A Sri Lankan army soldier attacked and attempted to rape a 16 year old Tamil girl in the Nedungeeni area of Mullaitheevu district on Monday, reports Tamilwin.

No sooner had the cross-party Indian delegation, led by the opposition Lok Sabha leader Sushma Swaraj, left Sri Lanka than the Sri Lankan government began refuting Indian press reports that the president had assured Swaraj of implementing the 13th Amendment and going beyond.

Sri Lankan Army Commander Jagath Jayasuriya has backtracked from statements made by him at an event in Kurunegala.

According to the Daily Mirror the headquarters of the Sri Lankan Army has said there was an error on the Sri Lankan Army website in regards to his speech and has amended it accordingly.

Sri Lanka's security and intelligence agencies launched a search operation in the Eastern province looking for 'ex-LTTE cadres' who had returned from overseas, the Daily Mirror reports.

President Mahinda Rajapakse ‘personally’ instructed the Sri Lankan military to pursue the military operations in 2009, despite enormous international pressure, the army commander has revealed.

Speaking to soldiers at an event in Kurunegala, the head of the Sri Lankan Army Jagath Jayasuriya said President Rajapakse was ‘determined’ to see the operations through till the end.

Addressing the UK House of Commons last week, the Labour MP for Mitcham and Mordem, Siobhain McDonagh, questioned the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs’ decision not to declare Major General Prasanna Silva persona non grata.

McDonagh said,

"Three months ago a dossier about war crimes committed by the defence attaché at Sri Lanka’s high commission in London, Major General Prasanna De Silva, was sent to the Foreign Office. However, the Foreign Secretary has reportedly refused to strip him of diplomatic immunity so that he can be questioned about these terrible accusations."

"I hope we can have a debate about the case and about the abuse of diplomatic immunity, because if the attaché is allowed to leave without being questioned, that will undermine Britain’s proud reputation for not tolerating war criminals."

"If we are soft on Sri Lanka, other shady regimes will surely also begin to regard us as a refuge for people who commit atrocities."

The Sri Lankan government has decided to demolish a mosque and a Saiva temple located in a Buddhist sacred area.

Thousands of Singhalese, led by Buddhist monks, attacked the mosque in Dambulla on Friday, calling for its destruction as it was constructed illegally. The protest only dispersed after officials promised an answer by Monday.

Responding to the Indian delegation currently visiting Sri Lanka, Mahinda Rajapaksa said it would be "unreasonable" to expect Sri Lanka to remove the military from Northern province.

Rajapaksa retorted, "Can I send them to India?" 

NGO workers and government employees in Kallady, Batticaloa were subject to questioning by the Sri Lankan military who were collecting personal information on employees, reported Tamilwin.  

According to reports foreign NGOs were particularly targeted.

Teachers in Palali launched a campaign this week, against the planned construction of a Sri Lankan army base over a teaching centre, reported Tamilwin.

Members of the newly formed Frontline Socialist Party (FSP), made of JVP dissidents, revolted against the party leader on Saturday.

The body of Easwaradasan Kedeeswaran, a 28-year-old Tamil, was found in Aiyanagar in Trincomalee on Wednesday night, the Daily Mirror reports. He was attacked and hacked to death as he returned home that night.

Responding to comments made by Tamil Nadu's DMK leader, Karunanidhi, that Eelam was an unfulfilled dream, Sri Lanka's defence secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa said,