As US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo left Colombo last week, Sri Lanka’s leaders will have breathed a sigh of relief. The much-anticipated tough talk on human rights and accountability did not materialise. Instead, the US diplomat spoke on the two government’s “friendship” and how to drive American investment to the island, with only a cursory mention of justice for mass atrocities. That this was done whilst posing for photographs with Sri Lanka’s war crimes accused president sends worrying signals - for the future of the island and for the direction of US foreign policy.

Sri Lanka has slipped from being the best performer in Asia’s dollar bond market to the worst, as Colombo struggles with an economic crisis that has been exacerbated by the coronavirus pandemic, reports Bloomberg. 

At first Sri Lanka’s securities fell by 15.5% in September and then 20% in October, marking two consecutive months of great losses in the region, according to Bloomberg Barclays indexes. This comes after placing as one of Asia’s top performers in each of the three months through August. 

Tamil Nadu 'Q branch' police confiscated 75 bags containing 2,000 kilograms of turmeric which were being smuggled to Sri Lanka by boat from Danushkodi.

In the past few weeks, fishermen from the island have not been allowed to fish in the sea as curfew has been in place on weekends due to the increase in the spread of COVID-19 virus. As a result, the smugglers could not reach the Sri Lankan territory in the guise of fishermen.

Tamils in Switzerland payed tributed to the head of the political wing of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), Brigadier S.P. Thamilselvan, and six other LTTE officials who were assassinated by Sri Lankan state forces during the ceasefire. 

Investigative journalist Phil Miller has launched a fundraising campaign to help fund legal costs as he challenges the UK Foreign Office at an Information Tribunal over the release of secret files related to the work of British mercenaries in Sri Lanka.

Despite an ongoing Metropolitan Police probe into the activity of Keenie Meenie Services in Sri Lanka and the company’s involvement in potential war crimes, the Foreign Office has refused to release the contents of a 1985 file.

_{File photo: R. Thurairatnam - Tharakai/Wordpress}

Eastern Provincial Councillor (EPC) and Eelam People's Revolutionary Liberation Front member, R. Thurairatnam made a public appeal to the Government of Sri Lanka to take immediate action to stop the unopposed “premeditated Sinhala occupation” and warned that failure to do so risks ethnic tensions arising in the area.

^{_{Photo reproduced from Tamilwin - Families of the Disappeared protest in Vavuniya}}

The families of the disappeared staged protests in Vavuniya and Kilinochchi last week, seeking justice from the international community.  

<p>President Gotabaya Rajapaksa's blanket ban on the import of spices, intended to strengthen Sri Lanka's economy, has led to a growing black market.&nbsp;</p> <p>When Gotabaya took office as President, he promised that his government would focus on supporting domestic agriculture. His ban on the import of spices was intended to strengthen the Sri Lankan economy by promoting domestic production. However, the restrictions has created a turmeric shortage and a growing black market.&nbsp;</p>

The High Commissioner of India to Sri Lanka, Gopal Baglay, met with senior members of the Sinhala Buddhist clergy last week, as he discussed the implementation of a USD $15 million grant for the “promotion of Buddhist ties between India and Sri Lanka”.

Sri Lanka’s prime minister and accused war criminal, Mahinda Rajapaksa featured as the ‘Chief Guest’ at a UN virtual event celebrating the 75th anniversary of the global body. Human Rights Watch called the move a “slap in the face for victims of human rights abuses and war crimes.”