The General Secretary of the United People’s Freedom Alliance (UPFA,) Susil Premajayanatha said that Maithripala Sirisena would not be able to stop a majority party decision to appoint Mahinda Rajapaksa as prime minister.

Responding to a statement by Sri Lanka’s president that pledged to not allow Mahinda Rajapaksa to become prime minister,

Over 1 million people from around the world have signed a petition calling on the United Nations to refer Sri Lanka to the International Criminal Court (ICC) or establish a credible International Judicial Mechanism to investigate and prosecute “war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide committed against Tamil people by the Sri Lankan state.”

The Desha Vimukthi Janatha Party (DVJP), a party predominantly made up of Buddhist monks, will support the UPFA team led by Mahinda Rajapaksa.

The party’s chairman Galagama Dhammaransi Thera, pledged support to Mahinda Rajapaksa, and thanked him for responding to “calls form patriotic forces,” reports island.lk.

In a press release, the Buddhist monk, Galagama Dhammaransi, said,

“It was the UPFA under political leadership of Mahinda Rajapaksa that united this country wiping out terrorism. Neo imperialistic capitalist forces have ganged up once again with the support of all treacherous forces both local and international against the UPFA. The people should take this election seriously and use their votes wisely. They should keep in their mind that their vote would have the power of saving the motherland or to let it become a colony of Western super powers.”

Former president Mahinda Rajapaksa has been appointed as the head of the UPFA’s Election Operations Committee, former minister Dinesh Gunawardena told Ada Derana.

The appointment was made at a special meeting of the SLFP central committee earlier today, which was convened a day after President Maithripala Sirisena’s remarks that he would continue to oppose Mr Rajapaksa.

Both Mr Sirisena and Mr Rajapaksa attended the meeting in Colombo.

The European Union has announced the deployment of an Election Observation Mission (EOM), to cover the general election in Sri Lanka on August 17.

Federica Mogherini, High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy and Vice-President of the European Commission, has appointed Mr Cristian Preda, Member of the European Parliament, to lead the EOM as chief observer.

Ms Mogherini said: “The European Union has once again responded positively to the invitation of the Sri Lankan authorities to deploy an Election Observation Mission. This shows our continued commitment to work with Sri Lanka to strengthen democracy by advancing the openness and inclusivity of the election process".

Chief Observer Cristian Preda is expected to arrive in Colombo in the coming days to join the team of election experts who were deployed today.

The leader of the Bodu Jana Peramuna (BJP) Galagodaaththe Gnanasara says the party is contesting the forthcoming election to “free” the Sinhalese from oppression by “invading groups and fundamentalist groups”.

Mr Gnanasara told Ceylon Today that the only goal of the BJP is to “revive the Sinhalese”, who have been suppressed by invaders.

“The Sinhalese were suppressed since they achieved so called freedom. They were suppressed by Black Europeans vigorously throughout history and continue to be so,

“That is why we are coming forward. We will free the Sinhalese from invading groups and fundamentalist groups. These fundamentalists have manipulated the prominent individuals of this country,

India’s home ministry gave clearance to a major Chinese telecommunications firm to set up a manufacturing base in Tamil Nadu.

The Chinese firm Huawi Telecommunicaitons was given the go ahead to set up a manufacturing unit in Tamil Nadu, provided that critical positions within the company venture were reserved for Indian nationals, reports Times of India.

The joint exercise focused on ground combat, jungle warfare and aircraft and building training, reports Colombo Page.

The Northern Province Chief Minister, C. V. Wigneswaran, has stressed that comprehensive autonomy for Tamils in the North-East is the only way of recovering from the effects of genocide.

“For the well-being of Tamils in our country, the Tamil people must attain self-rule,” Mr Wigneswaran said while addressing the annual conference of the Federation of Tamil Sangams in North America (FeTNA).

Speaking of the genocide resolution recently passed by the Northern Provincial Council, Mr Wigneswaran said:

“Several of my Sinhalese friends asked how I, with my interest in humanitarianism and spirituality, could have allowed such a resolution to pass. To that I replied that I had passed this resolution because of my commitment to humanitarianism and spirituality.”