Two Provincial Councils in the Sinhala south, Sabaragamuwa and Southern, have passed resolutions supporting the government’s move to change the 13th Amendment to the Sri Lankan constitution.

The government planned to repeal provisions that would enable “Parliament to legislate on subjects allocated to the provincial councils” and to prevent “the scope for merger of two or more provincial councils”, reported the Daily Mirror.

Sri Lanka has called for the provision of greater market access to India in an attempt to help increase Sri Lankan exports and reduce the growing trade deficit with India, reported Colombo Page.

"On the first day, 30th May 2013, an intelligence officer of the Army had come to seminar, but the President of the MCC had told him that this was a program dealing with purely civil matters and that his presence was disturbing. He had left without saying any word.

Two Sri Lankan defence officers receiving, Indian government sponsored, training in Tamil Nadu have left the state, following strong opposition form political parties  and other organisations.

The discontent climaxed yesterday, when over 200 workers from the Naam Tamizhar Katchi organisation protested at the military campus of the Madras Regiment Centre.

An Indian minister has defended the decision to continue the training of officers form the Sri Lankan Army.

Union Minister of State for Commerce and Industry Sudarsana Natchiappan said consequences on the strategic relationship between Sri Lanka and India have to be considered.

Writing in the Financial Times, Gideon Rachman said leaders of Commonwealth nations should "feel sick about accepting hospitality from a government with so grim a rights record".

See extracts below, for full article click here.

The world is so busy cheering on the emergence of democracy in Myanmar that it is in danger of averting its eyes from the assault on democracy in another Asian state – Sri Lanka.