Sri Lankan President, Gotabaya Rajapaksa, has arrived in New York to attend the 76^th UN General Assembly (UNGA) Session, marking what will be his first address to the UNGA. 

He arrived at John F. Kennedy Airport yesterday where he was greeted by Mohan Peiris, Permanent Representative of Sri Lanka to the United Nations.

Speaking at the G20 Interfaith Forum in Bologna Italy, Sri Lanka’s Foreign Minister, G.L. Peiris, attacked ethnic and religious political parties in Sri Lanka claiming that “it does a great deal of damage”.

“There is no need for them to detach themselves from the national polity, to segregate, to compartmentalize the national polity by the formation and the emergence of political groupings that seem sectarian. They have a very narrow perspective, and that is hugely detrimental to the solidarity and the unity of our countries”.

In advance of a visit by a delegation from the European Union (EU) to review the GSP+ facility, Sri Lankan Foreign Secretary, Jayanath Colombage, claimed that country had “nothing to hide”.

“Our policy is come and see. We have nothing to hide. Don’t be judgmental and take decisions by sitting at a desk in Europe,” Colombage told reporters at a virtual press conference.

Former Member of the Northern Provincial Council T. Ravikaran and Member of Parliament S. Kajendran have thwarted an attempt to appropriate the lands belonging to the Tamils in Kokkuthoduvai, Mullaitivu. 

Sinhalese in the Weli Oya area were involved in an attempt to encroach on the native field lands of the Tamil people in the Kokkuthoduvai Poomadukandal area under the Divisional Secretariat Division.

Speaking to the press on the detention of Eelam Tamil refugees in the Trichy Central Jail “Special Camp,” parliamentarian Selvam Adaikalanathan called on the Tamil Nadu government to release the detainees immediately.

“Their protest for their release has crossed 32 days,” Adaikalanathan said, “and they have gone to the extent of sacrificing their lives.” 

Responding to a request from former Scottish Justice Minister, Kenny MacAskill, for the correspondence between Police Scotland and the British High Commission, detailing the decision to pause the training programme for Sri Lankan police; Amanda Milling , Co-Chair of the Conservative Party, maintained that the FCO has “no plans to publish this correspondence”.

Speaking at the 48^th UN Human Rights Council session, Special Rapporteur on the promotion of truth, justice, reparations and guarantees of non-recurrence, Fabian Salvioli slammed Sri Lanka noting his that “the last 18 months have witnessed a profound deterioration in the human rights situation, which jeopardizes the transitional justice process”.

Speaking at a virtual meeting  focused on the ongoing UN Human Rights Council session, Sri Lankan foreign secretary, Jayanath Colombage denied the need for external mechanisms claiming that the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights had praised the country for the steps it had taken.

On Wednesday, Sri Lanka’s Human Rights Commission (HRCSL) visited Anuradhapura prison as part of their investigation into State Minister, Lohan Ratwatte, after he had stormed the prison and forced Tamil prisoners to kneel before him at gun point.