The Sri Lankan army ceremoniously declared open a Buddhist shrine in Kilinochchi with a religious ceremony in the Tamil North-East on Monday.

An official military website boasted that the shrine had been built “within a short period of time” following the planting of a branch of a Bodhi tree at the military headquarters on January 2nd 2016.

“In this invaluable religious programme was arranged under the direction of Commander, Security Forces - Kilinochchi and opening ceremony were lined with a religious event like Perahera and Bodhi Pooja Pinkama,” said the website.

Chief Minister of the Northern Province C V Wigneswaran said attempts by the Sri Lankan military to hold on to land in the North-East will “never lead to reconciliation” at a speech in Jaffna on Saturday.

Speaking at a ceremony where 700 acres of land where handed back to Tamil civilians in Jaffna, the chief minister said that “the return of even one acre of land to the owners by those who are not entitled to hold on to it, is to be welcomed” noting that “As soon as the War was over, steps should have been taken for disarmament, demobilization and reintegration (DDR) which is an integral part of post conflict peace consolidation”.

He added that more land must be released, stating the military cannot continue “point to the Militants to enable them to continue to hold on to any property without handing them over to the legitimate owners”.

“Any attempt by the Military to hold on to such land would create the perception among our people that they are being held forcibly by an Occupational army,” he added. “The Sinhalese would then be continued to be looked upon as aliens who have forcibly taken possession of their traditional lands. This could never lead to reconciliation.”

“Every person displaced because of the war must be allowed to get back to his/her land, trade, profession or means of livelihood,” continued the chief minister. “That is sacrosanct.”

The chief minister's comments came as protestors in Jaffna blocked attempts by the Sri Lankan military to survey an area of land which was reportedly due to be taken over by the government

Sri Lanka’s State Minister of Defence Ruwan Wijewardene said there are no motives to arrest military personnel and assured troops that “national security” would be strengthened.

Speaking to a gathering of troops at a ceremony to launch a new benefit scheme for soldiers, Mr Wijewardene was reported as stating “there are no any motives to arrest military personnel or to lessen the strength of the military owing to external factors (sic),” by the Ministry of Defence’s official website.

The Sri Lankan police have refused permission for the launch of a posthumous  book by the LTTE political division's women's wing leader, Thamilini, reported Lanka News Web.

The book, which is said to be an autobiography written by Thamilini prior to her death, has since been spearheaded by her husband.

According to the news site, the police said permission to release the book would only be granted if the photographs of Thamilini wearing her LTTE uniform and that of the Eelam Tamil flag were removed from the cover page.

The chairman of the US House Committee on Foreign Affairs has written to Secretary of State John Kerry, urging the US government to press Sri Lanka to release Tamil political detainees, repeal the PTA and return land held by the military.

Chairman Edward Royce said he supports the increased diplomatic engagement with the Sri Lankan government and pointed out that the Sirisena-administration had made several promises and continues to make "impressive, positive steps".

The Sri Lankan army organised alms giving stalls at the Tamil Hindu Sivarathri festival at several temples in Jaffna.

India's cabinet this week approved another 700 million US dollar currency swap to Sri Lanka's Central Bank, reported Ceylon Today.

India's Reserve Bank had previously provided a 400 million dollar swap. The current arrangement will last for 3 months or until an agreement is reached with the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

See more here.

The decision comes as the IMF teamed up with India to produce a new partnership aimed at keeping South Asian economies stable.

Sri Lanka’s finance minister announced his government would be raising taxes as part of a drive to improve its debt rating and reduce the budget deficit.

Stating that the imposition was a necessary measure, Mr Ravi Karunanayake said his government would be raising Value Added Tax and reintroducing capital gains taxes.

"We want to tax the top end of [the consumer], which basically consumes, rather than the downtrodden,” he said.

"Imposing new taxes is a hard-sell, but what more can you do?"

However the taxes are expected to hit Sri Lanka's economically disadvantaged too. The reforms will lead to price rises in "a variety of goods and commodities", according to the Sunday Times.

"[The] price of a kilo of Prima flour went up by Rs. 7.20. This will raise the price of bread, a common diet among Sri Lankans, to a new high," the paper said in its political column.

Mr Karunanayake also slammed recent decisions to downgrade Sri Lanka’s credit rating as "absolutely unfair".