Tamil National Alliance (TNA) MP, Charles Nirmalanathan has urged the Sri Lanka president Gotabaya Rajapaksa to take immediate action to release all remaining political prisoners held under the Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA), after 16 Tamil political prisoners received presidential pardons at the end of June. 

During a press conference at his Mannar office last week, Nirmalanathan spoke on behalf of prisoners "who appealed to the High Court, who are awaiting trial, and those detained without charges.” 

As Sri Lanka continues to grapple with a financial crisis, Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa has issued a special gazette to restrict the flow of foreign currency out of the country.

The gazette has suspended remittances from Sri Lankan assets and funds granted to emigrants under the Migration Allowance. It also limits the repatriation of emigrant funds to a maximum of US $ 10,000 or its equivalent, while the general immigration allowance for migrants is limited to a maximum of US $ 30,000 or the equivalent at the relevant time.

Professor Lukman Thalib can still vividly remember that day his home was raided. As the head of the Department of Public Health at Qatar University and a member of the country’s Scientific Committee against Covid-19, the highly respected Australian public health professor was chairing a meeting on Zoom, when he heard his wife screaming downstairs.

“I came down and there were 4 to 5 people in plain clothes inside my house,” he says. “It was as though they took over my house… We were terrified.”

A Christian pastor and his family were repeatedly assaulted by Eelam People’s Democratic Party (EPDP) members in the Poonthottam area of Vavuniya.

During the attack on Wednesday evening, nine members who identified themselves as EPDP members and supporters of parliamentarian Dileepan reportedly assaulted pastor, Thanabalasingam Jeyaroopan, and his wife in front of the police.

^{Minneriya National Park} 

Major General Mohan Ratnayake of the Sri Lankan Army was arrested on 1 July after surrendering to the Habanara Police as he allegedly assaulted a Wildlife Officer at the Minneriya National Park, after feeling "insulted" by their search requests. 

Following the passage of an EU resolution, which raised alarm over government and military officials spreading hate towards Tamils and Muslims, Hudson Samarasinghe has been reappointed to chair the Sri Lankan Broadcasting Channel.

Samarasinghe is well known for using the airwaves to broadcast hate speech and in the past had censored reporting from the British Broadcasting Channel (BBC).

Journalism under attack

An Israeli weapons manufacturer announced that the Sri Lankan military has signed a new US$50 million contract this week, in a move that will see Colombo’s infamous Kfir bomber jets revamped and upgraded.

Kfir jets, which have been extensively used by the Sri Lankan Air Force to carry out bombing raids across the North-East, have killed thousands of Tamils throughout the years. The use of the aircraft became so prevalent that for Tamils the name Kfir, Hebrew for "Lion Cub", became synonymous with all the aircraft used by the Sri Lankan military during attacks on the Tamil homeland.

Marking the 60th anniversary of diplomatic relationships between the Philippines and Sri Lanka, the Presidents of both countries spoke on the phone about strengthening diplomatic ties.

“Over the last six decades, we have pursued fruitful relations. We look forward to sustaining this and exploring further the full potential of our cooperative ties,” claimed the authoritarian President Duterte.

UN Resolution

US President Joe Biden has appointed former US Ambassador to Sri Lanka and the Maldives, Atul Keshap, as the country’s Charge’d Affairs in Delhi to replace Daniel Smith, who is retiring.

Keshap is a seasoned diplomat having served for close to three decades in posts in India, Morocco, Guinea, and as United States Ambassador to Sri Lanka and the Maldives from August 2015 to July 2018, during the Sirisena administration.

The families of the forcibly disappeared Tamils organised a demonstration in Vavuniya earlier today, seeking international support for the return of their missing relatives. 

The protest commenced at 10am and took place in front of the usual location of the Vavuniya Old Bus Stand.

Demostrators observed health and safety measures due to the threat posed by the COVID-19 pandemic.