The British government expressed “serious concerns” to Sri Lanka’s High Commissioner this week, after a United Nations Special Rapporteur report found torture was endemic, systematic and routine on the island.

Responding to a question from the leader of the All Party Parliamentary Group for Tamils Paul Scully, the Leader of the House Andrea Leadsom said the UK had expressed their concerns over the report’s findings to Sri Lanka’s representative in London.

The Governor of Sri Lanka’s Southern Province warned that there would be “stiff resistance” to federalism on the island, labelling any attempt to introduce devolution a “conspiracy”.

Speaking at a Buddhist ceremony in Kandy, Governor Hemakumara Nanayakkara said that he “would continue to speak the truth according to my conscience”.

The Island reported the governor as calling on people to “oppose efforts being made to introduce federalism” and “warned that there would be stiff resistance if the government tried to create a federal state”.

The Sri Lankan military announced that it had completed the construction of a new water facility at a Tamil school in Jaffna earlier this month.

The European Union's ambassador to Sri Lanka and the Maldives, Tung Lai-Margue, told Sri Lanka to ensure transparency in the financial sector, end corruption and cut duties in order to make the country appeal to foreign investors. 

The National Freedon Front (NFF) said it "vehemently" condemned the statement by the UN Special Rapporteur on human rights and counter-terrorism, Ben Emmerson on his visit to Sri Lanka this month, accusing him of violating sovereignty. 

The NFF's national organiser, Piyasiri Wijenayaka was quoted by Adaderana as saying the statement was “an interference to the internal affairs of a sovereign country and a hypocritical utterance of a representative of the neo-imperialists". 

Speaking at an event organised by the European Chamber of commerce, Sri Lanka's prime minister promised liberalisation of the economy prior to the next budget, expressing his support for breaking down barriers for competition. 

The event was entitled 'Sri Lanka-the next Asian Economic Miracle’. 
 
Stating that GSP+ was key to Sri Lanka's economic development, Mr Wickremesinghe was quoted by the Daily Mirror as saying: 

The Sri Lankan President signed the gazette for the Office of Missing Persons today.

Announcing on his official Twitter account that he had signed the gazette, President Sirisena said “this marks another step forward in Sri Lanka’s path to sustained peace.”

“OMP being gazetted is a significant step forward for the people of Sri Lanka,” the UN resident coordinator, Una McCauley said on Twitter.

The US Ambassador, Atul Keshap, said “I’m happy [the President] signed bill and gazetted Office of Missing Persons; families waiting for answers hope for swiftest  operationalization.”

The UN is to ensure soldiers from Sri Lanka are vetted prior to joining the UN Peacekeeping force. 

Spekaing at a press briefing in New York, the deputy spokesperson for the UN Secretary-General was quoted by the Daily Mirror as saying, “wherever we recruit soldiers from, in every country, we try to vet the incoming peacekeeping troops, to make sure that they're not involved in any such problems in their home country.”

“And, of course, we will do that sort of vetting for Sri Lankan troops as we do for any other country,” he reportedly added. 

Singapore’s Foreign Minister said Jaffna “holds special significance” for his country, during a visit to the region today.

The United Nations Under Secretary General for Political Affairs Jeffrey Feltman arrived in Sri Lanka on Wednesday, undertaking a three-day visit to the island where he will discuss peacebuilding with government officials and members of the Tamil National Alliance.