The Sri Lankan military has announced that soldiers were removed from "most" of the army check-points in Colombo on Saturday, reports Xinhua.

The army spokesperson, Ruwan Wanigasooriya, said,

"We removed most of the army checkposts in the city on Saturday and handed it over to the police. This is as a result of the continuing improvements we see in the security of the city,"

According to Xinhua, the sri Lankan army headquarters is due to be relocated outside of Colombo to make room for 5-star hotels.

Meanwhile the government has rebuked any calls to de-militarise the North-East.

See here and here for comments by Mahinda Rajapaksa and here for comments by Gotabaya Rajapaksa.

See also:

Military marks 4000 acres for construction in Mullaitheevu (02 Jun 2012)

Confirming that the UN High Commissioner for human rights, Navi Pillay has been invited to Sri Lanka to "observe its post-war development and reconciliation efforts", former attorney general, Mohan Peiris, asserted that "he government has not extended any invitation to any fact finding mission".

According to the official website of the Ministry of Defence (see here), Peiris said,

Commenting on a bill proposed by the Ministry of Justice which seeks to extend the time that police are allowed to detain a suspect from 24 to 48 hours, the President's Counsel, MP Wijedasa Rajapaksha, asserted that “even if the amendments were not brought and the law stayed as it is the torture would not stop."

Wijedasa Rajapaksha made those comments responding to queries stating that the extra time under police custody would increase the torture of suspects.

Addressing United Nations Day of Vesak celebrations in Bangkok on Saturday, Sri Lanka's president Mahinda Rajapaksa said:

“The superiority of one individual or a group of people or community, therefore, is not through a particular divine right or by virtue of their birth, but by their actions.  The manner in which one group conducts itself will determine whether it is worthy of a higher or lower label. "

A senior Buddhist monk from south London has been jailed for sexually assaulting an underage girl.

Pahalagama Somartana, 65, of the Thames Buddhist temple in Selsdon, was sentenced to seven years in jail after being found guilty of carrying out four sexual attacks on a girl aged between 8 and 9 at the time of the attacks. The court heard how Somaratana, a Sinhalese originally from Sri Lanka, enticed his victim to his room with sweets before touching her.

Sri Lankan Army has been constructing houses in Thirumurukandi, Mullaitheevu district, after seizing 4,000 acres of land reports Uthayan.

Project “War Heroes Housing Scheme” started last year intending to establish one thousand houses, fully equipped with modern facilities, for 'disabled' Sri Lankan soldiers. It has recruited over 2000 Sinhala construction workers from the southern part of Sri Lanka.

Sri Lanka is to request a further US$500 million after the completion of the Standby Arrangement (SBA) of US$2.6 billion next month, the International Monetary Cooperation Senior Minister, Sarath Amunugama, revealed on Wednesday.

Amunugama said,

A report by the Tamil rights group, Tamils Against Genocide (TAG), provides primary evidence supporting the claims of torture against failed asylum seekers, and Tamils deemed to be political active.

Find report here.

See TamilNet article here.

One signed witness statement, which we should warn is extremely distressing, said:

"... about 5 CID officers beat me. And pushed me roughly and tightly. They hit my head against the wall and tore my T shirt off. Then one person untied the knots in my hand and ordered me to undress. They forced me to undress and then beat me left and right with their booted legs..."