Father of three, Thanapalasingham Veerasingham, was found dead on the bottom of a swing at his home on Friday morning, shortly after he left to go fishing on Saturday morning. He was found with a saree wrapped around his neck, but was not hanging, reports TamilNet.

A panel with international legal experts has been nominated to monitor the design and implementation of the transitional justice mechanisms in Sri Lanka.

The Monitoring Accountability Panel (MAP) is comprised of several legal experts with experience in international criminal law and human rights, national war crimes courts, and regional criminal cases, a statement by the TGTE said.

The Tamil National Alliance's spokesperson MA Sumanthiran said that there is no room for compromise on the need for loyalty to the party and its leader R Sampanthan.

In response to a statement by the Northern Province Chief Minister CV Wigneswaran, Mr Sumanthiran said that people who attempt to sever the "sacred bond" between the Tamil people and their leader, will be rejected, as they have been in the past.

The MP said Mr Wigneswaran was "specifically handpicked" by Mr Sampanthan to function as the chief minister and that the people expressed overwhelming support for the TNA leader's choice.

"The Tamil National Alliance cannot shirk its responsibility to utilize the opportunity that presents itself today to work for the benefit and freedom of our people with sobriety and wisdom so as to pass the necessary statutes in the Provincial Council; accept and utilize the support already forthcoming from the international community; and transform the provincial administration to efficiently address the needs of the people with respect to fisheries, farming, healthcare, education, livelihoods, technological advancement and development centred on raising living standards," Mr Sumanthiran further said, offering his assistance to the chief minister.

See his full statement further below.

Meanwhile posters condemning Mr Sumanthiran's stance against the chief minister have appeared in several villages in Jaffna, days before he is due to speak at an event in the region.

Samantha Power, America’s Ambassador to the United Nations (UN), is in India and Sri Lanka from November 18 – 23. In India, she’s set to meet human rights activists, members of civil society and senior government officials. On November 20, she’ll give a speech about UN peacekeeping.

While far less significant on the geopolitical front, Power’s visit to Sri Lanka could be a tricky balancing act. Regarding the Sri Lanka portion of her trip, the U.S. mission to the UN has stated the following:

In Sri Lanka, Ambassador Power will highlight the United States’ commitment to strengthening the bilateral partnership, and she will underscore U.S. support for the country’s efforts toward reconciliation, accountability, and lasting peace in the aftermath of a devastating civil war. In Colombo, she will meet with senior government officials, community leaders, civil society groups, and youth.

The International Truth and Justice Project (ITJP) has called for “a credible international forensics team” to be allowed in to Sri Lanka, to document evidence remaining in secret torture centres in the island.

Responding to the United Nations Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances (UN WGEID) confirming the existence of such government run centres on the island, the ITJP said the government must now “bring in a credible international forensics team to document evidence (such as blood stains) remaining in the underground torture cells and attempt to match this with survivors in Sri Lanka and abroad”.

“We note the new Government of Sri Lanka has so far failed to investigate the allegations regarding the site in Trincomalee,” said the ITJP in a press release on Friday.
“This raises serious concerns about the pervasive clime of impunity and the Government of Sri Lanka’s reluctance to investigate and reform its own security forces, despite promises to the international community to do so.”

“The Sri Lankan Prime Minister, who has denied the existence of secret detention sites, should now publicly acknowledge their existence and outline in detail what steps he intends to take to address this problem,” it added.

The ITJP also called on governments across the world to “review naval cooperation, joint exercises and training with the Sri Lankan navy given the credible allegation by WGEID that naval personnel were involved in systematic torture over several years”.

The call comes as a Nigerian navy delegation met with the Commander of the Sri Lankan navy this week, reportedly expressing interest in their Inshore Patrol Craft.

See the full ITJP press release below.

Tamil civil societies across the North-East have called for the United Nations to be allowed to participate in a Sri Lankan government victim consultation process (VCP), in order to gain credibility and to ensure a UN Human Rights Council resolution is implemented.

In a letter sent to Sri Lankan Foreign Minister Mangala Samaraweera, civil society organisations said “the participation of the UN representatives as set out above is important for the credibility of the VCP and for ensuring that the UN is accountable to the victims and civil society for the implementation of the UNHRC Resolution”.

The letter detailed steps that the Sri Lankan government should take, including at least 50% representation for women, the “close consultation and concurrence of civil society actors who are seen to be credible by victim communities” and independent monitoring of the process by representatives “drawn from countries who co-sponsored the Geneva resolution and from international and local human rights and civil society actors”.

The note added “we recognize and acknowledge that the victims of the conflict in Sri Lanka are to be found in all communities throughout Sri Lanka”. “However, the suffering of the Tamil victims in the North and East must be given due recognition as should the structural impediments to them enjoying full rights as citizens.”

Popular opposition MP Udaya Gammanpila questioned the motives of the US Ambassadr to the UN, Samantha Power's visit to Sri Lanka, and said it would be better if she stayed away.

Mr Gammanpila, who came third in Colombo during the general election and is the secretary of the Buddhist hardline PHU, told media on Tuesday that her visit was "mysterious" and questioned whether the US saw Sri Lanka as recently conquered territory.

"She has the right to travel all over the US, which is fair enough as she is the US envoy to the UN. She may present the situation in her country to the UN as that is her job. But why is she touring Sri Lanka? Is it because the Americans see Sri Lanka as a colony which they recently conquered? Do they assume that Sri Lanka is the 51st State of the US?" he asked.

The PHU leader also said Ambassador Power would be meeting with LTTE-sympathisers while in the North-East.

The Sri Lankan government will investigate the findings by the UN Working Group for Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances, which discovered a secret torture facility and suspected the existence of further unofficial detention centres.

Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mahishini Colonne said the UNWGEID had briefed Ministry officials on the conclusions and findings of their investigation.

“During the discussions held with the ministry, the working group briefed us on their findings inclusive of certain cells maintained in the past. They don’t exist anymore. We have told them that the government is willing to investigation whatever the incidents of intimidation and harassment that existed and consider what measures should be taken after further consultations,” Ms Colonne told a weekly media briefing.