Several Tamil Nadu fishermen were arrested by the Sri Lankan navy this week, causing a stir in Rameshwaram as fishermen protested against the detentions.

The United States, Russia and India have also sent messages of congratulations to Sri Lanka’s navy as it marked its 70th anniversary this week, despite the decades of human rights violations carried out by Sri Lanka’s security forces.

“In the backdrop of terrorist activities started by the LTTE in early 1980s, the Navy, which had hitherto been in charge of ceremonial duties, turned into full-fledged operations,” said the Sri Lankan navy in a message posted on its official website.

Sri Lanka’s 20th Amendment to the Constitution “may fall short of international standards and adversely affect the independence of the judiciary as well as the separation of powers,” warned two Untied Nations Special Rapporteurs this month, as they put forward a series of recommendations to Sri Lanka’s parliament.

Sri Lanka’s port workers have said they would rather the Sri Lankan Parliament be handed over to India than allow for Indian-led investment to develop the East Container Terminal (ECT) at the Colombo Port, as opposition to the project continues to grow.

Workers at the Colombo port have been leading protests against the project and have even offered to find the money to build it themselves.

Britain must “show international leadership” on Sri Lanka said the Shadow Minister for Asia Stephen Kinnock, in a letter where he expressed “deep concern about alarming threats to democratic governance, the rule of law and human rights” on the island.

US ambassador to Sri Lanka, Alaina B. Teplitz, has met with Tamil National Alliance (TNA) leader, M.A. Sumanthiran to discuss the upcoming 46^th UN Human Rights Council session in March and bring forwards a new UN resolution.

Sri Lanka’s former prime minister Ranil Wickremesinghe has claimed that the British government was aware of the activities of Keenie Meenie Services (KMS), a British company that assisted the Sri Lankan military in committing crimes against Tamils.

A Vavuniya court has issued an arrest warrant against the administrators of the ancient Hindu Vedukkunari hill temple, as Sri Lanka’s archaeological department continues to pursue a case against the temple.

Sri Lanka’s Archaeological Department and the Sri Lankan Police had imposed various restrictions on public worship at the temple and filed a case in the Vavuniya Magistrate's Court under archaeological legislation last October. Chairman Sasikumar, Secretary Tamilselvan and Priest Madhimukarasa were present on behalf of the temple.

The leader of the Tamizh Makkal Thesya Kootanii (TMTK) C V Wigneswaran has called on the United Nations to ensure Sri Lanka is referred to an international criminal tribunal, as he rejected the notion of granting the government “further time” at the UN Human Rights Council with the extension of another resolution on accountability for mass atrocities. 

Tamil National Alliance (TNA) parliamentarians said they would file a lawsuit concerning Sinhala land grabs in Mylanthanaimadu and Periya Maadhavanai grazing and agricultural area in Batticaloa, after meeting with Tamil farmers in the area earlier this month.

The case will be filed on behalf of TNA Batticaloa District MPs Shanakiyan Rasamanickam and Govinthan Karunakaran, said parliamentarian M A Sumanthiran.