^{File photograph: Rajapaksa with the monk earlier this year.}

Sri Lanka’s president Gotabaya Rajapaksa justified his recent controversial appointment of a Sinhala Buddhist monk as Chancellor of the University of Colombo, by stating that the monk had “helped this government to come into power”.

Sri Lanka’s finance minister presented the 2022 budget in Parliament today with a bombastic speech that praised the ruling regime and continued with the government's increased focus on military spending and 'national security'.

Basil Rajapaksa, a brother of both president Gotabaya Rajapaksa and prime minister Mahinda Rajapaksa, was full of praise for his siblings.

Sri Lanka’s president Gotabaya Rajapaksa was the chief guest at a ceremony to open a new “National Defence College” in Colombo this week, as the military continues its expansion on the island.

Rajapaksa, who stands accused of war crimes, was flanked by several senior military officers who also stand accused of rights abuses, as they sang the Sri Lankan national anthem.

The Sri Lankan government announced new legislation that will restrict the number of people allowed to attend public gatherings, supposedly due to the risk of coronavirus transmission, as protests continued across the island and Tamils in the North-East prepared to commemorate Maaveerar Naal.

The new legislation, issued via extraordinary gazette this week, states that the director-general of health services may “from time to time” determine the number of permitted participants, location, setting and structure of any “gathering, activity event or similar place of meeting”.

Photograph courtesy of JDS

Former Eastern Provincial Council (EPC) member and Tamil Eelam Liberation Organisation (TELO) leader, Indrakumar Prasanna, was summoned to the office of the Senior Superintendent Police (SSP) in Batticaloa yesterday. 

TNA members in conversation with a EU delegation last September

Members of the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) are scheduled to fly to the United States of America (USA) this week to engage in talks with the State Department regarding the proposed new constitution. 

It is expected that the TNA delegation would advocate for more expansive provisions for autonomy than the present constitution allows. 

Speaking in parliament, Amanda Milling, Minister of State for Asia, detailed the UK government's concern over continued reports of torture and sexual violence by Sri Lanka's security forces.

As torrential rainfalls ravaged the Tamil homeland over the past week, it has emerged that nearly 5,700 acres of farmland have been severely damaged in the Mannar district. 

Assistant Commissioner to the Mannar Agrarian Services Department, A. Merin Kumar revealed that much of the land, now deluged, was earmarked for cultivation in the farming season between 2021 to 2022. 

Tamil National Alliance (TNA) MP and human rights lawyer, Nadarajah Raviraj, was remembered in the North-East today to mark the 15th anniversary of his assassination. 

A memorial event was held in Chavakachcheri, Jaffna, where attendees lit candles and hung flower garlands on the memorial statue of the former MP. 

Last month, Former Commissioner, Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka Ambika Satkunanathan addressed the Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission at an event entitled "Counter-Terrorism and Human Rights: Striking the Right Balance".