The United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention stated that the use of torture by Sri Lankan security forces on Tamil detainees continues and called on the Sri Lankan government “to fully honour the obligations it has undertaken in accordance with the Convention against Torture”.

In a preliminary report released on Friday, the Working Group highlighted several areas of concern, including the use of torture, the transfer of cases of Tamil detainees to Sinhala-speaking courts, the detention of Tamils who return to the island and continued arrest of former LTTE cadres which creates a “revolving door of repeated deprivation of liberty”.

Sri Lanka’s Court of Appeal has once more extended an interim injunction which prevents police from pursuing legal action against former Defence Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa.

The decision marks the third consecutive time that the order has been issued, preventing the Financial Crime Investigations Division (FCID) from taking any legal action. ColomboPage reports the court’s decision was made “despite the objections of the Attorney General”.

Members of the Tamil community across the North-East commemorated the 11th death anniversary of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam’s chief negotiator Anton Balasingham.

Malaysia is looking to strengthen ties with Sri Lanka as a visit by its prime minister, Dato' Sri Mohd Najib Tun Abdul Razak on December 17. 

Malaysia's foreign ministry said a high level team would be visiting Sri Lanka, followed by the Maldives. 

“He is due to take up an important assignment related to Malaysia’s chairmanship of the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) in April 2020. Given the scale of CHOGM, which will involve 52 countries, early preparations are essential for it to be a success,” the ministry said.

The Indian government expects Sri Lanka to keep India's security concerns in mind, the ministry of external affairs said on Thursday. 

Asked about China's control of Hambantota port in Sri Lanka, the MEA spokesperson Raveesh Kumar was quoted by ANI as saying, "we are confident about the strength and enduring nature of our ties with Sri Lanka which are deep rooted and multi dimensional. Our relations with Sri Lanka stand on its own and are not dependent on our relation with any third country."

The Sri Lankan government announced on Thursday it would be joinging the Ottawa treaty banning the use and stockpiling of land mines. 

The move fulfils a pledge made by the government last year amid significant international pressure pushing for reform.

"As a full state party, we look forward to taking our place in the promotion of this Convention, including through capacity-building and mine clearance," Sri Lanka's representative at its permanent mission to the UN, Rohan Perera said at an event to mark the 20th anniversary of the Ottawa Convention, titled 'A World Free of Landmines'. 

The United Nations Committee against Torture has advised the Australian government not to deport a Tamil man to Sri Lanka, as he faces the risk of torture if sent back to the island.

An interim measure formally requesting Australia to stay the deportation order whilst his case was being heard was issued by the committee, over fears regarding his safety.

The asylum seeker – referred to by the Guardian as ‘Jyran’ – has aan arrest warrant in Sri Lanka for “assisting anti-government activities and supporting and assisting a terrorist organisation”.

Sri Lankan troops deployed in Jaffna will be receiving new perks and incentives, the army announced last month, continuing to ignore the ongoing calls to demilitarise the Tamil homeland.

Sri Lanka’s president warned that the belief of separatism still exists in Sri Lanka and in international forum, calling on more to be done to tackle it.

“Today, we are gathered here because deep down we know that we have a problem in this country,” he told a convention in Colombo this week. “The ethnic and religious conflicts in this country resulted in a 30-year war. The war was ended through a military solution.”

“Our Forces were able to defeat a separatist terrorist organisation but we have not managed to defeat the beliefs that led to it,” Mr Sirisena said, adding that “though the idea of separatism has not been openly dealt within the country.”

Photograph: Sunday Observer

The Sri Lankan government officially handed Hambantota Port to China on a 99-year lease last week, as Colombo continues to struggle to pay off massive debts.