanied by US Ambassador to Sri Lanka Michele Sison, on the use of such weapons by Sri Lankan government forces as well as attacks on hospitals and places of worship, alongside the blockade of food and medicine to Tamil civilians.

A senior military official has said that Tamils in Jaffna are not “pure blood” anymore, due to the amount of blood donated by the Sri Lankan military to Jaffna hospital, reported News First (in Tamil).

An event was held in Vavuniya earlier this week, marking 14 years since the assassination of Tamil politician Kumar Ponnambalam.

Held at the Vavuniya Urban Council, the event saw speakers from across the North-East pay tribute to the prominent human rights lawyer, who was gunned down in Colombo. The Sri Lankan government was accused of being behind the murder, and to date no one has been brought to justice.

Amongst those addressing the audience at the event was the Bishop of Mannar Rayappu Joseph, who stated that Ponnambalam’s advocacy and ideologies continues to encourage people to fight for Tamil rights. He went on to say that it was well known that Sri Lankan government won't concede anything to the Tamils, noting that the Tamils are a Nation, they deserve rights and they deserve to rule themselves in their traditional lands.

Hear more of his speech in Tamil below.

The memorial event was organised by the party Kumar Ponnambalam once led, the All Ceylon Tamil Congress, which is now part of the Tamil National People’s Front and led by his son Gajendrakumar Ponnambalam.

The Tamil Guardian caught up with the Tamil National Alliance's Batticaloa District Parliamentarian, P. Ariyanenthiran in a phone interview last month, and discussed issues such as the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, the Northern Provincial Council elections and the TNA's future plans.

See full interview below.

Sri Lanka's High Commission in Ottawa has said that the Canadian Tamil MP, Rathika Sitsabaiesan's claim of political intimidation during a recent visit to Sri Lanka, was an attempt to "unfairly embarrass the Sri Lankan government", in a statement published on Wednesday.

Stating that the reports of political intimidation were "erroneous", Sri Lanka's High Commission instead argued that she had misinterpreted events due to her own political activities. 

The statement said,

"this stated position could be indicative of her seeking to engage in political activity, and being unable to do so in the interest of abiding by Sri Lanka’s immigration laws and regulations, seems to have been interpreted by her as political intimidation."

It added,

"The reference in the same statement on defending principles of human rights further  demonstrates  a self appointed role to pass judgment baselessly on a sovereign State."

Updated 11:45 GMT

Continuing his visit to the island, the US Ambassador at large for War Crimes, Stephen J. Rapp, is visiting the North-East today, along side the US Ambassador to Sri Lanka, Michele Sison.

A tweet by the US Embassy in Colombo caused controversy after it stated that hundreds of families were killed by army shelling in January 2009, with questions raised on twitter whether this represented the official stance of the US government.

Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa with Israeli President Shimon Peres (@PresRajapaksa)

The Israeli president Shimon Peres has received Sri Lankan president Mahinda Rajapaksa at his residence today, a day after Premier Benjamin Netanyahu held talks with Rajapaksa.

Peres hailed the president as a "great leader" who has brought peace, reconciliation and restoration to his people “which is not a small achievement”, reported Colombo Gazette.

“You have come here as a leader with an impressive record. You have invested your heart and mind and days and nights in peace, and you are seeing the fruits. You have come to a region still in search of peace and reconciliation. Israel is determined to make peace,” Peres said.

 

Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa with Israeli Premier Benjamin Netanyahu (defence.lk)