Sri Lanka's president has said he rejects the no-confidence motion brought against the former president and his appointment for prime minister, Mahinda Rajapaksa. 

In a letter made public today President Sirisena said the motion had passed "without adhering proper parliamentary procedures."

"The President shall appoint as Prime Minister the Member of Parliament, who, in the President’s opinion, is most likely to command the confidence of Parliament. The opinion of the President cannot be questioned or tested. He is expected to evaluate the prevailing situation and decide on the person best suited for the country," Sirisena wrote. 

A group of British parliamentarians have written to the UK’s foreign secretary warning that “Sri Lanka’s political stability is at grave risk” and called for discussion on the suspension of trade concessions to Colombo.

The seven parliamentarians, who are part of the All Party Parliamentary Group for Tamils, said they were “deeply disturbed by the recent, undemocratic actions” on the island, including the appointment of Mahinda Rajapaksa as prime minister. The letter from the lawmakers said Rajapaksa is accused of “perpetrating war crimes, crimes against humanity and egregious human rights abuses”.

The letter went on to state,

<p>The Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) reiterated that it would not form a government with the United National Party (UNP), despite its support for the no-confidence motion against Mahinda Rajapaksa.</p> <p>Speaking after the passing of the no-confidence motion, the leader of the party Anura Kumara Dissanayake said,</p> <p>“The Ranil Wickremesinghe administration was acting against the people’s mandate on a large scale and a no confidence motion was brought against it earlier this year. We voted in favour. We stand for truth. There may be others who claim they stand for truth but that is not relevant for us and no one could associate us with them.”</p>

Sri Lanka’s arrest of Tamil parliamentarian Vijayakala Maheswaran, following her remarks on the LTTE, is a “flagrant abuse of the rights to freedom of expression,” write human rights lawyers Samir Pasha and Naga Kandiah in The Interpreter this month.

“Any citizen has a right to dissent against government actions and raise issues affecting communities,” they wrote. “There is an unarguable difference between this and making a call to violent uprising, promoting hatred or hostility… The government’s claim in protecting the public can only be exercised in criminal proceedings where absolutely necessary. In Maheswaran’s case, this distinction was not made.”

The former captain of Sri Lanka’s cricket team announced that he had joined Mahinda Rajapaksa’s Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna party this morning.

Tillakaratne Dilshan took up party membership this morning, amidst Sri Lanka’s political turmoil which has seen Rajapaksa attempt to gain the office of prime minister.

Dilshan has previously praised Sri Lanka’s president, Maithripala Sirisena for the attempted move to implement the death penalty for drug traffickers.

In 2011, Mel Gunasekera wrote for AFP:

Families and loved ones of the disappeared held a demonstration today in Jaffna, calling on the US and EU to urge action over Sri Lanka's genocide of Tamil people. 

Families across the North-East have been protesting for over one year and expressed their disappointment and anger at the coalition government's failure to act. 

33 years later, families of the victims recalled how 13 young Tamil men were rounded up and made to walk with their ID cards in the air. STF troops shot them in the neck or head, except the youngest, Maju, who they shot in the chest.

On September 6, the U.S. Congressional Caucus on Ethnic and Religious Freedom in Sri Lanka hosted a briefing on security sector reform in Sri Lanka.

The co-chairs of the Caucus, Representatives Bill Johnson (Republican – Ohio) and Danny Davis (Democrat – Illinois), gave opening remarks about the need to pressure the Sirisena government to implement security sector reforms.

Representative Johnson noted that “essential reforms to Sri Lanka’s security sector are still badly needed,” citing the need for the Sirisena government to repeal the Prevention of Terrorism Act. He also echoed the finding of a UN expert that “the use of torture is deeply ingrained in the security sector in Sri Lanka.”

<p>Japan's foreign affairs ministry said today that it was paying close attention to developments and hoped that stability in Sri Lanka would continue to be ensured.&nbsp;</p> <p>"Japan, as a longtime friend of Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is following with close attention and interest the recent developments in Sri Lanka, including the dissolution of the parliament."</p> <p>"Japan hopes that the stability in Sri Lanka will continue to be ensured through due process in accordance with the law."</p>

A vigil was held today to remember the Indian Peacekeeping Force’s (IPKF) massacre of 14 Tamils in Batticaloa district 31 years ago.

After being targeted by a landmine on November 5, 1987, IPKF soldiers fired indiscriminately at Tamil civilians in Kaluvanchikudi, killing 14.