Sri Lanka is keen to finalise a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with China assured a senior Sri Lankan minister when speaking to a visiting Chinese delegation.

Speaking to a six member delegation of the government of China, Sri Lanka’s Minister of Industry and Commerce Rishad Bathiudeen, said,

“Our unity government of President Maithripala Sirisena and Prime Minister Ranil Wickrememsinghe is very keen on the FTA and continuing its work on it with no charge.”

A former member of the Catalan parliament and jurist backed calls for Tamil self determination and called for the recognition of the Tamil nation, in an address in London last month.

“As a Catalan and a former member of the Council of the Judiciary in Spain and of the Parliament of Catalonia, I understand and share the plight of the Tamil nation in the island of Sri Lanka, and its struggle for recognition, survival, human rights and justice,” said Alfons Lopez Tena.

Speaking at the All Party Parliamentary Group for Tamils annual event, the former MP went on to say,

“Any settlement for a lasting peace with justice and dignity for all involved requires to take effective measures to investigate, punish and prevent war crimes and human rights violations, and to address the conflict’s root cause: to recognise the Tamil Nation in the island of Sri Lanka, to guarantee Tamils’ home rule, to share power in a bi-national Sri Lankan state under the rule of law, to grant Tamils’ right to self determination, and to allow them to freely exercise it.”

Chief Minister CV Wigneswaran has slammed the government for its hegemonic attitude towards the Northern Provincial Council, in relation to a recently approved housing project.

In an interview with The Hindu, the chief minister said the government did not discuss details of the controversial project with representatives from the North-East. The project, which according to critics will see the construction of 65,000 houses unsuitable for the local climate, will be implemented by Lakshmi Mittal's firm, who is thought to be close to the Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe.

“We’re completely kept in the lurch. The dominating, domineering and hegemonic attitude on the part of the government is irking us. It [the project] is not to our benefit,” he said.

The chief minister stressed that Tamils are not a minority in the North-East and that they would like to have a federal constitution.

Sri Lanka’s Defence Secretary pledged that “intelligence services were closely monitoring any terrorist activity” after another cache of arms and explosives were discovered in the Tamil North-East on Wednesday.

On Wednesday afternoon Sri Lankan police unearthed a large cache of arms, including land mines and a rocket propelled grenade launcher, from Iluppaikadavai in Mannar.

The land on which they were discovered housed the local Iluppaikadavai police station. It functioned in the area from 2008 until 2015, when it was shifted to a different location. The local agricultural services office is now housed on the premises.

“The cache was apparently used during the civil war,” said Sri Lankan police spokesperson Ruwan Gunasekara, as Sri Lanka’s navy and army officers watched the arms being unearthed.

The incident follows the discovery of explosives, including an apparent suicide bomber vest, in Jaffna on Tuesday evening.

Sri Lanka’s Defence Secretary Karunasena Hettiarachchi responded by saying “intelligence services were closely monitoring any terrorist activity,” according to The Island.

“Even in the case of private lands in the North that had been occupied by the security forces during the war, they were being returned only after ensuring that it would not lead to any threat to the country’s security,” continued the defence secretary.

Photographs: @vajirasumeda

Members of Sri Lanka’s Joint Opposition staged a protest outside the United Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva on Thursday.

Sri Lankan parliamentarians Dullas Alahapperuma, Udaya Gammanpila, Prasanna Ranatunga, Rohitha Abeygunawardena and Bandula Gunawardena were reportedly amongst those present at the demonstration, which saw a few dozen protestors waving Sri Lankan flags.

Placards were also held stating that Sri Lankan troops were engaged in a “humanitarian mission” and for the protection of military “war heroes”.

A key minister in the Sirisena-government has spoken out about continued intimidation of human rights activists by security forces, and said he was "ashamed" to be part of the ruling coalition.

Minister of National Co-existence, Dialogue and Official Languages Mano Ganesan told family members of the disappeared at a meeting in Akkaraipattu, Amparai, that the organisers of the meeting, Brito Fernando and another activist, were intimidated by the military, JDS reported.

“We have been threatened by police and military intelligence during the former regime while campaigning for justice for the families of the disappeared. I am ashamed to be a minister in a government that came to power promising to end such intimidation,” said Mano Ganesan, who is one of the few Tamil ministers in the current government.

Former Eastern Province Chief Minister Sivanesathurai Chandrakanthan, also known as Pillaiyan, was further remanded until April 28, in relation to the assassination of TNA MP Joseph Pararajasingham.

Another bail application filed on Friday was denied by Batticaloa magistrates court.

He was initially arrested on October 11 in connection with the killing of the Tamil politician, who was shot dead on Christmas Eve in 2005.  His next court hearing will take place on April 28.