Sri Lanka's former foreign minister has said that the UN's repatriation of an army commander was down to the current government's inability to handle foreign relations, and warned that the repatriation could have serious repercussions for the entire Sri Lankan Army.

“It will have serious repercussions not only on the 58th Division but on the entire Sri Lankan Army,” former minister G L Peiris said according to the Daily Mirror.

“If it were our government, we would have asked for the basis of such allegations,” he said.

Sri Lanka’s Supreme Court has taken up seven petitions challenging the constitutionality of the draft Counter Terrorism Act (CTA), the proposed replacement for the Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA).

The international organisation Human Rights Watch (HRW) has also made submissions to the Sri Lankan parliament outlining how the proposed reforms to Sri Lanka’s counter terrorism legislation fall short of complying with international human rights standards.

The Sri Lankan president has attacked his coalition partner the United National Party, claiming he was misled about the integrity of the party.

“When I collaborated with UNP as common candidate I thought I was joining [D S Senanayake/Dudley Senanayake’s] UNP," President Sirisena said according to a tweet by BBC journalist Azzam Ameen.

"But only later I found it’s not DS/Dudley’s UNP.These leaders were never corrupt, I pray that in future this country will have a DS/Dudley UNP,” he said.

India’s Prime Minister has expressed concern over delays to the country’s development projects in Sri Lanka, a press release from the Sri Lankan Prime Minister’s office said.

“Mr. Narendra Modi has expressed his concern over the implementation of Indo-Sri Lanka joint development projects in accordance with the MoU signed between India and Sri Lanka in 2017 … Mr. Modi said he was not satisfied with the response he had received from the Sri Lankan government to his overtures,” said the Sinhala-language release, according to The Hindu.

The two prime ministers held talks on Saturday during Ranil Wickremesinghe’s visit to New Delhi.

A Sri Lankan army commander whom the UN has asked to be repatriated from a peacekeeping mission has not done anything wrong, the army has claimed.

“We have been informed that there was a request to recall the commander who is leading the UN peacekeeping contingent in Mali,” Sri Lankan military spokesperson Sumith Atapattu said.

“But it was only a verbal request. We will recall the Commander according to the formalities following an official request. If the UN does not want him there, we have to recall him.”

Sri Lanka must not be allowed to keep on using UN peacekeeping to escape accountability for the crimes of its armed forces, the International Truth and Justice Project (ITJP) has said in its statement welcoming the repatriation of a Sri Lankan army commander from a UN mission.

See here for the full statement. Extracts below:

“For the first time the UN has asked the Government of Sri Lanka to repatriate a peacekeeper because of his participation in alleged war crimes during the country’s civil war.”

Two Tamil university students shot and killed by Sri Lankan police two years ago were remembered by their peers at the University of Jaffna on Saturday.

Sri Lanka’s security forces have demanded alternative land and financing for relocation in order for civilian land in the North to be released from occupation.