Sri Lankan military forces should no longer carry out civilian tasks within Jaffna, the Jaffna Municipal Council has said.

A resolution, put forward by TNPF councillor V. Manivannan and passed on Wednesday by the council, said there was no need for military forces to carry out civilian tasks within the council’s administrative border.

"We are demanding that the military, which is occupying Tamil people's lands in the North, should leave from here,” the Council said.

“By using the military for events that take place here, it is like we are permitting their presence here."

The 37^th anniversary of the burning of the Jaffna Public Library was marked at a remembrance event this morning.

Sri Lanka’s president met with a US Congress delegation from the House Armed Services Committee on Wednesday, where the growing partnership between the two governments in the security sector was discussed.

^{Cover art by Sagi Thilipkumar}

On midnight 31^st May 1981, the Jaffna Public Library, famous for being the crucible of Tamil literature and heritage, was set ablaze by Sri Lankan security forces and state-sponsored mobs.

Over 95,000 unique and irreplaceable Tamil palm leaves (ola), manuscripts, parchments, books, magazines and newspapers, housed within an impressive building inspired by ancient Dravidian architecture, were destroyed during the burning. Some texts that were kept in the library, such as the Yalpanam Vaipavama (a history of Jaffna), were literally irreplaceable, being the only copies in existence. It was one of the largest libraries in Asia.

The Sri Lankan army organised a Buddhist ceremony in Vavuniya earlier this month, reportedly marking the first time that Vesak was celebrated in the region in such a large scale.

The speaker of Sri Lanka’s parliament claimed that the “our country has been elevated before the world as a decent and respected nation”, following an “A” status accreditation for the Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka (HRCSL) earlier this month.

"I believe that our country has been elevated before the world as a decent and respected nation," said Karu Jayasuriya, who also serves as chairman of Sri Lanka’s Constitutional Council.

"Especially it is a confirmation in the country and internationally that Sri Lankans are citizens of a free society with justice and equality,” he added. “This is a great step we took forward as a nation."

Fishermen from Vadamarachchi have been threatened by Sri Lankan Navy intelligence officers following a protest against encroachment of their fishing areas by fishermen from other districts.

The fishermen of Vadamarachchi East held a protest on Sunday, in opposition to hundreds of structures to farm sea cucumbers put up on the coasts of Thalaiyadi, Maruthankerny, Sembiyanpattru by fishermen from the North Western Province.

^{Photograph: AOAV}

The health, economy and environment of the predominantly Tamil North-East in Sri Lanka have all suffered from the use of explosive weapons, said Action on Armed Violence (AOAV) in a report released this week.

^{File photograph: The Sri Lankan military gathered at the foundation laying ceremony of a new Buddhist Vihara in Muthur, Trincomalee last month.}

The Global Alliance of National Human Right Institutions (GANHRI) has given the Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka (HRCSL) an “A” status accreditation this month.

GANHRI considers the Member National Human Rights Institutions’ (NHRIs) compliance with the United Nations Paris Principles when issuing status accreditations. An ‘A’ accreditation is required in order for NHRIs to become voting members and to hold governance positions in GANHRI.

The HRCSL issued an official statement today informing its citizens of the designation: