Sri Lanka’s ambassador to China slammed “the imperial powers of the West” for exploiting “occupied countries” in an exclusive interview to China’s state news agency Xinhua this week, as Colombo looks to build stronger relations with Beijing.

Sri Lankan parliamentarian Namal Rajapaksa was a controversial participant at the Commonwealth Parliamentary Forum in London this week, taking part in discussions around conflict resolution and preventing sexual violence despite his continued denial of human rights abuses committed by Sri Lankan troops.

The Chief Minister of the Northern Province has called on the Indian government to “apply political pressure” on Sri Lanka in order to bring about a political solution to the ethnic conflict on the island.

Speaking at a farewell dinner in Jaffna to honour outgoing Indian Consul General A Nadarajan, Chief Minister C V Wigneswaran said that “India needs to be robust in its foreign policy with Sri Lanka in order to find a lasting solution to the ethnic conflict”.

“India should apply political pressure on the Government for a federal solution rather than strengthening more economic ties, as has been the case in recent times,” he added.

Defying repeated calls for demilitarisation of the North-East, dozens of uniformed Sri Lankan soldiers entered a Hindu temple in Vavuniya last month to take part in a religious ceremony.

Sri Lanka's former foreign minister, Mangala Samaraweera sought to allay criticism of the Office on Missing Persons (OMP) as a mechanism that targets the Sinhala community, stating that the OMP did not aim to benefit any one community and nor did it aim to target another.

The UN Special Envoy for anti-personnel mines ban arrived in Sri Lanka on Sunday.

Prince Mired Al Hussein is expected to travel to Muhamalai in Jaffna this week, where he will meet with landmine victims and hold meetings with agencies doing mine clearing work. 

He is also scheduled to meet with the president, prime minister and foreign minister during his visit. 

The Canadian government this week called on Sri Lanka to set a clear timetable for implementation of commitments outlined in the cosponsored UN Human Rights Council resolution. 

“Frustrations persist among those seeking to heal the wounds of all those who suffered and wish to achieve real reconciliation. Canada is disappointed by the slow progress in implementing commitments to advance peace and reconciliation, political stability, human rights and government accountability," Canada's Foreign Affairs Minister, Chrystia Freeland told the Council in Geneva. 

Families of the disappeared who marked one year since their protest began in Trincomalee have denounced the Office for Missing Persons as a delusion introduced by the Sri Lankan government to pacify the international community while the UN Human Rights Council session takes place.

Tamil Hindu groups protested against the ongoing attacks against Hindu temples in the North on Sunday.

The international community must use all its leverage to ensure accountability and reconciliation has not reached a dead-end in Sri Lanka, the Global Tamil Forum said in a statement on Saturday. 

"Almost nine years after the end of the war and two and a half years after co-sponsoring a UNHRC resolution calling for comprehensive transitional justice measures, the Government of Sri Lanka has not taken meaningful steps to inspire confidence of its commitments and intentions," the GTF added.