The Sri Lankan army showcased held a military exhibition, showcasing its “soft capabilities” at a school playground in Mullaitivu this week, reports Sri Lanka’s Ministry of Defence.

According to the MoD website, the Sri Lankan military displayed its exhibition at the “Oddusuddan Maha Vidyalaya play ground” last week, noting that the Sri Lankan Security Force Commander Maj Gen N.A.J.C Dias “graced the glorious occasion as the Chief Guest”.

Foreign observers will be invited to Sri Lanka once the president officially declares elections announced Sri Lanka’s election commissioner on Sunday.

 “It has been the general practice in the recent part to invite foreign election monitors for a general election or a presidential election. Accordingly, if there is a presidential election next we will invite foreign observers,” said Mahinda Deshapriya.

A Tamil man from Mannar has been arrested by the Terrorism Investigation Department, the Uthayan reported.

Thangathurai Jeyins, 38, attended a court hearing, when he was arrested and taken to Vavuniya, his wife told the paper.

Sri Lanka has been appointed to chair the Meeting of the High Contracting Parties to the Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons (CCW). The country was proposed to the 118 high contracting parties by the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM), who selected Sri Lanka to represent the bloc.

Sri Lanka's ambassador to the UN, Ravinath Ariyasinhe expressed appreciation for the faith put in Sri Lanka by the group and said their acceptance showed the government's commitment to the UN's multi-lateral system.

"I am deeply humbled by the confidence placed in Sri Lanka, and the recognition of Sri Lanka's contribution to the field of disarmament over many decades - through the the Indian Ocean as a Zone of Peace initiative, the Conference on Disarmament (CD), the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT), the International Atomic Energy Authority (IAEA), the Organization for Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), and particularly since the ending of the terrorist conflict by its comprehensive demining programme, a key focus area of the CCW," he said.

Sri Lanka says it is still considering ways to release the five Tamil Nadu fishermen who were sentenced to death for drug trafficking.

“The process is being discussed at the highest levels and the issue is being looked at from all angles. A decision may be taken in a day or two,” presidential spokesperson Mohan Samaranayake told The New Indian Express on Friday.

“One of the options discussed is a staggered process beginning with the commutation of the death sentence to life imprisonment, followed by repatriation to India under the 2010 bilateral agreement on the transfer of sentenced prisoners, and then lastly, setting them free through a presidential pardon,” Samaranayake said.

A group of Eelam Tamil refugees and a Malaysian citizen have commenced a hunger strike, after being quarantined and charged with a range of offences at a refugee camp in Tiruchirapalli, India.

A South Korea Destroyer and Combat Support Ship docked at Colombo port this week, where they were ceremoniously greeted by the Sri Lankan navy.

The Sri Lankan president accused Norway of funding the Liberation Tamil Tigers of Tamil Eelam during the three-decade ethnic conflict reports Colombo Page.

Speaking at a function in Kurunegala on Sunday, Mahinda Rajapaksa, alleged that the government had received evidence suggesting the former Norwegian government’s involvement in funding the LTTE.

The Sri Lankan government has announced Rs 45.5 million got welfare grants to disabled soldiers and their children from the military.

The grants, which were organised by the Ranawiru Seva Authority (RSA) were presented by the Secretary of Defence, Gotabhaya Rajapaksa at a ceremony on November 14.

A land survey carried out by military personnel in the Vettrilaikeni Kattaikadu Mulli region and Vadamarachchi East was halted on Thursday morning, after locals protested against further land grabs.

The surveyors arrived in the morning together with a large number of police officers.

2nd lead

The murder weapon used to shoot dead a former LTTE policeman at his home in Mannar on Wednesday night was found by sniffer dogs in Vellankulam on Friday morning, 200m away from the site of the shooting.

The Bishop of Mannar, Rayappu Joseph condemned the killing of a former LTTE police officer by unidentified gunmen on Wednesday night, and called on the international community to ensure an end to extrajudicial killings.

The Jaffna University teachers' union condemned the heavy presence of military personnel around the university, stating that it was leading to widespread fear amongst students, reports Uthayan.

The heightened military presence comes days before the Tamil nation's remembrance day event - Maaveerar Naal - on November 27, which has been a focal point of military deployment across the North-East since the end of the armed conflict in an attempt to clamp down on memorial events.

"This [military presence] cannot be accepted, this has caused fear amongst not only the university students but amongst the entire university society.  The opportunity to learn independently will only occur when the army is discharged from the university environment," the union said on Friday.