Sinhala Buddhist monks have been overseeing the construction of a Buddhist vihara in the Tamil North-East, despite an order from the Mullaitivu District Secretariat to halt further proceedings.

The construction, under way in Kokkilai, is reportedly taking place with assistance from the Sri Lankan army, the navy and the police.

TamilNet published footage of one Buddhist monk, identified as Sri Thissapura Gunarathna, assisting in construction work earlier this week.

A Sri Lankan military commander accompanied a group of Sinhala Buddhist monks as they attended a Hindu ceremony at a Tamil temple in Jaffna last week.

The Sri Lankan government's Public Representations Commission on Constitutional Reforms (PRCCR) has rejected a proposal for a federal constitution made by the Tamil Peoples' Council, according to Ceylonews.

Head of the (PRCCR) Attorney Lal Wijenayake has told representatives of the TPC that their proposal to abolish the unitary nature of the state was unacceptable.

"We exchanged views after handing over the proposals. When we mentioned that our proposals included demands a federal-based solution and right to self-determination for the Tamil people, Mr. Wijenayake told us that there won’t any change in the character of the state, which is unitary,” Lawyer Nadaraja Kandeepan of the TPC told Ceylon News.

A fourth former LTTE cadre was arrested by the Terrorism Investigation Department on Monday.

The former head of the LTTE's Trincomalee intelligence wing Thalaiarasan was taken into custody in relation to the alleged find of a suicide vest in Chavakachcheri in March.

Economic growth in Sri Lanka fell to 4.8 per cent in 2015 from 4.9 per cent in the previous year, with the slowdown attributed to a slowing export sector and foreigners taking away their funds from Sri Lanka owing to a stronger US economy, according to the Central Bank’s annual report for 2015 released on Tuesday.

“The impact of these developments was offset to some extent by lower international commodity prices,” the 2015 annual report said, according to The Sunday TImes.

Year-on-year headline inflation by end 2015 was recorded at 2.8 per cent, compared to 2.1 per cent at the end of 2014, the report further said.

Tamil National Alliance MP Shanthi Sriskantharajah criticised the Sri Lankan government's attempt to launch new Sinhala residential villages in the Tamil North-East, stating it was part of a colonisation project.

The parliamentarian said two new residential villages have been opened up in the Mullaitivu district in the North-East, named Sampathnuvara and Isurupura. The villages were opened on April 11th by Sri Lanka's Minister of Housing, with a total of 24 houses unveiled.

“The Manalaaru area is an ancient settlement of the Tamil people,” said Ms Sriskantharajah.

“Under the guise of Mahavali Development Zone, land grabs are still happening here,” she added calling for a halt to further colonisation.

Hundreds of Tamil pre-schools in the North-East continue to remain under the administration of Sri Lanka's Civil Security Department, despite pledges to reduce the military presence in the Tamil homeland.
 

Sweden’s Foreign Minister Margot Wallström met with Tamil civil society activists in Jaffna on Tuesday, as part of her visit to the North-East.

Accompanied by Harald Sanberg, Sweden's Ambassador to India, Ms Wallström visited Kopay in Jaffna to inspect houses that have been built as part of the Sri Lankan government’s much criticised housing project.

Tamil activists also called on the foreign minister, who previously held the post of Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General (SRSG) on Sexual Violence in Conflict, to help alleviate problems faced by Tamil female headed households in the North-East.

The leader of ITAK's youth wing, Subramaniyam Sivakaran was arrested on Wednesday morning by the Terrorism Investigation Department (TID).

Mr Sivakaran, who is also the editor of a Tamil newspaper called Puthiyavan, was detained at the paper's offices in Mannar and taken to Vavuniya.