The Sri Lankan government held a ceremony to honour the Civil Defence Force (CDF) for its role during the armed conflict, gifting members with houses, laptops and textbooks.

Additional Secretary to the Defence Ministry S. H. Hettiarachchi praised the role played by the Civil Defence Force, stating that it was a key unit involved in the security forces’ offensive during the armed conflict.

The Tamil National Alliance (TNA) on Wednesday held talks with the Sri Lankan Muslim Congress (SLMC) on the realising of the aspirations of the Tamil and Muslim people in the proposed new constitutional arrangements.

The TNA, whose delegation included the leader R Sampanthan, and MPs  MA Sumanthiran and Mavai Senathirajah, said this was the first round of such talks and discussions would continue.

Sri Lanka and India are working towards finalising the Economic and Technology Cooperation Agreement (ETCA) by mid-2016, reports Colombo Page.

Sri Lanka’s Development Strategies and International Trade Ministry said in a statement that the two sides would aim to sign a Framework Agreement by February 2016 and the ETCA by mid 2016.

The statement added that the Indian government would organise workshops in Sri Lanka to raise awareness amongst Sri Lankan exporters/officials to increase awareness of Indian standards and regulations. 

The ministry added,

“India is Sri Lanka’s largest as well as the most balanced trading partner Overall bilateral trade between the two countries exceeded US$ 4.5 billion in 2014. India is the largest source of imports of Sri Lanka and the third largest destination for Sri Lankan exports. The ETCA will support to build on this solid foundation taking into account the asymmetry between the two countries. For  small country like Sri Lanka, it is always advantageous to engage in rules based trading with a larger trading partner India, and the ETCA will provide that framework for deeper economic engagement with India.”

A top level Sri Lankan official delegation will visit India to attend a meeting in New Delhi to discuss modalities of the proposed agreement that will cover investment and services, official sources told The Sunday Times, adding that this agreement was completely different from the earlier proposed Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA), which was opposed by many organisations in the south.

However the ETCA is also being opposed, with several trade unions planning a strike in the new year, which will also be targeted at the new agreement, alongside grievances about the recent budget.

Writing on the recent successful conviction of the two men for the abduction and rape of a 17 year old Tamil girl, Rita, human rights activist Ruki Fernando said the conviction was a “rare success” driven by the “courage and determination of survivors and their families have brought justice in several other cases.”

Full opinion reproduced below.

The United States Secretary of State John Kerry said that 2015 has seen “important democratic gains” in places across the world, including Sri Lanka, in an op-ed for the Boston Globe.

“The past year also marked important democratic gains in such countries as Nigeria, Burma, Sri Lanka, and Venezuela,” said Mr Kerry, stating that “international leaders have an opportunity to build on several major achievements of 2015”.

The Chinese government announced that it will have talks with Sri Lanka on a proposed Free Trade Agreement (FTA) next year.

China’s minister of commerce Gao Hucheng, said that China will step up negotiations next year on a Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership, as well as the proposed Free Trade Agreement with Sri Lanka and the Maldives.

China’s foreign and direct investment have risen this year, with the nation receiving $620 billion in Foreign Investment.

The government of Sri Lanka has declared the first week of January 2016 a “Good Governance Victory Week” to mark a year of governance under President Maithripala Sirisena.

Speaking to journalists on Tuesday, government spokesperson Dr Rajitha Senaratne said that this decision was Sri Lanka’s national flag would be hoisted and displayed through the island with a series of programs to commemorate the ‘victory of good governance.’

A former Sri Lankan policeman wanted for the assassination of a Tamil politician is suspected of hiding in Australia, reports the Sydney Morning Herald.

Fabian Royston Toussaint is wanted in Sri Lanka for his alleged connection to the shooting of Tamil politician and human rights lawyer Nadarajah Raviraj in 2006.

Mr Raviraj was gunned down after leading a protest condemning Sri Lankan army bombings that killed Tamil civilians in 2006.