Kamal Gunaratne, an accused war criminal and Sri Lanka’s Defence Secretary stated that new ‘vigilant committees’ are to be formed in schools as a step to fight Sri Lanka’s drug menace.

Earlier this year a Presidential Task Force (PTF) was set-up allowing Sri Lankan officials increased authority to undertake the alleged threat of drugs without little scrutiny. 

The announcement of the vigilant committees was made during a conference between the National Child Protection Authority (NCPA) and the Defence Ministry.

The families of the disappeared staged a demonstration in Vavuniya urging for “international justice for their loved ones” and insisted they would only help elect politicians that will “solve all Tamil problems” in the upcoming parliamentary elections.

Journalists, colleagues and family of a budding Tamil journalist who was murdered 13 years ago held a memorial event in Jaffna today, as they continued their struggle for justice over his killing.

Sahathevan Nilakshan, an up and coming journalist was shot and killed by suspected Sri Lankan military intelligence personnel on August 1st, 2007.

At a time when the Jaffna district was on lockdown due to a military-imposed curfew, and the city’s streets were heaving with troops, so-called unidentified gunmen were able to approach Nilakshan’s home in Kokkuvil, a busy suburb less than 5km away from town.

The perpetrators forced a friend of the journalist to accompany them to Nilakshan’s home and call him outside, before gunning him down.

A paramilitary leader who is accused of rights abuses and is a staunch backer of the Rajapaksa regime has reportedly been “assured a ministerial post,” if he wins a seat in next week’s parliamentary elections.

The Students’ Union of Jaffna University called on the Tamil people to continue the struggle for self-determination through political means ahead of the upcoming Sri Lankan parliamentary election. 

Speaking in Kandy, Sri Lankan President and leader of the SLPP, Mahinda Rajapaksa, attacked the 19^th amendment of the constitution claiming it violated the rights of people and was introduced with the aim of “taking revenge from the Rajapaksas”.

Lord Naseby, a controversial British politician who has been persistently criticised for his partiality for Sri Lanka has once again emerged to condemn the political aspirations of the Tamil people by denouncing efforts of the Transnational Government of Tamil Eelam (TGTE) to remove the ban on the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE).

Eleven international human rights organisations have cautioned the Sri Lankan government in a statement demanding that they end targeted detention and the intimidations of lawyers, activists, human rights defenders, and journalists in Sri Lanka.

According to the joint statement, signed by organisations such as Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, the International Commission of Jurists, and CIVICUS;

‘‘A campaign of fear has intensified since the 2019 presidential election and has cast a shadow over the 2020 parliamentary election campaign’’.

Attacks on NGOs

Unknown attackers have smashed the door of the inner sanctuary of Kusalaanamalai Saiva Kumaran temple and destroyed the main deity statue, as vandalism attacks on places of worship have increased across the North-East in recent weeks.

The latest incident in Karadiyanaattukkulam in Batticaloa took place after a Sinhala-Buddhist monk was observed inspecting the temple three weeks prior, reports TamilNet.

Sri Lankan Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaska told an election rally last week that the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) “will not be allowed to achieve through the election what the LTTE and its leader Prabhakaran failed to achieve with a gun,” as he continued his campaign of speaking out against devolving powers to the Tamil North-East.

Rajapaksa claims that his SLPP is going to win the general election and has promised that the government will stand against uprisings and political positions that could “divide the country.”