Sri Lanka’s Fisheries Minister and leader of the Eelam People’s Democratic Party (EPDP) lashed out at protesting Tamil fishermen in Point Pedro and abruptly left with an armed Sri Lankan escort, as tempers flared earlier today.

Addressing fishermen who were demonstrating against Indian trawler incursions, Douglas Devananda urged them to give up their protest.

Responding to a question posed by the Shadow Minister for Northern Ireland, Tonia Antoniazzi, Minister of State at the Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office, Amanda Milling, noted the government’s “serious concern” over sexual violence in Sri Lanka and reaffirmed its commitment to UNHRC resolution 46/1.

Sri Lanka’s Central Bank Governor apparently backtracked on remarks made by the government’s finance minister today, stating that the crisis-hit island was only seeking “technical assistance” from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) as debt repayments continue to pile up.

In a tweet posted earlier today Ajith Nivard Cabraal said any approach by Sri Lanka to the IMF was strictly “about a routine Technical Assistance Program on Macro-Fiscal capacity building for MOF's new Macro-Fiscal Unit”.

“Nothing else,” he added.

Tamil National Alliance leader R Sampanthan has written to members of the United Nations Human Rights Council, calling on them to denounce Sri Lanka’s failure to investigate mass atrocities and that it has “not taken any steps to address the Tamil National Question”.

In a letter sent last week, Sampanthan stated that the Sri Lankan government “continues a programme of repression of Sri Lankan Tamils”, listing moves such as militarisation, arrests and surveillance of political activists.

<p>Sri Lanka’s Centre for Policy Alternatives, a Colombo-based policy think-tank, has decried the proposed amendments to Sri Lanka’s draconian Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA) as “grossly inadequate” and demanding an “immediate moratorium on the use of PTA until an acceptable law can be drafted”.</p> <blockquote><p> “The proposed amendment to the PTA appears to be more a token effort to address international pressure rather than a genuine and effective exercise to address ground realities and the abuses and violations brought about by the PTA” their report notes. </p></blockquote>

Sri Lanka’s worsening economic crisis has left many impoverished people across the island unable to purchase enough food to eat, reports The Telegraph this morning.

“We used to have three meals a day but now we are having to skip dinner because of the little income that we have. This is all because of the increase in prices of essential goods,” said Susila Irangani from Dummalasuriya in Sri Lanka’s northwestern province

“The cost of living is such that we cannot even think of having a balanced meal… How can a family like us survive with the soaring prices of essential items?... Does the government want us to starve and die?”

Responding to the Sri Lankan government’s proposed amendments to the draconian Prevention of Terrorism Act, the International Commission of Jurists has slammed the government for its “disingenuous reform attempts” and demanded a full repeal of the legislation.

“The Government of Sri Lanka is once again scrambling to do its bare minimum ahead of another UN Human Rights Council session, in an attempt to deflect focus away from its failing human rights record,” said Ian Seiderman, ICJ’s Legal and Policy Director.

Tamil fishermen in Jaffna have launched protests and roadblocks as tensions with their Indian counterparts boiled over this week, after the death of at least two Eelam Tamils following a reported collision with an Indian vessel.

A group of young Tamil legal professionals officially launched the Association of British Tamil Lawyers (ABTL) which aims to provide business, networking and educational opportunities for Tamil lawyers and students alike. The organisation uniquely offers a support network by pairing Tamil lawyers with aspiring lawyers through one-to-one mentoring schemes and other professional training methods. 

Sri Lanka’s foreign minister has denied that his government purchased weapons from North Korea, in a potential breach of United Nations sanctions, just days after finance minister Basil Rajapaksa reportedly admitted to using ‘black market’ cash to buy arms.

In a statement released this morning, Sri Lanka’s foreign minister G L Peiris “refutes the alleged purchase of weapons from North Korea”.