Three Tamil judges have been chosen by the Sri Lankan Chief Justice top preside over a special trial-at-bar for the rape and murder of Pungudutivu student Vithya Sivaloganathan in 2015.

The trial will be held at the Jaffna High Court, with Vavuniya High Court judge Balasingam Sasi Mahenthiran leading alongside Jaffna High Court judge Manikkavasagam Ilancheliyan and Trincomalee High Court judge Annalingam Premashankar.

A request by the defendants to transfer the case to Colombo met with fierce opposition from the victim’s family and the local community.

Sri Lanka’s Field Marshal Sarath Fonseka reiterated that the armed forces were not collectively responsible for war crimes stating,

“We don’t need to worry about human rights as we are facing allegations due to certain isolated incidents. No one can point fingers at the military as a whole and I take responsibility for the collective conduct  of the military.”

Speaking to the Sundayleader, Mr Fonseka further added,

“In fact it is my greatest pride and glory that I was able to give leadership to win the war”.

Speaking at a separate event Fonseka reiterated that the military will not be withdrawn from the north and east.

The Tamil National Alliance will pressure the Sri Lankan government against passing new anti-terrorism legislation.

Families of the disappeared protested in Mannar during Sri Lankan Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe’s visit on Friday.

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) is assisting the Sri Lankan government in a project that aims to provide potable and irrigation water for dry zones in the North.

The project aims to divert water from the Mahaweli River system to the reservoirs in the North. Specifically, the project aims to retain excess water accumulated through the monsoon flows.

It is estimated that the project will provide 260 kilometers of improvements in canals, tunnels, and reservoirs by 2024. Furthermore, upon completion it is estimated that 1 billion cubic meters of water will reach the North annually with the hope of enhancing water and food security.

President Maithripala Sirisena offered new investigations into alleged secret detentions centres would be established to ascertain their whereabouts.

Speaking in the former wat zone of Sampur, Mr Sirisena said,

“If there are allegations that people are still being held in some locations, the government will set up a mechanism to inspect them.”

The announcement comes after Sri Lanka’s prime minister last year said that the disappeared are most likely dead.

The North-East has seen intensifying protests related to the plight of the disappeared.

Members of the Mahasen Balakaya Sinhalese nationalist group raised a Sinhala flag in Killionochchi on May 18, a day when Tamils were remembering the Mullivaikkaal massacres.

Sri Lanka’s president Maithripala Sirisena pledged the government towards “strengthening the Tri-forces to fulfil its responsibility for national security,” whilst addressing a ‘war heroes’ commemoration event.

A police summons that was issued for Tamil civil society activist Father Elil over his involvement in organising a Mullivaikkaal memorial event was issued today and reversed hours later, following domestic and international pressure on Sri Lankan authorities.

Eight Tamils in Vavuniya were fired by their Southern company for paying tribute to Mullivaikkaal victims on May 18.

The employees of a private motor company had paid tribute after work using the photos of one of their mothers, Rajalakshmi Sivalingam of Puthukudiyirippu, who had been killed in the final stages of the war.

A Sinhalese superior in the company discovered the memorial had taken place and fired the eight with immediate effect, as well as reporting them to the police for investigation.