Under Secretary for Political Affairs Thomas A. Shannon, Jr. said that his government “commends the steps that Sri Lanka has taken to date toward justice, reconciliation, and accountability” in a speech delivered in Washington this week.

At least 500 individuals, including dozens of candidates in Sri Lanka’s upcoming local elections, have been arrested for violating election laws, according to a Sri Lankan police spokesperson.

Sri Lanka’s Police Spokesman Ruwan Gunasekara said the total number of people arrested dates from December 9^th, until this week with a total of at least 183 cases related to election law violations and 610 cases related to election complaints having been reported.

More British parliamentarians have joined the call for Sri Lanka’s Defence Attaché to the United Kingdom to have his diplomatic immunity revoked, as uproar after the Sri Lankan official repeatedly made a throat-slitting gesture towards the Tamil protesters in London continues

Theresa Villiers, Member of Parliament for Chipping Barnet, released a statement on Friday stating, “I strongly condemn the actions of Brigadier Priyanka Fernando directed at peaceful Tamil protesters”.

British Tamils took to the streets on Friday to protest against the Sri Lankan military official who made throat-slitting gestures at Tamil protestors last week.

The protest, which saw participation from a broad spectrum of UK Tamil organisations, started on Friday afternoon at the Sri Lankan High Commission, the spot where Brigadier Priyanka Fernando made throat-slitting gestures at Tamils who were protesting Sri Lanka's independence day on Sunday.

Tamil diaspora organisations today were unanimous in their call for Sri Lanka's Defence Attaché to be expelled from the UK and be declared 'persona non grata'.

In a joint letter to the UK Foreign Secretary, Boris Johnson, key Tamils diaspora organisations urged him to take swift action on the issue. 

"We, the undersigned Diaspora Organisations, write to make this very urgent request to declare the Sri Lankan Military Attaché, Brigadier ANDIGE PRIYANKA INDUNIL FERNANDO, a “persona non grata” for committing serious offences under the British law, abuse of diplomatic immunity in the UK and for being complicit in the war crimes & crimes against humanity in Sri Lanka."

The letter was signed by the British Tamil Conservatives (BTC), British Tamils Forum (BTF), Global Tamil Forum (GTF), International Centre for the Prevention and Prosecution of Genocide (ICPPG), Tamils Coordinating Committee (TCC-UK), Tamils for Labour, Tamil Friends of the Liberal Democrats, Tamil Information Centre (TIC), Transnational Government of Tamil Eelam (TGTE), Tamil Solidarity (TS). 

The Sri Lankan navy arrested seven Tamil Nadu fishermen on Thursday in the latest round of arrests of Indian fishermen. 

The men were arrested for allegedly poaching in waters off the coast of Thalaimannar. 

The fishermen have been handed over to the Assistant Director of Fisheries in Mannar for legal action. 

Sri Lanka's Defence Attache who was filmed motioning the slitting of one's throat to Tamils protesting in London on Sunday said his gesture was to indicate 'it's all over'. 

“I only showed them it’s all over from my gesture, When I showed the Sri Lanka badge it was to tell them this your land not Tamil Eelam," he told the Sinhala language paper Riviru in an interview. 

The European Commission this week added Sri Lanka to its blacklist of countries at risk of money laundering. 

The move came following a vote in the European parliament on Wednesday, with 357 votes in support of the motion, 283 against and 26 abstentions. 

Tunisia and Trinidad and Tobago were also added to the list. 

Sri Lanka’s Finance Minister Mangala Samaraweera has denounced a letter that has been circulating on social media calling for the suspension of Sri Lanka's Defence Attache to London as “fake”.

In a tweet on Thursday, Mr Samaraweera said the letter was produced by the “Rajapaksa clan” and said it had been reported to the CID to “bring the perpetrators to justice”.

A TNPF candidate in Vadamarachchi was assaulted on Wednesday night.

K. Kiritharan, a candidate for the Vadamarachchi South West divisional council (prathesa sabai) was attacked on Wednesday night and hospitalised with head injuries.

Tamil first year students studying at southern universities have reported harassment from Sinhalese seniors who are preventing them from going home to vote.

The Tamil students said that they were being targeted for extreme ‘ragging’ by senior Sinhalese students who were harassing them and preventing them from going to their home districts to vote in the local elections.

The MP for Kingston and Surbiton, Ed Davey on Thursday joined fellow UK parliamentarians in calling for Sri Lanka's Defence Attache to be expelled after he was filmed making a throat slitting gesture to Tamils protesting in London. 

In a letter to the foreign secretary, Mr Davey said, "I share the view that you should withdraw Brigadier Priyanka Fernando's diplomatic papers and immediately expel him from this country". 

Sri Lankan ministers today came out in support of Brigadier Priyanka Fernando, the country's Defence Attache to London who was filmed making a throat slitting gesture to Tamils protesting outside the Sri Lankan High Commission on Sunday, just days after his suspension was revoked by the Sri Lankan president. 

Sri Lanka's State Minister of Defence Ruwan Wijewardene praised Brigadier Fernando for giving what he described as the "right signal the pro-LTTE diaspora". 

The Sri Lankan army commander on Wednesday rejected the possibility of an inquiry into the country's Defence Attache, Brigadier Priyanka Fernando, after he was filmed making a throat slitting gesture to Tamil protesters, claiming that he had only been explaining that the LTTE leader had been 'taken care of' by the military.