A report on marginalisation and sexual violence against women in the Northeast by NGO ‘Minority Rights Group’ (MRG) has found that the Sri Lankan government actively contributes to rights violations and insecurity among Tamil women in the Northeast and also said that the situation for many Tamil women has only got worse since the end of the war.

In the report’s key findings, MRG explains that many Tamil women in the Northeast are required to be breadwinners, but have not seen an improvement in their rights or status, instead being left out of official development programmes. The report also says that the government’s ‘pervasive’ militarisation had ‘negative consequences for the safety and freedom’ of Tamil women, and actively led to rights violations and insecurity. MRG also noted that female household leaders were especially vulnerable to land grabs and other violations.

The Sri Lankan Army responded, denying allegations that military presence is responsible for sexual violence and insecurity in the Northeast, writing them off as a “myth” and presenting statistics claiming that "in a majority of cases, the perpetrators had been close relatives or neighbours of the victim and had been of Tamil ethnicity".

See full MRG report: ‘Living with insecurity: Marginalization and sexual violence against women in north and east Sri Lanka’ (PDF)

Extracts from the reports executive summary below:

“In the latter stages of the conflict and its aftermath, military forces were responsible for a variety of human rights abuses against the civilian population, including extrajudicial killings, disappearance, rape, sexual harassment and other violations. In the current climate of impunity, sustained by insecurity and the lack of military accountability, these abuses continue.”

The New York Times, in an interview with the editor of state sponsored Sri Lankan newspaper, The Daily News, looked into why the editor felt state sponsored media was vital in Sri Lanka.

A newly constructed Buddhist temple was ceremoniously opened in the Northern provincial area of Kilinochchi, today.

The temple, which was constructed by the military security forces, was opened by the Secretery of Defence and Urban Development, Gotobaya Rajapaksa and the Commander of the Army, Daya Ratnayake.

Economic Development Minister Basil Rajapaksa has told the Daily Mirror of Sri Lanka’s relief that the US was able to find a resolution to the stand-off between Democrats and Republicans, which brought the country close to defaulting on its debt.

Basil said he was concerned as the US would not be able to pay for Sri Lanka’s investments in US treasury bonds if it defaulted.

As the controversy around the forthcoming Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting grows, reports have emerged that the Indian Prime minister Manmohan Singh may boycott the summit.

"The Prime Minister and other senior leaders in the party have been discussing the issue for the last month. We got indications that the PM is not likely to attend the meeting," a Union minister from Tamil Nadu told the Times of India.

A spokesperson for the External Affairs Ministry refused to confirm Singh’s attendance, only saying that an Indian delegation would attend the summit.

Six men, including a close associate of President Mahinda Rajapkse have been charged with the murder of Khurram Shaikh, who was shot and stabbed in Tangalle, southern Sri Lanka, in 2011.

The suspects have been freed on bail until the next court date, yet to be determined.

Progress on the case has been slow, but increasing international pressure and the forthcoming Commonwealth summit in the country, have pushed the government to act on the case.

Rochdale MP Simon Danzcuk cautiously welcomed the news.

The Chavakachcheri Pradeshiya Sabha, on Monday, passed a resolution that called for the reconstruction of LTTE cemeteries in the Northern Provincial area.

The Chavakachcheri PS, which is run by the Illankai Arasu Kadchi (ITAK), passed its resolution at a monthly meeting.

Cultural Affairs Minister T.B Ekanayake said this week that the Veddha people in Sri Lanka should not play cricket as it was detrimental to their culture.

According to the minister, cricket could change their lifestyles as they had to wear shirts and trousers.

An influential group of MPs has criticised the British government for its approach with Sri Lanka and its stance during the allocation of the 2013 Commonwealth heads of Government Meeting.

The House of Commons Foreign Affairs Committee slammed the UK’s “timid” and “inconsistent” approach on Sri Lanka in a report, and said the government could and should have taken a more principled stand.