Sri Lanka’s controversial ‘One Country, One Law’ Task Force and a think-tank under the defence ministry have forced the withdrawal of an Islamic text book, reportedly over concerns that “they might contain ideas of extremist ideology”.

According to a report in the Sunday Times the textbooks for Grade 6 schoolchildren “contained some objectionable words”.

As part of a three-day tour of Sri Lanka, British Minister for South Asia, Lord Tariq Ahmad, made a visit to the Buddhist Gangaramaya Temple in Colombo and tweeted that  “inclusivity of people of all faiths and beliefs defines the strength of a country’s human rights”.

Meeting with leader of the Tamil National Alliance, R. Sampanthan, and parliamentarian M.A Sumanthiran, British Minister for South Asia Tariq Ahmad spoke on the need to address long-term Tamil concerns including ensuring Sri Lanka meets commitments under UN Human Rights Councils Resolution 46/1.

Last week several refugee supporters, including myself, were arrested after dropping a banner off the rooftop of the Park Hotel in Naarm/Melbourne in protest of the plight of approximately 30 refugees who had been imprisoned onshore.

A Sri Lankan government minister criticised a letter that Tamil parliamentarians addressed to Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi this week, denouncing their call to New Delhi for assistance.

“They should have conveyed their concerns to our President instead of the Indian Prime Minister because we are a sovereign country and not a part of the Indian Union,” said Sri Lanka’s energy minister Udaya Gammanpila.

Inthugadevi Ganesh from Mullaitivu won a gold medal at an international boxing tournament in Pakistan on Tuesday. 

She began her education at Karupatamuripu Puthiyanagar school after leaving the Chithambarapuram camp with her mother, Nageswary in 2012 following the armed conflict. She studied at a school in Mulliyavalai and then Oddusuddan school where she was first introduced to Boxing.  

Sri Lanka’s official Presidential Media Division claimed the visiting British minister praised president Gotabaya Rajapaksa over his regime’s supposed “progress” on human rights issues, after the pair met in Colombo earlier today.

“Sri Lanka’s progress over human rights highly commendable,” read the headline of the official report, which lead with a photograph of the two greeting each other.

A senior Sri Lankan military commander who once led a unit accused of war crimes has died from complications of a COVID-19 infection, having never been investigated or faced any accountability mechanism.

Panduka Perera, who last held the post of commander of the 563 Brigade which is currently occupying the Vanni, died on December 31. His funeral was held earlier this month, with military honours.

Germany and Japan's navies held military exercises with Sri Lanka, just weeks after a Sri Lankan naval intelligence officer was banned from entry to the USA over his role in war crimes.

“Warm welcome on board FGS “Bayern” on first call port of German navy in Sri Lanka for many years!” tweeted France’s ambassador to Sri Lanka Eric Lavertu, after the German frigate arrived in Colombo last week.

British South Asia Minister, Lord Tariq Ahmad, has been on a whirlwind 3-day tour of Sri Lanka landing in Colombo and making trips to Jaffna and Trincomalee where he stressed the importance of human rights and accountability.

This was the first time the minister visited Jaffna.