Tamil journalist Puniyamoorthy Sathiyamoorthy, who was killed by a Sri Lankan artillery barrage inside the ‘No Fire Zone’ in February 2009, was remembered in Jaffna this week.

A ceremony held at Jaffna Hindu College saw the Editor-in-Chief of the Jaffna daily ‘Valampuri’ N. Vijayasuntharam speak alongside the director of Jaffna Hospital Dr Sathiyamoorthy.

Puniyamoorthy Sathiyamoorthy, a journalist of Vanni based Media House wrote the military column for the 'Eezhanaatham' daily. He was reporting from inside the ‘No Fire Zone’ when Sri Lankan artillery shells landed in the area.

“Several Tamil media reports said Sathiyamoorthy did not die immediately,” said the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ). “They cited relatives who said a lack of proper medical attention contributed to his death.”

Sri Lanka’s Criminal Investigations Department (CID) said it has launched an investigation into a song by Iraj Weeraratne, over claims that it is “defaming Buddhism,” reports The Sunday Leader.

Following a court order pursued by the CID, Sri Lankan police have been ordered by the Colombo Fort Magistrate to investigate the song ‘Manusatha’. The music video to the song features clips of Buddhist monks from Bodu Bala Sena making speeches about Muslims on the island, to cheering rallies.

See the video here.

The German government has initiated a resolution at the parliament of the European Union in support of Sri Lanka regaining the GSP+ trade concession, reports Colombo Gazette.

Sri Lanka’s Ambassador to Germany Karunatilaka Amunagam said that Germany is satisfied with latest developments in Sri Lanka, adding that the German government feels Sri Lanka must be rewarded for the progress made on several issues.

The Australian Navy told Sri Lankan asylum seekers to go back to Sri Lanka and die during interviews with asylum seekers, reports Colombo Gazette.

Two Tamil asylum seekers who were interviews by investigative journalist Phil Miller said that they had been told to go back to Sri Lanka and die, by Australian navy officials, who payed people smugglers to turn back.

The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) has offered to assist the government families of those reported missing reports ColomboGazette.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs together with the ICRC delegation in Sri Lanka have held a meeting to discuss an ICRC meeting entitled ‘Needs of the Families of Missing Persons in Sri Lanka: Living with Uncertainty.’

President Maithripala Sirisena said Sri Lanka was overcoming obstacles internationally, while some are making baseless accusations.

Speaking at an event in Polonaruwa, Mr Sirisena said that the government was not being influence, despite of what political opponents were saying.

The president also claimed that he can save former president Mahinda Rajapaksa and those who engaged in the war from the electric chair.

Sri Lanka's Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe said his government was not averse to international participation in the country's touted accountability mechanism, however stressed that "final judgement will be made by the internal judicial system".

The prime minister, who was visiting a temple in Guruvayur, said officials from neighbouring countries such as India, Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh would be able to participate in discussions on war crimes, alongside representatives from the US and human rights organisations.

Mr Wickremesinghe said Sri Lanka wanted to ensure that those responsible for civilian deaths are held to account, whether they were from the military or the LTTE, adding that the UN said it was possible that up to 40,000 people were killed in the last phase of the war.