Surveyors working for the Sri Lankan government were forced to stop operations in Vadamaratchi East on Monday, due to pressure from local land owners that opposed government appropriation of their land.

THe surveyers had to stop their work after they failed to receive adequate protection from the police.
 
Over 700 acres of land in the region is under government instruction to be surveyed reports the Uthayan.

The Secretary General of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), Iyad Madani, will visit Sri Lanka shortly, following an invitation by the President Mahinda Rajapaksa, reports Arab News, citing a senior official within the Sri Lankan embassy.

“This is the first time such a visit is being made to Sri Lanka and we are really proud of it,” the official was quoted as saying. See here for more.

Three Tamil youths were injured in a sword attack in Alavetti on Sunday night, reports Uthayan.

Santhirasekaram Collins, 20, Thevarasa Jeganathan and Sinnarasa Jude Anthony both aged 23 and all from Mallakam were attacked on their way home from a sporting event by men on motorbikes.

They were admitted to Jaffna Teaching Hospital with serious injuries.

Protestors gathered in Colombo on Monday to call for the release of a prominent Tamil rights campaigner, Balendran Jeyakumari, who has been detained under the Sri Lankan Prevention of Terror Act (PTA) since March 2014.

The demonstrations, held outside Colombo Railway Station, were met with pro-government protestors, who yielded posters mocking members of the Sri Lankan civil society.

Photographs: Pathivu

Tamil politicians, including Tamil National Alliance (TNA) MP M A Sumanthiran and the leader of the Tamil National People’s Front (TNPF) G G Ponnambalam, attended the rally.

Pro-government demonstrators protesters oppose #FreeJeyakumary campaigners Photograph: @Mari_desilva

Sri Lankan police was eventually called to form a barrier between the protesters calling for the release of Jeyakumari from the Boosa detention facilities and the pro-government demonstrators.

The Australian prime minister commended Sri Lanka's successful implementation of the LLRC recommendations and the country’s ability to maintain a remarkable economic growth.

Photograph: ColomboPage

The Chief Minister of the Northern Provincial Council C. V. Wigneswaran condemned the heavy Sri Lankan military presence in the Tamil North-East of the island, stating that is was causing fear across the region.

Addressing the Northern Province Tourism development conference on Saturday, Wigneswaran highlighted the danger that women in particular faced from the Sri Lankan military, stating that there were 150,000 soldiers in the Northern Province.

Wigneswaran said the situation was getting worse, adding,

“The government is restricting our independence by considering North-East provinces as foreign regions that need to be under supervision, even after the war has ended.”

A Hindu Saivite community centre in Jaffna, the Mallakam Koattaikaadu Saiva Youth Club, was attacked by unidentified persons on Friday night, reports Uthayan.

Doors and windows were destroyed in the attack, resulting in more than Rs. 75,000 worth of damage, said the centre's administrators.

They have filed complaints with police in Chunnakam, Jaffna.

Wirathu welcomed on stage at conference by BBS leader

The leader of the 969 extreme Buddhist group in Myanmar, U. Wirathu, attended the Bodu Bala Sena's conference in Sri Lanka today.



The conference, which is currently underway, is aimed at forming a political framework that will be “based on Buddhist principles, creating an environment within which minorities can live peacefully with Sinhalese" instead of "so-called devolution of power”, a BBS official, Dilanthe Withanage said.

Wirathu honoured on stage at BBS conference