The University of Jaffna’s Student Union condemned the military's search operation within student residences, demanding an immediate end to all military activities, which the student body said were causing disruptions to the University's academic life. 

“That the security forces – who have been repressing all our rights to freedom of expression under the excuse of terrorism – are entering and searching without any apparent reason has created fear among the students,” the student body said in a statement issued Friday.

Military intelligence officers conducted a search operation at the men's hostel at the University of Jaffna on Thursday. A large number of armed soldiers were deployed in the area following the incident, leaving students and locals alarmed, local sources told the Uthayan.

Describing it as a breach of security that has created a tense atmosphere around the campus, the student body criticised the university administration for remaining mute on the subject.

Their silence has caused students to question the administration's ability and commitment to protecting its students, the Union said.

The Union stated that despite the government’s claims of peace, terrorism laws continued to be used to terrorise the Tamil population.

Jaffna police force has launched an action plan to recruit more Tamil women into the force across the Northern Province, the district's superintendent told journalists at a weekly press briefing on Friday.

"Since the day I came to office, civilians have complained about a lack of female officers at police stations in Jaffna [and] we have found this problem exists not only in Jaffna, but all over the Northern Province in my investigations," the Uthayan quoted the superintendent as saying.

"In order to address this issue, actions are being taken to recruit Tamil women into the police," he said.

"Once we receive 500 applications, a training centre will be established in the Northern Province," the superintendent added.

Rejecting widespread reports of intimidation, abuse and sexual violence against Tamil women recruited into Sri Lanka's security forces, he said,

"There is a prejudice amongst the people that female recruits are harassed by senior officials. Those who wish to join the police can speak to female police officers in your regions and clarify your doubts."

Concerns around the targeted recruitment of Tamil women by security forces have persisted however, with several NGOs reporting coercion and incidents of sexual abuse.

Last month a 23 year old army recruit reported being forced into having sexual intercourse with 10 high ranking officials, along side other Tamil female recruits.

“The most important thing we have said to them is for them to actually appoint a focal person to deal with this," she added.

China will continue to support Sri Lanka at the UN Human Rights Council and the UN Security Council, said Vice-Foreign Minister Liu Zhenmin during a meeting with President Mahinda Rajapaksa on Thursday, reported the Daily Mirror.

Minister Zhenmin thanked the president for his personal interest in maintaining relations between the countries.

“We will continue to support Sri Lanka in the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) and the United Nations Security Council (UNSC). Sri Lanka will always find a friend in China.”

“You have established a close friendship with the Chinese leadership,” Mr. Liu said, adding that this personal relationship “will play a guiding role in China-Sri Lanka relations.”

A man was arrested by the Terrorist Investigation Department (TID) in Jaffna on Thursday evening.

The National Freedom Front (NFF), a partner of President Mahinda Rajapaksa's ruling coalition, accused the government of turning ‘a blind eye’ to the actions of the TNA, who have not given up on their separatist goal, reported Ceylon Today.

Spokesperson Mohammad Muzzamil said that the TNA and its MP MA Sumanthiran were instilling “sentiments of racial hatred” in Tamils and that they hoped to tie a cyanide capsule around the necks of every Tamil youth, with the help of the Tamil diaspora and “imperialistic” western powers.

"MP Sumanthiran has said that the government is falsely enacting the resurgence of the LTTE in the North. He has said that by doing this the aim of the government is to fortify its military presence in there. MP Sumanthiran has also said that subsequent to the defeat of the LTTE in 2009, there is no terrorism in the country. However, despite the end of the LTTE, the TNA has not given up on its attempts to form a separatist state in the country,

The British Ambassador to Colombo John Rankin told a business forum that sanctions on Sri Lanka are not currently an issue and that it was not “necessarily” in Britain’s interest to impose sanctions, reported LBO.

“Sanctions are not currently an issue. First, because the Human Rights Council does not have the power or mandate to impose sanctions. And to the best of my knowledge no government to date has proposed economic sanctions on Sri Lanka,” the ambassador told an ‘LBR-LBO CEO’ forum on meeting the challenges of a resolution on Sri Lanka by UN's Human Rights Council.

"Nor would sanctions necessarily be in the interests of a country like the UK. Policy is not uni-dimensional towards Sri Lanka. UN rights issues and Human Rights Resolutions are not the sole purpose of our policy."

Rankin pointed out that failure to comply with conditions on human rights issues had economic consequences in the past, as with the loss of GSP+ trade concessions.

"That was a matter of choice of Sri Lanka. But it demonstrates that those choices human rights issues can have an impact on economic relationships," he said.