In a damning situational update on Sri Lanka, the International Crisis Group has recommended military and economic sanctions to mitigate against tangible risks faced by Rajapaksa dissenters and ethnic communities in Sri Lanka.

Stressing the importance of concerted and decisive action, the International Crisis Group statement called for the international community to make clear that military cooperation, economic development funding and trade concessions would be “reconsidered” or “immediately suspended” in response to Rajapaksa’s rise to power.

The statement, released on Tuesday, also called for a renewed and updated UN Human Rights Council resolution on Sri Lanka due its failure to adhere to commitments of providing accountability and justice for mass atrocities and war crimes.

Sri Lanka's president, Maithripala Sirisena reiterated his absolute refusal to allow a merger of the North-East or a federal Tamil state saying he would have to be killed before he would allow either of the two. 

Speaking to the SLFP electoral organisers at a meeting in Colombo yesterday, Sirisena said that "some groups had been adamant about the merger of the North and East and the formation of a federal state". 

The International Democrat Union demanded that Sri Lanka reconvenes parliament, calling the actions of Sirisena “disgraceful.”

In a statement released this week, IDU chairman and former Canadian prime minister Stephen Harper said,

The Speaker has agreed to allocate the premier's chair to the former president Mahinda Rajapaksa, who was appointed as prime minister on Friday after the surprise sacking of Ranil Wickremesinghe, which has left the country in a state of political crisis with parliament prorogued by the president. 

The Speaker's spokesperson said the chair allocation was part of the gazette notification regarding the appointment of Rajapaksa. 

The International Commission of Jurists (ICJ) joined the chorus of growing international voices concerned over the appointment of Mahinda Rajapaksa as prime minister of Sri Lanka and called on the government to comply with a UN resolution.

“The Human Rights Council will be watching closely to assess whether Sri Lanka is in breach of its commitments,” said Frederick Rawski, the Asia Pacific Director for the ICJ.

^{Photograph: @Garikaalan}

Muslims in Jaffna town hung black flags to mark 28 years since they were expelled from the peninsula by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE).

The LTTE remained in control of Jaffna for 5 years after the expulsion, until the Sri Lankan government captured the town in 1995.

Despite Sri Lanka's control of Jaffna for over 20 years, thousands of Muslims remain displaced today. Of the 20,000 Muslim families that were originally displaced from the district, only small fractions have managed to return. Over 14,000 Muslim families were displaced from the Northern Province in total.  

In subsequent years the LTTE expressed regret for the events of 1990.

Sri Lanka's Speaker, Karu Jayasuriya today asked foreign diplomats "not to be hast to take diplomatic measures on the current political situation", the Daily Mirror reported. 

The Ranking Member of the US House Foreign Affairs Committee called on Sri Lanka to “immediately reconvene parliament” as the political crisis in the south continues.

Congressman Eliot Engel said he was “alarmed by the political crisis caused by the extra-constitutional replacement of Sri Lanka’s Prime Minister”.

Displaced families from Keppapulavu, Mullaitivu continued their protest for their lands on Monday, 610 days on. 

In a letter to the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, the families pointed out that despite the release of some areas, "the lands of 104 families are still in the hands of Sri Lankan Security Forces."

"Our places of worship, homes, schools, play grounds, cemeteries and other buildings are in the hands of the Sri Lankan forces. We, including children and elderly continue our protest in extremely difficult environment under heavy rain in places in jungles. While we're struggling, our lands were being used by the Sri Lankan Forces and enjoy all the benefits."

Sri Lanka’s leaders are reportedly offering millions of rupees to parliamentarians, as political turmoil in Colombo has led to a scramble to reach a parliamentary majority.

A cross party group of British MPs, the All Party Parliamentary Group for Tamils (APPGT) have urged the UK government to take urgent action over the Sri Lanka's unfolding crisis following the sacking of the prime minister, Ranil Wickremesinghe and appointment of the former president, Mahinda Rajapaksa in his place. 

In a letter to the British foreign secretary, Jeremy Hunt, the APPGT questioned what action the government had been taking to ensure political stability on the island. 

"Given the UK Government's long history with Sri Lanka, we would be grateful if you could outline the UK Government's assessment of events in Sri Lanka. Please outline steps the Government is taking to all for political stability in Sri Lanka.

Families of the disappeared in Kilinochchi continued their ongoing protest yesterday marking 618 days of demonstrations. 

Families, frustrated and angered by the lack of action on the issue and what they called false promises, criticised the leadership of the Tamil National Alliance (TNA). 

The UN Represenative in Sri Lanka Hanna Singer met with key political figures today as the political crisis, sparked by the appointment of Mahinda Rajapaksa as prime minister by the current president Maithripala Sirisena, continues. 

Meeting with Singer, Sirisena reportedly told her that all decisions were in accordance with the country's constitution and that the government was acting within a democratic framework. 

Writing in Al Jazeera, the Advocacy Director for the Washington DC-based People for Equality and Relief in Lanka (PEARL), and a Human Rights Fellow at the Colin Powell School for Civic and Global Leadership, Mario Arulthas, urged the international community to take urgent action to protect Tamils in Sri Lanka following the former president's return to power last week. 

"The Rajapaksa brothers have been plotting for a political comeback since their downfall in 2015. Tamil activists, who say they always knew Rajapaksas would one day return, are now revisiting their safety protocols, switching to secure messaging apps and sharing emergency contact details," Arulthas writes.

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