The Tamil Civil Society Forum (TCSF) said that it appears that the Tamil people of the North-East are being left out of transitional justice processes, and not meaningfully consulted, at a press conference in Jaffna on Thursday, adding that this was also the case for the constitutional process.

The Tamil Civil Society Forum (TCSF) said that it appears that the Tamil people of the North-East are being left out of transitional justice processes, and not meaningfully consulted, at a press conference in Jaffna on Thursday, adding that this was also the case for the constitutional process.

The Sri Lankan army marked International Children’s Day on Saturday, by taking a group of Tamil schoolchildren on a tour of a military base in Jaffna earlier this month.

The threatening of a journalist inside a Sri Lankan police station on September 27, has been condemned by the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ), who urged authorities to investigate the incident. 

The journalist with Hiru TV, Ranjith Karunaweera was summoned by Sri Lankan police to Hasalaka station where he was met with over 20 local sand miners who threatened to kill him and used abusive language, the IFJ reported. 

The local sand miners had previously filed a complaint with the police over a news report by Mr Karunaweera regarding illegal sand mining in the region. 

The former Sri Lankan navy chief was on Wednesday summoned by the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) over abductions that are believed to have taken place during his time in the job, the Daily Mirror reported. 

The abductions are reported to have taken place between 2006 - 2008 and included the disappearance of 11 people in 2008, the paper added. 

The navy is also reported to have been operating a secret navy unit at the time. 

Sri Lanka's prime minister Ranil Wickremesinghe on Wednesday held discussions with India's external affairs minister, Sushma Swaraj as part of his three day visit to New Delhi. 

Mr Wickremesinghe is also expected to meet with his Indian counterpart, Narendra Modi and the president, Pranab Mukherjee. 

The World Bank lowered Sri Lanka’s 2017 growth forecast from 5.3% to 5.0%  due to high fiscal deficit and an elevated public debt.

The report update added that one of the factors behind the grown remaining unchanged in 2016 was due to the postponement of Foreign Direct Investment by the government.

The World Bank further noted that though Sri Lanka’s macroeconomic performance had deteriorated in 2015, steps had been taken in 2016 to reduce the budget deficit., reports Colombo Page.

Meeting with Switzerland's minister of justice, Simonetta Sommaruga on Monday in Jaffna, the chief minister of the Northern Provincial Council CV Wigneswaran stressed the need for an end to the discrimination against Tamils and expressed doubt over whether in the context of continued ethnic discrimination, the proposed constitution would benefit the Tamils within the present context. 
 
Speaking to reporters after the meeting Mr Wigneswaran said he had explained “again and again, the majority of [Sri Lankan] governments which came to power continued to pursue discrimination [against Tamils]."