Students at the University of Jaffna demonstrated on Monday marching in protest at the ongoing detention of Tamil political prisoners. 

The march saw hundreds of students holding placards in condemnation at the government's failure to act. 

The protest is the latest in a series of protest on the issue at the Jaffna University, which was closed a few weeks ago in protest at the detention. 

Member states of the United Nations Human Rights Council  questioned Sri Lanka on ongoing torture, militarisation and its failure to repeal the Prevention of Terrorism Act in an advanced submission to the Universal Periodic Review Process.

Sri Lanka’s president Maithripala Sirisena attempted to assure the military that army camps in the North “have not been removed or will not be removed in a way which will weaken the national security or have an impact on the security forces but lands acquitted by the armed forces during the war will be released to people,” Colombo Page reported.

The spokesperson of the Tamil National Alliance (TNA), M A Sumanthiran assured there would be ‘extensive discussions’ at a grassroots level on the interim report by the constitutional steering committee, Ceylon Today reported.

Sri Lanka’s state minister of defence Ruwan Wijewardene asserted he “would not allow anyone to threaten national security”, Adaderana reported on Monday.

"The present government has taken every measure in this regard," Mr Wijewardene said.

The comments were made at an event in Gampaha, the paper reported.

A Tamil detainee in a Jaffna prison has died in custody.

A. Tharmalingam of Chavakachcheri, held on court order in relation to criminal charges, died of a heart attack on Saturday according to Jaffna police.

However Mr Tharmalingam’s family have accused prison officials of neglecting to treat the cardiac arrest with urgency and have demanded an inquiry.

Over 250 Tamils were arrested in a province-wide police operation conducted in the North on Saturday.

Led by the Deputy Inspector General of Police for the Northern Province, over 2000 police officers across the Jaffna, KKS, Kilinochchi, Vavuniya, Mullaitivu and Mannar forces conducted search and arrest operations, with over 3500 individual searches and checks being reported.

Sri Lanka's High Commissioner to Canada, Ahmed A Jawad rejected allegations that the Sri Lankan military has committed war crimes and crimes against humanity against Tamils. 

Tamils in the East have been clearing destroyed LTTE cemeteries in preparation for Maaveerar Naal.

Sri Lankan military forces attended a lecture on 'compassion' which took place at the Palaly army camp on Thursday.

Sri Lanka's joint opposition criticised the government's 2018 budget which was detailed on Friday, stating that it "panders" to International Monetary Fund. 

The MP Bandula Gunawardene said the "budget was sure to fail as in it the government was trying to increase foreign investments by relaxing laws for foreigners and imposing excessive taxes on the people."

The TNA MP Raviraj was remembered in Jaffna on Friday, on the 11th anniversary of his assassination.

Freedom From Torture called on the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights to launch an immediate investigation of evidence of ongoing torture in Sri Lanka on Thursday.

In a letter to the United Nations High Commissioner Zeid Al Hussein the London based rights organisation said,

The Sri Lankan minister of finance, Mangala Samaraweera told parliament as he detailed the government's 2018 budget yesterday, that it would include a number of measures to ensure "reconciliation and national unity". 

The 2018 budget speech includes a number of pledges including that the Office of Missing Persons would be fully operationally from 2018 with Rs 1400 million allocated towards this.