‘As we entered the premises of the Nallur Kandasamy temple we were confronted by a sea of people seated on the white sands under the blazing sun.’

Harassment and intimidation of civilians by Sri Lanka’s security forces in the occupied Jaffna peninsula were on the increase last week, even as the Liberation Tigers raised the matter with international truce monitors.

In a landmark step towards reconciliation between the Tamils and Muslims in eastern Sri Lanka, leaders of the Muslim community reached a deal with the Liberation Tigers last week for the return of the majority of land occupied by Tamil farmers.

The difficulty in bringing the Sri Lankan military personnel responsible for rights abuses to justice was highlighted last week when one victim in a high profile rape case disappeared and the other reported receiving death threats.

The EU’s support was a key factor in the LTTE’s decision to enter into negotiations with Sri Lanka, the Tigers say.

Australia is to impose "draconian" counter-terrorism laws after state and territory leaders agreed on Tuesday to wide-ranging security proposals made by Prime Minister John Howard

A victim remembers a night in Sri Lankan military custody

The scene of the attack was visited by the International Red Cross. Pieces of human flesh were found strewn around the area including the tree branches'

'There has been widespread misappropriation of funds. Even after the emergency phase was over, the irregularities continued''

A sweeping investigation into the Sri Lankan government’s use of international tsunami-related aid has found widespread misappropriation of funds and bureaucratic incompetence, an interim report released this week says.

The February 2002 truce has sparked a demand for credit with more people borrowing either to rebuild their homes, set up business or buy goods such as solar-electricity panels.