A remembrance ceremony was held in Jaffna yesterday to commemorate 35 years since 12 LTTE cadres committed suicide, after being arrested by the Indian Peace Keeping Force and were in the process of being taken to Colombo for interrogation.

The Sri Lankan president’s office claimed the European Commission has assured its support to Colombo to “overcome” the ongoing economic crisis, and that it will make a decision on the GSP+  trade concession “very soon”, amidst calls for the benefit to be removed from Sri Lanka.

Sri Lanka’s Special Task Force launched tear gas at Tamil fishermen, leaving at least one person hospitalised in Mullaitivu.

Responding to a question over the potential imposition of sanctions of Sri Lanka’s Chief of Defence, Shavendra Silva and other Sri Lankan military officials, Minister of State, Jesse Norman, maintained the British government would “keep the situation in Sri Lanka under close review, including in relation to human rights and accountability”.

In his response, he raised the prospect of sanctions noting that:

Shavendra Silva, Sri Lanka’s chief of defence staff who remains banned from entry to the United States over his role in war crimes, sent his “compliments” to China this week, as he called for the strengthening of relations between the two governments.

Marking the National Day of the People’s Republic of China, Silva sent a message claiming that “Sri Lanka and the People’s Republic of China have enjoyed a very friendly and cordial relationship since time immemorial”.

The Financial Times looked at how Sri Lanka’s military “has so little to do that soldiers are running hotels and restaurants,” in a piece examining the ever-present militarisation of the island.

“Despite more than a decade of peace, Sri Lanka’s military remains among the world’s largest on a relative basis,” said the FT.

The Sri Lankan government may have the backing of just 6 member states at the United Nations Human Rights Council, according to the Daily Mirror, as it continues to grapple against another resolution on accountability for mass atrocities.

The Jaffna Tamil community has played an important role “in every facet of Malaysian society”, said the Sultan of Perak Sultan Nazrin Muizzuddin Shah, at a book launch in August.

“These contributions are an integral component of the multicultural nature of Malaysia that we all cherish,” said Nazrin Muizzuddin Shah, at the launch of the book titled “They Came From Jaffna”.

A sports tournament was held in Netherlands last month to commemorate the 35^th anniversary since the death of the LTTE’s Lt. Col. Thileepan.

The British High Commissioner to Sri Lanka, Sarah Hulton, held a series of discussion in Mannar and Vavuniya today, as she embarked on a visit to the North-East.