Families of Tamil political prisoners hunger striking in Anuradhapura prison met with the Northern Province governor on Sunday.

Accompanied by the Northern Provincial Councillor, M. K. Sivajilingam, family members of the three detainees hunger striking in Anuradhapuram met with the governor to discuss their concerns about the detainees' health.

The three prisoners are hunger-striking in protest against the transferral of their cases from Vavuniya to Anuradhapura.

Sri Lanka's president Maithripala Sirisena this weekend said he would introduced a special programme to relieve farmers in the North of debt, Adaderana reported. 

He made no mention of the military's ongoing occupation of Tamil lands and its business activities across the North-East, which Tamil farmers say is destroying their livelihoods. 

Sri Lankas' state minister of defence Ruwan Wijewardene rejected Tamils calls for the release of political prisoners stating that those detained were 'LTTE suspects'.

“A group of TNA MPs are attempting to collapse the peaceful live hood of Northerners by holding Harthal," Mr Wijewardene was quoted by Adaderana as saying. 

Sri Lanka's president Maithripala Sirisena urgeds Tamils protesting against his visit to Jaffna, not to protest against him as it would give the "devil" an opportunity. 

"If you stage protests against me and I am weakened, the devil will get an opportunity," he was quoted by Ceylon Today as saying. 

Mr Sirisena who was surrounded by armed officers, was confronted with protesters on Saturday as he visited Jaffna.

India and Sri Lanka held talks on Saturday aimed at finding a permanent solution to the arrest of Tamil Nadu fishermen by the Sri Lankan Navy. 

Both sides pledged to find a permanent solution to the arrests, the Times of India reported. 

India's minister of agriculture and farmers welfare, Radha Mohan Singh and Sri Lanka's fisheries minister Mahinda Amaraweera took part. 

Sri Lankan police officers clashed with Tamils protesting against the president's visit to Jaffna on Saturday. 

Protesters held black flags and photographs of their missing loved ones. Anger and frustration has been rising within Tamils in the North-East at the government's failure to deliver on its pledged commitments.

Today's protest follows a demonstration yesterday in Jaffna, which called for the release of Tamil political prisoners. 

Armed STF officers escorted the president as he made his way past the protest. He later stopped to speak to the protesters.

Sri Lanka has ranked 84^th out of 119 countries in the 2017 Global Hunger Index (GHI) released by the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) this week, with child malnutrition increasing on the island.

Amidst concerns of increasing military involvement in civilian life across the North-East, the Sri Lankan military held a series of events across Jaffna this month to mark World Children’s Day this month.

Sri Lanka's armed Special Task Force officers were deployed to Jaffna on Friday, surrounding Tamils protesting outside the Northern governor's office against the ongoing detention of Tamil political prisoners. 

The UN Special Rapporteur for Truth, Justice and Reparations visited Kilinochchi and Mullaitivu on Thursday.

The bodies of two Tamil youth who have been killed in Nunavil in Jaffna have been recovered by Sri Lankan police, reports The Island.

It is unclear how the youth were killed, with conflicting reports over the cause of death.

The Sri Lankan president, Maithripala Sirisena on Wednesday met with the National Freedom Front group regarding the constitution amendment. 

The NFF, led by Wimal Weerawansa has been vociferous in campaigning against any constitutional change, arguing that "the government was trying to bring in the new Constitution on the requirement of the Western forces and Tamil Diaspora to please Tamil separatists."

Sri Lankan navy personnel arrested five Tamil Nadu fishermen on Thuesday, who are alleged to have crossed into the island's waters, The Hindu reported. 

The men were reported to have been fishing off the cost of Neduntheevu. 

Families of Tamil political prisoners at special prayers for the detainees at Nallur Kandasamy Kovil.

^{Photo: Hamsan for Tamil Guardian}

Tamil civil society and political organisations have called for businesses and institutions to remain closed on Friday, October 13, in solidarity with Tamil political prisoners and their demands.