Sri Lanka's foreign minister said his government must follow a policy that ensures they are “not forced or coerced into a camp to make sovereign decisions,” as he spoke in Colombo last week.

“Countries like Sri Lanka if we learn from our history cannot take sides," claimed Ali Sabry. "Sri Lanka must be open to working with anyone. Non-alignment means not becoming a bystander... Non-alignment means you are not forced or coerced into a camp to make sovereign decisions. But you make decisions. And you take your own choices.”

Marking 7 years of continuous protests by Tamil families of the disappeared, a statement from a coalition of organisations recalled how countless Sri Lankan government commissions have been appointed but none have brought answers or served justice, with many still to publish their findings.

Sri Lanka’s state minister for foreign affairs admitted that “majoritarianism in Sri Lanka led to discrimination of certain communities which led them to take up arms,” and called for power sharing – even as his government continues to refuse to do so.

Despite a boycott by Indian fisherfolk, the annual St. Antony’s church festival at Katchatheevu saw a significant turnout, with over 4,000 devotees attending the two-day event, including a heavy Sri Lankan military presence

The Foreigners Regional Registration Officer (FRRO) of the Union Ministry of External Affairs has issued an emergency travel document for Santhan, one of the accused in the Rajiv Gandhi assassination case, to return to Sri Lanka immediately. 

Mullaitivu Judicial Medical Officer Dr Kanagasbapathy Vasudeva confirmed that the bodies of 40 individuals whose remains were excavated from the Kokkuthoduvai mass grave were buried "in a hurry" without any religious rites, sometime between 1994 and 1996.

Recent months have seen India rapidly expand its footprint in Sri Lanka. Under the presidency of Ranil Wickremesinghe, a series of deals have reportedly been agreed, binding the two economically closer than they have been in decades. From New Delhi, things may look comfortable across the Palk Strait. But it would be hasty to think so. If it is a long-term relationship with a stable partner that India is seeking, it will not be found in Colombo where authoritarianism is growing and Sinhala Buddhist nationalism continues to underpin the Sri Lankan state ethos. Instead, it is in liberating the Tamil North-East where India’s efforts should be focused.

Minister of Justice, Prison Affairs and Constitutional Reform, Wijayadasa Rajapakse toured the Mantheevu islet, a part of Batticaloa this week to use the area to establish a new prison or a rehabilitation centre, purportedly to overcome Sri Lanka’s issue of overcrowding in prisons. 

Sri Lankan police prohibited Tamils from attending a monthly festival at a Hindu temple in Trincomalee. Police claimed that worship at the Kandasamimalai Murugan temple in Thennimaravadi was banned as the temple is located in an area that is clained to be a Buddhist archaeological site.

Three Tamil journalists, Prabhakaran Dilaksan, Sundarampillai Rajeskaran, and Chinnaiya Yogeswaran, were threatened by the Sri Lankan army as they attempted to cover the gathering of civilians visiting a temple within the 'High-Security Zone' in Palali Vasavilan, Jaffna. 

The temple, recently opened for public worship, saw a congregation of people this morning eager to offer prayers. As the journalists arrived to report on the event, they faced intimidation from the military, with their phones being confiscated and destroyed.