On February 20 2017, Tamil families of the disappeared started their roadside protest across the North-East, starting off in Kilinochchi, followed by Vavuniya, Trincomalee, Mullaitivu and Maruthankerny.

Families of the disappeared marking 1000 days of their protest in Vavuniya

A Tamil man from Jaffna who had been summoned to Sri Lanka’s Terrorism Investigation Division (TID) has been reported as missing by his family.

38-year-old Paramu Vijayakumar was summoned to the TID office in Colombo on the 6th of December. His wife said that Vijayakumar had left for Colombo but has not been seen since.

Tamils in Jaffna staged a protest in the city centre last week, demonstrating against illegal sand mining that has stepped up across the North-East in recent months.

The Sri Lankan government has criticised Fitch Ratings after the agency downgraded the Long-Term Foreign-Currency Issuer Default Rating (IDR) of Sri Lanka from ‘Stable' to ‘Negative’, directly citing new Sri Lankan president Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s actions.

The ratings agency had blamed a “significant shift in fiscal policy” in Colombo for the downgrade but Sri Lanka’s finance ministry claimed “erroneous assumptions” had been made, reports Xinhua.

An attempt by a Sri Lankan government body to install a statue of a Buddhist historical figure in Jaffna town failed after local residents and council members opposed the unveiling.

Sri Lankan police threatened residents of a Mannar village including the local priest when they protested against Sinhalese people illegally extracting sand from the village.

Residents of Thottaveli have for several years complained of illegal sand mining causing environmental damage to the area and leaving villages prone to flooding and soil erosion.

Sri Lanka’s president Gotabaya Rajapaksa stated that a United Nations resolution mandating a hybrid accountability mechanism “cannot be entertained” in a meeting with journalists this week. 

Speaking on the resolution, Rajapaksa reportedly said that “it is not possible for the Government to act against its own country”.

The rating agency Fitch has downgraded the Long-Term Foreign-Currency Issuer Default Rating (IDR) of Sri Lanka from Stable to Negative directly citing new Sri Lankan president Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s actions.

A Tamil man who had been reported as missing by his family in Mannar last week, has been found dead on Friday morning.

Thirty-year-old Antonis Nimal who is employed as an outreach officer at the Nanattan divisional council was last seen leaving for work on Saturday morning. His wife reported him missing to Murungan police on Saturday night as he had not returned home that evening.

A 47-year-old Tamil man has been arrested in Omanthai yesterday, on charges that he allegedly was in possession of a T-56 assault rifle and ammunition.

The man, who has not yet been identified, was arrested after Sri Lankan police raided a house in Konthakankulam area in Omanthai. Police stated they had received a confidential tip-off with regards to the rifle.

They allege to have found the rifle with 189 pieces of ammunition.

The Swiss government announced it was sending “experienced diplomat” Jörg Frieden to Sri Lanka, amidst raised tensions between the two governments after claims that a Swiss embassy employee was abducted, molested and threatened at gunpoint in Colombo last month.

A Tamil man who has been imprisoned for 14 years over a reported assassination attempt on Gotabaya Rajapaksa in 2006, has now been acquitted of all charges. 

Chandrabose Selvachandran had been jailed by Sri Lankan authorities, after being held on suspicion of the attack. Selvachandran is currently suffering from cancer and was receiving treatment whilst imprisoned.

The Sri Lankan government confirmed it was “currently reviewing” action to be taken at the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC), including starting “top-level engagements” at withdrawing from a resolution on accountability for violations of international law.