Jaffna’s Military Commander Major General Mahinda Hathurusinghe has declared that the Army is in Jaffna to protect citizens and not to seize their lands or money.

Hathurusinghe claims that since the end of the war in 2009, the army has improved its rapport with the people of Jaffna by providing security as well as various developmental services.

An Uthayan journalist who attempted to visit the Tamil families 'resettled' into the Suriyapuram forests on Friday, was stopped by the Sri Lankan army soldiers, reported the newspaper.

The UN Refugee Agency expressed concern on Thursday, about the families who have been relocated from Menik Farm.

Despite seeing the closure of Menik Farm as a "significant step towards ending displacement", the UNHCR's representative in Sri Lanka Michael Zwack pointed out, "but there are still people displaced in different situations who need to find a solution."

A UPFA Pradeshiya Sabha member has been arrested over a series of rapes and murders of women in Kahawatta.

Lokugamhewage Dharmasiri, who is a former secretary of a cabinet minister, was arrested after in February after a 52-year old woman and her 19-year old daughter.

Tamil IDPs from Keppapulavu, supposedly 'resettled' by the Sri Lankan government earlier this week, were moved to the Suriyapuram forests by Nandikadal Lagoon, reports Uthayan and Tamilwin.

See here for coverage, including an interview, on TamilNet.

Dumped in little more than a clearing in the woods, families - many of whom headed by widows - have no access to drinking water, adequate shelter or food. 

According to Tamilwin, the families were moved by the Sri Lankan military from the Cheddikulam IDP camp to Vattrapalai school on Monday where they were told that they could return to their own homes. However, on Tuesday when the families demanded that they be allowed to return, the Sri Lankan military took them to the forests.  

Following the proposed closure of European embassies "that serve no purpose", Sri Lanka has announced its latest diplomatic relocation, with a new embassy to open in Manama, Bahrain.

The Indian government has invited Tamil National Alliance (TNA) delegates to participate in talks with the Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and other delegates on 10th October. This invitation comes after President Mahinda Rajapaksa recently met with Manmohan Singh and Pranab Mukjherjee along side India’s External Affairs Minister S.M.

A report by Freedom House has named Sri Lanka as one of seven countries at risk of facing further restrictions on internet freedom.

“Army! Leave Tamil lands now!”

“Are Tamil lands High Security Zones?”

Nivard Cabraal’s bold claim, that events like the T20 Cricket World Cup will make the war crimes issue ‘fade away’, clearly shows that the international community’s continuation of ‘normal’ relations with Sri Lanka are critically undermining the possibility of creating a lasting peace, based on accountability and justice.

The Central Bank governor’s conviction that war crimes can be made to disappear behind a facade of cultural and sporting festivity is shared by the rest of the Sri Lankan government.

The continuation of normal international relations makes it unnecessary for Sri Lanka to take any meaningful steps in addressing the issues that are now central to international and Tamil demands.

Sri Lanka will not need to pay any heed to repeated calls for meaningful accountability if it continues to enjoy a normal range of diplomatic contacts and indeed is even rewarded by being allowed to hold major sporting and political events.

"Masters of prevarication, the Sri Lankan Government is once again stalling the UN's attempt to ensure an open assessment of the brutal final stages of the country's civil war. The regime is probably hoping interest will fade, but every day it refuses a fair examination of some 40,000 civilian deaths is another small step away from reconciliation between the Sinhalese-dominated state and Tamils, and toward the next ethnic conflict."

"Colombo's contempt for the international community seems to know no bounds. Six months after the UN Human Rights Council (HRC) requested that Sri Lanka address its culture of impunity and badly damaged rule of law, the regime has taken no concrete action."

The Sri Lankan government has expressed concern over the hardships faced by the Palestinian people.

Speaking at the 21st UN Human Rights Council session in Geneva, the Sri Lankan representative said,