Sri Lanka’s prime minister Ranil Wickremesinghe has appointed a committee to obtain public vies on constitutional reforms, reports the Colombo Gazette.

 The committee which consist of politicians and members of civil society will receive written and oral proposals from the public and submit proposals to the cabinet sub-committee on electoral reforms.

The 24 committee appointed by Mr Wickrememsinge is led by Sri Lankan attorney Lal Wijeynayake. 

The Tamil National Alliance (TNA) may consider taking action against MP Dharmalingam Sidhartan for joining the Tamil People’s Council.

Mr Sidhartan who leads the TNA constituent party People’s Liberation Front (PLOTE), jointed the new organisation which is headed by the Chief Minister of the Northern Provincial Council CV Wigneswaran.

The General Secretary of the Illangai Thamil Arasu Katchi (ITAK) Mavai Senathirajah called for an inquiry into Sidhartan’s decision, to see if it violates any party principles, reports Colombo Gazette.

The former president, Mahinda Rajapaksa warned on Monday that a new political front was inevitable if party members were expelled from within the organisation.

Speaking after the opening of a new office of the Sri Lankan Freedom Party (SLFP) in Urubokka, Matara district, Mr Rajapaksa said members who had been expelled would come together to form a strong opposition.

"If people are thrown out of their parties, they will have no alternative but to form a new political party. Everyone has the responsibility to form a strong opposition" he was quoted by the BBC as saying.

The leader of the PHU Udaya Gammanpila, who is an MP aligned to former president Mahinda Rajapaksa, has asked President Maithripala Sirisena to order the whipping of the organisers of a concert featuring Enrique Iglesias, as he had the authority to order such punishment, the DailyMirror reported.

Mr Gammanpila, who gained the third-highest number of votes in Colombo during the general election, said the environment which "made a woman under the influence" of alcohol throw underwear on the stage should be investigated.

“As far as I am concerned, drinking alcohol in public is prohibited but distributing and selling them in public is not illegal according to Sri Lanka’s regulations. The President should be responsible in preventing such indecent concerts taking place in the country in the future,” he said.

The president yesterday called for the organisers to be whipped with toxic stingray tails, after he took offence to the behaviour of some women at the concert, in comments that went viral and became the subject of ridicule around the world.

The Chief Minister of the Northern Province has spoken about the Tamil People’s Council’s aims, reassuring that the council will not work against political parties or the wellbeing of the Tamil people.

Speaking at the Council’s second meeting, C. V. Wigneswaran, who also heads the TPC refuted criticism of the creation of the council and explained the motives behind the move.

Mr Wigneswaran said the TPC would act as an operation to gather, organise and publish the people’s views as well as assist political representatives whose aim is to protect the wellbeing of the Tamil people. The organisation aims to unite the Tamil people to win our rights, he said.

Expanding on the council’s three main objectives, Mr Wigneswaran said that they would firstly work to build a grassroots movement which could drive political leaders to achieve a solid solution for the Tamil people.

“Any freedom movement must act with the grassroots as a foundation. Individuals and middle-men cannot obtain a solution for us,” he said.

TNA spokesperson MA Sumanthiran on Saturday said that people who were friendly to the alliance were being led astray by Chief Minister CV Wigneswaran.

Commenting on the recently established Tamil Political Council, Mr Sumanthiran said that the Tamil people would not abandon the TNA or the leadership.

He further said that the establishment of the TPC was a clear indication that the chief minister was anti-TNA, the DailyMirror reported.

Sri Lanka’s announcement of a special court to handle alleged wartime abuses should still be met with scepticism.

Several weeks ago, Chandrika Kumaratunga announced that Sri Lanka would set up a special court to deal with alleged wartime abuses. Kumaratunga is the chairperson of the Office for National Unity and Reconciliation (ONUR); she served as President of Sri Lanka from 1994-2005.

The news about a special court came as a surprise to many people. When the initial announcement was made, Kumaratunga stated that the court was expected to begin its work by late December or early January. Yet it remains unclear if that’s still the case.

The Tamil National Alliance as received the co-chair positions for all District Coordinating Commissions in the districts of the North-East.

Leader of the party R Sampanthan will be the co-chairman of the Trincomalee DCC, MP Kavindran Kodeeswaran in the Amparai, and MP G. Srineshan in Batticaloa, according to TNA spokesperson MA Sumanthiran.

Sri Lanka's former army commander, Field Marshal Sarath Fonseka has reapplied for a US Green Card, weeks after reports indicated that his visa application to visit the US was rejected, reports the Sunday Leader.

Mr Fonseka, who is thought to be responsible for heinous mass atrocities, was a Green Card holder until it expired while he was in prison, held by the Rajapaksa regime.