On September 6, the U.S. Congressional Caucus on Ethnic and Religious Freedom in Sri Lanka hosted a briefing on security sector reform in Sri Lanka.

The co-chairs of the Caucus, Representatives Bill Johnson (Republican – Ohio) and Danny Davis (Democrat – Illinois), gave opening remarks about the need to pressure the Sirisena government to implement security sector reforms.

Representative Johnson noted that “essential reforms to Sri Lanka’s security sector are still badly needed,” citing the need for the Sirisena government to repeal the Prevention of Terrorism Act. He also echoed the finding of a UN expert that “the use of torture is deeply ingrained in the security sector in Sri Lanka.”

<p>Japan's foreign affairs ministry said today that it was paying close attention to developments and hoped that stability in Sri Lanka would continue to be ensured.&nbsp;</p> <p>"Japan, as a longtime friend of Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is following with close attention and interest the recent developments in Sri Lanka, including the dissolution of the parliament."</p>

A vigil was held today to remember the Indian Peacekeeping Force’s (IPKF) massacre of 14 Tamils in Batticaloa district 31 years ago.

After being targeted by a landmine on November 5, 1987, IPKF soldiers fired indiscriminately at Tamil civilians in Kaluvanchikudi, killing 14.

<p>A Sri Lankan army officer has been arrested by the police over the abduction of a Tamil youth in Kilinochchi last week.&nbsp;</p> <p>The family of the youth said he was abducted from his home in Ponnagar, Kilinochchi by unknown people on the day of Deepavali and taken to Polonnaruwa where his captors demanded Rs 5 lakhs in ransom for his release.&nbsp;</p>

Over 16,600 families have been affected by heavy rains and subsequent flood this month in Batticaloa, with 242 families displaced. 

Students from the Vanthaarumoolai campus of the University of Batticaloa have launched makeshift teaching lessons for children living in camps with their parents, displaced by flooding. 

<p>International lawyers from the Sri Lanka Monitoring and Accountability Panel called for an independent evidence gathering mechanism in the country, in an op-ed published in Justiceinfo.com&nbsp;</p> <p>"Steps should include setting up an independent evidence-gathering mechanism related to atrocities for Sri Lanka with a similar mandate to those on Syria and Myanmar to investigate international crimes; and urging prosecutors in third states to pursue cases against Sri Lankan war criminals under the doctrine of universal jurisdiction," co-authors and lawyers Andrew Ianuzzi, Richard Rogers and Heather Ryan wrote.&nbsp;</p>

Sri Lanka’s speaker of parliament has called upon the public to “peacefully accept” the Supreme Court decision to stay the dissolution of parliament, as the political crisis in Colombo continued on Tuesday.

In a special statement, speaker of parliament Karu Jayasuriya said,

“It is important that the general public and especially persons in positions of responsibility conduct themselves in a calm and dignified manner in order to avoid unnecessary provocation and instability”.

“I ask Sri Lankans to peacefully accept the determinations of the judiciary and Parliament”.

The statement praised the Supreme Court decision to temporarily stay Sri Lankan president Maithripala Sirisena’s move to dissolve parliament, with Jayasuriya saying “the public can take pride in our judiciary”.

Jayasuriya’s statement comes after Sirisena met with heads of the military earlier this evening, in the wake of the Supreme Court decision.

Sri Lanka’s president Maithripala Sirisena met with the heads of the military at his office in Colombo this evening, after his move to dissolve parliament was temporarily stayed by the Supreme Court.

<p>Ranil Wickremesinghe, the UNP leader who is battling for position of prime minister, has called for the Sri Lankan police force to adhere to the speaker of parliament’s demands in the wake of a Supreme Court decision that will see parliamentarians reconvene tomorrow.</p>

<p>Sri Lanka’s parliament looks set to be reconvened on Wednesday morning, following a decision from the Supreme Court to temporarily stay the dissolution of parliament.</p>

Sri Lanka’s Supreme Court on Tuesday temporarily stayed president Maithripala Sirisena’s order to dissolve parliament, as political turmoil on the island continues.

The court said that hearings for a decision on the legality of parliament’s dissolution will be fixed for December, 5, 6 and 7. 

This week Kilinochchi district residents continued to clear their local thuyilum illams, LTTE cemeteries, in preparation for Maaveerar Naal - the Tamil National Remembrance Day - on November 27.

Western diplomats shunned the newly appointed foreign minister, Sarath Amunugama, who held a meeting today.  

Ambassadors of Britain, Netherlands, Norway, France, Australia, South Africa, Italy, and Canada did not attend in protest against the Sri Lankan president's decision to sack the prime minister and dissolve parliament, Reuters reported. 

However, the United States, Germany and the European sent representatives to the meeting. 

<p>Sri Lankan civil society organisations joined political parties in mounting a legal challenge to the president's decision last week to dissolve parliament.&nbsp;</p> <p>The UNP, TNA, JVP, the TPA and ACMC, as well as the Centre for Policy Alternatives (CPA) have filed petitions at the Supreme Court today. &nbsp;</p>