Sri Lanka’s High Commission in London has been busy lobbying the British government after a ruling last week found that the Home Office decision to keep the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) proscribed as a terrorist organisation was “flawed” and unlawful, reports the Sunday Times.

Sri Lanka’s High Commissioner Saroja Sirisena reportedly held a Zoom meeting with Fergus Auld, Director South Asian Department of the Foreign Office warning of the supposed dangers of delisting the LTTE, shortly after the landmark judgment.

The Mullaitivu police department has accelerated measures to crack down on illegal timber smuggling in areas across Mullaitivu, following the attack of the Tamil Guardian correspondents last month. 

US Secretary of State may be in for a fiery meeting with Sri Lankan leaders in Colombo this week, with a report claiming that the Sri Lankan officials will hit back at US calls on human rights, justice and economic policies.

US Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary Dean R. Thompson said earlier in the week that Mike Pompeo will raise issues of “democratic governance, human rights, reconciliation, religious freedom, and justice,” adding that Colombo is “at a point to make some choices about where they head”.

^{File photograph: Modi and Wigneswaran in Jaffna. 2015.}

Tamil lawmaker C V Wigneswaran thanked Indian prime minister Narendra Modi for his call for the “essential” implementation of the 13th Amendment in Sri Lanka, as he asked New Delhi to ensure there would be no further Sinhalisation of the Tamil North-East.

Sri Lanka’s former president claimed that the appointment of a relative of an LTTE member to the Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka (HRCSL) resulted in several reports of human rights abuses committed by the security forces reaching the United Nations, and the eventual vetting of Sri Lankan troops from UN peacekeeping missions.

Tributes have poured in for Coimbatore Transgender Association President Sangeetha, who was found murdered at her residence on Wednesday.

Tamil Nadu Police have arrested 23-year-old Rajesh, with reports that allegedly killed Sangeetha who had rejected his sexual advances. Police Commissioner Sumit Saran told TNM that a 'personal dispute' was the cause for the murder, however, a press release from the department states that Sangeetha was killed by Rajesh for allegedly rejecting his sexual advances.

UK Minister of State for the Foreign and Commonwealth Office said that the UK are "concerned about the Government of Sri Lanka's decision to withdraw support for the UN resolution," in response to a question on Sri Lanka. 

Nigel Adams answered a written question, posed by Steven Baker, MP for Wycombe, who asked "what steps he is taking to promote peace and reconciliation in Sri Lanka," to which the Minister replied:

"The UK has long supported efforts to promote peace and reconciliation in Sri Lanka, including in our role as penholder on Sri Lanka at the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC). We firmly believe that UNHRC resolution 30/1, and its successor resolutions 34/1 and 40/1, remain the best framework for establishing truth and achieving lasting reconciliation following the conflict in Sri Lanka. We continue to encourage and support Sri Lankan to deliver on the commitments its made to the UNHRC through these resolutions."

The Madras High Court on Friday dismissed a plea by Veerasangili Kanniah Thanabalan (V.K.T. Balan), one of the accused in the attempted assassination of LTTE chief negotiator and political strategist, Anton Balasingham. V.K.T Balan appealed to quash the case on the grounds of a long delay.

A Sri Lankan Special Task Force (STF) constable was sentenced by the Batticaloa High Court to 15 years in prison for raping a child in 2009.

The officer was convicted of raping a 13-year-old girl in February 2009 when he was serving at a Special Task Force (STF) camp in Vellaveli, Batticaloa.

The charges come five years after the Attorney General’s Department first filed a case against the accused in 2014. The Batticaloa High Court Judge, N. M. Mohamed Abdullah, drew from witness statements provided by the victim; police officers, professionals and judged the suspect to be guilty on Friday October 9^th 2020.

Five people were arrested on charges of possessing illegal firearms in the Thirukkovil area of Amparai district on Saturday morning.

Thirukkovil police raided houses located in Kanchirankuda, Thambiluvil, Vinayagapuram and Thirukkovil.

Police claimed to have recovered five locally-made firearms, for which five people were arrested. Police said the arrested would be produced in court.

Earlier this week, two Tamil men, including a former LTTE cadre, were arrested in Thirukkovil on allegations of illegally manufacturing firearms.