The Bodu Bala Sena invited Sri Lanka’s former Defence Secretary Gotobaya Rajapaksa to join its new political party on Friday.

The group’s national organiser, Witharandeniye Nanda Thera, said that Mr Rajapaksa had expressed his desire to enter politics and was yet to make a final decision.

The party would be fielding candidates in the upcoming general elections he added.

The Sri Lankan government is engaged in talks with the Asian Development Bank, seeking to double its annual funding to $1.2bn.

Finance Minister Ravi Karunanayake said the funds would be utilised by the government for development initiatives, budgetary allocations, capacity development and debt relief, LBO reported.

The Australian government praised Sri Lanka for initiatives that have prevented asylum seekers from fleeing the island and entering Australia.

Australia’s immigration and border protection Minister Peter Dutton told a media briefing in Colombo that his government hopes to continue working with the Sri Lankan police, navy and intelligence unit in preventing illegal immigrants from reaching Australian shores.

Sri Lanka's Criminal Investigation Department (CID) were asked by the chief magistrate to arrest those seen to be holding a "distorted version" of the Sri Lankan flag during recent protest, reports the Daily Mirror.

Updated 07 May 2015 01:00 BST

As the UK general election 2015 approaches this Thursday, parliamentary candidates outlined their positions on key concerns of British Tamil voters, with many pledging their ongoing support for international accountability and justice mechanism, carrying out an investigation to establish whether a genocide occurred, as well as endorsing the Tamil nation's right to self-determination.

Candidates from the Conservative Party, the Labour Party and the Liberal Democrats, in London and key constituencies across the UK, were asked by the Tamil Guardian to detail their views on accountability and justice for mass atrocities in Sri Lanka, the deportation of Tamil asylum seekers from Britain, steps that should be taken if Sri Lanka fails to ensure justice for the victims by September, an investigation into genocide and the Tamil nation's right to self-determination.

To see the final survey report with full responses from candidates, sorted by constituency, please see the UK General Election 2015 Candidate Survey on Tamil Issues.

Tamil devotees in Vasavilan were blocked from accessing temples which were within the compounds of an occupying military camp, reports the Uthayan.

The devotees, who were blocked from accessing the temple by army personnel, preformed rituals outside the army camp.

Canadian Member of Parliament Patrick Brown rose in the House of Commons on Wednesday to mark the sixth anniversary since the “the final stages of the Sri Lankan genocide”.

Marking six years since the battle of Mullivaikkal, Mr Brown said that he stands “with the thousands of Tamils who lost family members in the final stages of the Sri Lankan genocide”.

“Today, the Sri Lankan government has still failed to show progress toward ensuring justice for the victims of these terrible human rights crimes,” continued the MP.

Sri Lankan Foreign Minister Mangala Samaraweera said the government will be able to “salvage the good name of our country and our armed forces” through a domestic investigation into war crimes committed by Sri Lankan troops.

Speaking at a press conference in Colombo, Mr Samaraweera said “Since Sri Lanka is not a signatory to the Rome Statute regarding international jurisdiction with regard to war crimes, ensuring justice with regard to such matters will be the business of national independent judicial mechanisms.”

Stating that the government was in the process of doing so, with “international technical assistance”, and the minister was “sure we’ll be able to salvage the good name of our country and our armed forces by doing so”.

Sri Lanka’s president and former president, on Wednesday, discussed regarding parliamentary candidacy in the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP), reports Ceylon Today.

The General Secretary of the SLFP Anura Yapa, in a press release, said Maithripala Sirisena and Mahinda Rajapaksa discussed 5 issues, including who would be the prime ministerial candidate for the SLFP.

The Tamil Civil Society Forum (TCSF) will hold a panel discussion at Jaffna Library on May 10, relating to “the Right to Memory.”

The discussion panel is expected to include, Attorney at Law & Senior Researcher at the Centre for Policy Alternatives (CPA) Bhavini Fonseka, Visiting Lecturer at Eastern University and TCSF Co-Spokesperson Elil Rajan, Lecturer in Law at Jaffna University and TCSF Co-Spokesperson Kumaravadivel Guruparan and Human Rights Activist Ruki Fernando.

The event will take place at the Jaffna Public Library Auditorium from 10:00am to 12:00pm.

See also:

Northern Provincial Council member vows to continue remembering Tamil war dead at Maveerar Naal (07 May 2015)

NPC member summoned by Sri Lanka police for involvement in commemorating Tamil war dead (04 May 2015)

Three arrests over Maaveerar Naal posters (26 Nov 2014)

Death threats posted in Jaffna university (24 Nov 2014)

Teachers' union condemn military presence at Jaffna Uni (14 Nov 2014)

Tamils remember Maaveerar in North-East despite SL military violence and intimidation (27 November 2013)
 
Escalating repression of Maaveerar remembrance met with Tamil defiance (26 Nov 2013)

The chief minister of the Western Provincial Council, Prasanna Ranatunga said the government would “betray” national security if it demilitarises the North, The Island reported.

"If the government removes Army camps in the North to appease Chief Minister C. V. Wigneswaran, I would like to ask whether they would remove camps in the Western Province if I made a request to that effect," he said.

The CM said national security was being compromised again, just as it was under Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe in the past.