Arrangements are underway to obtain over 1,400 acre of land in Kilinochchi, stated the government in Parliament on Thursday, as land grabbing by the state continues.

1,406.94 acres of land in Kilinochchi are to be seized, and distributed amongst 10 government organisations and to at least 3 private companies on long-term leases. The land to be given to the private companies has been evaluated at Rs. 17 million, stated the Land Development Ministry.

Sri Lankan Minister Mervyn Silva has called on the Sinhalese people to reproduce as much as possible, in order to increase population numbers.

Silva, Sri Lanka’s Public Relations Minister, was reportedly addressing a government function in Wattala, and stated,

"The Sinhala race is rapidly becoming a minority and my only only request to the Sinhalese is to produce children as much as possible to avoid extinction of their race".

The Sri Lankan government already offers cash incentives for the Sri Lankan Army, almost exclusively Sinhalese, to have extra children, having awarded over Rs. 700 million in payments so far.

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The Minister then went on to  offer his services to the Sinhala people, adding,

"There is no point in lamenting over this problem… If any woman has a problem in having children, I kindly request her to contact me for further assistance".

A court case regarding the disappearance of Ezhilan, the missing husband TNA councillor Ananthy Sasitharan, and 5 other men who surrendered to the Sri Lankan Army, has been postponed yet again after the government lawyer had failed to appear at the session.

Families of the disappeared first filed this case in 2009, but since then it has been postponed several times, including being transferred from the Vavuniya High Court to a court in Mullaitivu.
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The Sri Lankan Army has declared it has discovered ancient Buddhist ruins in Kilinochchi, with the area now closed off as a “sacred archaeological site”.

The Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) has condemned the release of Indian fishermen by the Sri Lankan government at their central committee meeting this week, reported Colombo Gazette.

JVP MP Sunil Handunetti criticised the move stating that the Sri Lankan government was not concerned with any fishermen that India was holding in custody.

A much criticised Sri Lankan government commission into disappearances has received over 18,000 submissions regarding missing people, in just three hearings across the North-East of the island.