US Ambasador to Sri Lanka Atul Keshap writes on his country's deep connections with Jaffna, ahead of the US Air Force’s Operation Pacific Angel visit to the the region.

The first American missionaries arrived in Jaffna in 1813, when the Rev. Samuel Newell founded the first American schools in Thellipalai. Those schools were the first of hundreds of schools and medical centers that provided for the people of northern Sri Lanka.  Continuing this deep connection between our two nations, this week Jaffna is welcoming the U.S. Air Force’s Operation Pacific Angel, which will renovate schools and provide medical services for nearby communities.

Sri Lankan parliamentarian Jayantha Samaraweera called for the pardon of a Sri Lankan soldier convicted for massacring 8 Tamils, 16 years ago.

Tamil political prisoners locked in Sri Lankan jails launched a hunger strike this week, as they continued to call for their immediate release from detention.

Approximately 99 prisoners started their hunger strike earlier this week reports Colombo Gazette, demanding that they either be released or formally charged.

The Sri Lankan government has blocked the sale of land to China in the Colombo Port City project, as it agreed a new set of terms with Beijing on Friday.

The new agreement will see an expansion of the project, which was initially worth over $1.4 billion. A district is set to be built within the port city which will be renamed the Colombo International Financial City.

Sri Lanka's president, Maithripala Sirisena, rejected what he described as 'allegations' that the new government was considering removal Buddhism's prominent place in the country's constitution. An article published on the president's official media site, said Mr Sirisena "rejected the allegations made by the narrow extremist political groups by spreading false propaganda that the new government is preparing to remove the clause on Buddhism in the Constitution."

The Sri Lankan government continues to give Buddhism the most prominent place, with police and local government officials appearing 'to act in concert with Buddhist nationalists'.

'For example, police continued to cite outdated government circulars restricting the construction of religious facilities in attempts to force churches to cease operations,' the report said, although acknowledging that such instances had reduced under the present government. 

'In multiple instances, police reportedly failed to respond or were reluctant to arrest or pursue criminal cases against individuals instigating attacks on minority religious sites,' the report however added. 

The Sri Lankan parliament erupted in anger on Thursday as the government's Office of Missing Persons bill was debated before being passed without vote. A number of parliamentarians from the joint opposition delivered heated statements, as government figures, including the foreign minister Mangala Samaraweera attempted to pass the bill. 

Tamils protested in Jaffna on Monday demanding the release of political prisoners.

The former LTTE media coordinator, Daya master was detained under the Prevention of Terrorism Act by Sri Lanka's Terrorism Investigation Division, after being summoned by Vavuniya Magistrate's Court. 

The Northern Provincial Council on Tuesday passed a motion calling for a medical investigation into the "mysterious" deaths of former LTTE cadres, stipulating that such an investigation should include international experts.