Buddhists monks and the Sri Lankan military partnered up once more to hold religious ceremonies in Mullaitivu last month, despite concerns over the militarised Sinhalisation of the North-East.

<p>Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) in charge of Jaffna Police, W S E Jayasundera has been appointed as Sri Lanka’s new director of the Terrorism Investigation Division (TID).&nbsp;</p> <p>Jayasundera’s appointment comes after the former director of the TID, was arrested over an alleged plot to assassinate Sri Lanka’s president Maithripala Sirisena and former Defence Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p>

At destroyed LTTE cemeteries scattered across the Tamil homeland, tens of thousands across the North-East commemorated Maaveerar Naal on the 27th of November.

The events took place despite reports of intimidation and harassment from the military, which continues to be stationed across the region, and a deepening political crisis in Colombo.

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<p>A Muslim journalist from Amparai was reported missing last week, reports TamilWin.</p> <p>A L Shiyan, a father of two from Pothuvil - Mathuchenai in Amparai and a journalist for a private media organisation has been missing since Thursday according to a report filed with police.</p> <p>Police said Shiyan’s travelling bag had been recovered on the seaside in front of Pothuvil Buddhist vihara.</p> <p>Pothuvil police said further investigations were taking place.</p>

The Sri Lankan army showed little sign that it was slowing down its militarisation of the North-East as it announced another batch of troops had completed a “Special Infantry Operations -  Refresher Course” at its base in Jaffna

The Sri Lankan military carried out an exercise where troops dispersed protestors, at the army’s Battalion Training School (BTS) at Puthukkuddiyirippu last month.

Soldiers, carrying rifles and dressed in riot gear, were seen carrying out exercises against a mock protest group who were holding placards.

 

Politics, culture, religion and caste were the topics of discussion at an event held at SOAS University of London last month, as British Tamils gathered to discuss Tamil identity in the diaspora.

As part of the discussion - entitled ‘Diasporic identity: Who are we?’ – panellists discussed a variety of topics related to how the British Tamil community and identity has been formed and grown.

<p>Vavuniya residents who have been unable to cultivate their lands due to the obstruction caused by vast Sri Lankan army security bunds put up during the war have been told by local officials that the bunds will not be removed any time soon.</p> <p>The district’s government agent has said that local authorities need around Rs 15 million to be able to remove the 22km long sand bunds from private cultivation lands, and that the funds are not forthcoming from any source.</p>

Tamil children in villages in Vavuniya are being forced to travel long distances to attend school due to school closures in the district.

Specifically the closures of two schools - Koliya Kulam GTM School and Varudaiyar Iluppaikulam GTM school - have affected families in several surrounding villages including Kunchukulam, Navvi and Palamottai.

Both schools resumed operations when the areas were resettled following the end of the war in 2010 but ceased operating this year and have been left to dilapidate.

<p>The killing of two police officers in Batticaloa was a ploy to create problems for Tamils on the island, a Tamil National Alliance (TNA) MP has said.</p> <p>“We view the incident of the shooting and killing of two police officers in Vavunathivu last week as act to incite racism,” Batticaloa representative G Sirinesan said in parliament last week.</p> <p>“We must approach it as a behind-the-scenes ploy to create problems for the Tamil people,” he said.</p>