Journalists in Batticaloa demanded that the Sri Lankan state protect human rights and ensure freedom of the press at event held in the city on Sunday evening.

The event, organised by the Eastern Journalist Forum and Professional Web Journalist Association, commenced at the Batticaloa Public Library Auditorium with talks from Tamil, Muslim and Sinhala speakers.

Tamil parliamentarians met in Colombo on Sunday, as they discussed the 13^th Amendment to Sri Lanka’s constitution which calls for some devolution to the North-East, amidst renewed discussion over power sharing to the Tamil homeland.

Speaking in Jaffna on Saturday Tamil National Alliance (TNA) MP M A Sumanthiran told an audience,

During demining excavations in Palai, human skeletal remains and an LTTE uniform were found. 

The excavations took place on 11 December, alongside the LTTE uniform remains of an RPG were found. The incident has been referred to the police, with excavations set to resume from the 12 of December with permission from Kilinochichi court.

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A Buddha statue has been removed in Amparai after it was secretly erected on Friday night by a group of Buddhist monks. 

On Saturday, locals from villages of Sangamankandi and Thandiyadi staged a protest condemning the erection of the Buddha statue and called for it's immediate removal. The protesters were also joined by Pottuvil Pradeshiya Sabha Chairman A. Rahim, Karaitivu Pradeshiya Sabha Chairman Jayasiril and Thirukovil Pradeshiya Sabha Chairman Kamalarajan. 

Ambika Satkunanathan, Former Commissioner at the Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka, addressed the United States House of Representatives Tom Lantos Commission on Human Rights this week, as it held a hearing on 'Accountability and Human Rights in Sri Lanka'.

See the full text of her address and video footage of the event below.

A new statue of Subramania Bharati, an early 20th century Tamil poet fondly called Bharathiyar, was unveiled in Jaffna earlier today on the occasion of his 139th birth anniversary. 

The sculpture was erected in Vaddukoddai and was commissioned by Chidambaram Mohan, the chairman of the Jaffna-India Friendship Forum. 

University professors and other religious priests were also present in the unveiling ceremony. 

A four-member delegation from the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) held a meeting with Swiss Ambassador to Sri Lanka Dominik Furgler and Political Secretary Sidonia Gabriel at the Embassy in Colombo on Friday. 

The TNA delegation was headed by Vanni MP Selvam Adaikalanathan, with two other parliamentarians, Vino Norathalingam and Ko. Karunakaram, and a spokesperson of the Tamil Eelam Liberation Organisation (TELO), Surendran Gurusamy, also participated in the discussion.

The International Truth and Justice Project (ITJP) welcomed the sanctions on Sri Lankan military officials for human rights violations which were announced by the US State Department earlier today. 

“This isn’t just a visa ban against low level alleged perpetrators but a warning signal to their commanders, many of whom are still in positions of power, that they too are extremely vulnerable," Yasmin Sooka, ITJP's Executive Director said. 

The United States has announced bans on two more Sri Lankan military officials for human rights violations, as the State Department expand sanctions on those accused of war crimes.

Chandana Hettiarachchi, a Sri Lankan naval intelligence officer, involved in the ‘Trinco 11’ disappearances and Sunil Ratnayake, a soldier guilty of murdering at least 8 Tamils, are now barred from entry to the US.

Their families are also barred from entry.

The United States is “not satisfied” with progress in Sri Lanka and is eyeing up a broader involvement in the island’s ethnic turmoil, said Tamil National Alliance parliamentarian MA Sumanthiran, who held a series of high-level meetings in Washington DC, New York, Toronto and London last month.

Speaking to the Tamil Guardian in London, the lawmaker said that there had been discussions regarding “greater involvement by the US, broadly speaking, in the Tamil affairs in Sri Lanka”.