Three members of Sri Lanka’s navy have been arrested over the killing of TNA MP Nadarajah Raviraj who was killed in Colombo, near the headquarters of the military police, in November 2006.

Police spokesperson Ruwan Gunasekara said the arrested were being interrogated under the Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA).

“The three soldiers including two officers will also be interrogated over the incidents of disappearance of several youth reported in 2006,” he said.

The government was accused of being behind the attacks by the TNA, diaspora organisations and the UNP. The US led international criticism of the government and urged it to conduct an investigation.

Then-President Mahinda Rajapaksa ordered an inquiry and two suspects, Nalaka Mathagaweera and Aruna Shantha Ediriweera, were arrested in 2007. Mr Rajapaksa requested assistance from Britain’s Scotland Yard, who sent a team to work with the Criminal Investigation Department, who looked at evidence. Nothing came of the inquiry. 

The leader of the Tamil National Alliance, Rajavarothayam Sampanthan, expressed confidence that the Special Presidential Commission, headed by former president Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga, can find a suitable solution to issues concerning Tamil by the end of this year, Ceylon Today reported.

"We have clarified to the former President all matters relating to the problems faced by the people of the North and East and urged that such issues be immediately addressed meaningfully. When Kumaratunga became the President in 1994, she was very keen about settling the grievances of the Tamil people and she also mooted a suitable political solution to those issues. We were however, unable to see anything come out of it" he said.

"President Sirisena won the elections. Everyone should benefit from the change that the Presidential election has ushered in. We believe that President Sirisena will respect the legitimate demands of the Tamil people. We should be clearly focused on winning those demands," he added.

The Sri Lankan military still holds Tamils in secret camps, where they are still being tortured, JDS reported on Tuesday.

Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe recently denied TNA spokesperson Suresh Premachandran’s assertion that the government still operated such camps.

"After we took over the government, there are no secret camps. I cannot speak for the time before that," Mr Wickremesinghe said in Jaffna on Friday.

However, relatives of four people who were abducted have said there are secret camps in the Vanni, including in Keppapilavu and Mullaitivu. The relatives have contacted the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and sought its help to get those abducted released.

Photos: Security Forces Headquarters - Mullaithivu

A new school building constructed at the Roman Catholic College in Puthukkudiyiruppu was opened by suspected war criminal Major General Jagath Dias earlier this month.

Mr Dias, who is the commander of the Mullaithivu headquarters of the Sri Lankan army, was leading an army division during the armed conflict and is thought to be responsible for mass atrocities committed during the final phase.

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) last week signed an agreement with the Central Bank of Sri Lanka which will enable the latter to withdraw up to $400mn in US Dollars or Euros.

Sri Lanka’s Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe pledged to deliver a political solution for the Tamil people, during his three-day visit to Jaffna.

Meeting with TNA officials on Saturday, the prime minister is said to have assured them that solutions to problems faced by the people in the region will be found.

However, addressing the Sri Lankan military at the Palali army camp, in the midst of a vast militarised high security zone, he said Sri Lanka should enhance its military force.

Sri Lanka already possesses one of the largest army's in the world, in relation to its population size, and the militarisation of the North-East is one of the key grievances of the Tamil people.

The Sri Lankan government has warned there is a real danger of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam regrouping and orchestrating another conflict.

Speaking to media earlier today, Deputy Foreign Minister Ajith Perera said the LTTE had millions of dollars in foreign assets that could be used to fund another guerrilla war at home.

“Their front organisations operate businesses abroad, they run petrol stations, supermarkets and have shipping companies,” the minister told reporters in Colombo.

“Even though they have been defeated on the ground, there is a real danger of their trying to regroup.”

Sri Lanka’s police claims the Tamil documentary film makers arrested in Colombo for making a “defamatory film” were working for Channel 4.

The Sri Lankan government has decided to resume all road development projects with China, according to a government official.

Tamil activists who take part in protests highlight the disappearances of those who surrendered to the army, are under surveillance by the Terrorism Investigation Department and complain of harassment by the security forces.

S Yogeswari (name changed), whose husband was in the political wing of the LTTE and disappeared after surrendered to the army on May 18, 2009, told the New Indian Express that she lives in fear due to close surveillance.

She has been taking part in the recent demonstrations highlighting the disappearance of LTTE members who had surrendered to the army.

“Because I participate in these demonstrations, teams of investigators, including those from the Terrorist Investigation Department (TID), frequently visit me. When they come in the evenings, my kids and I get frightened,” the 45-year-old mother of three said.