<p>The Sri Lankan government announced it was looking to purchase a new hangman’s noose, after the president declared he would reinstate capital punishment on the island.</p> <p>Though Sri Lanka has not executed the death penalty since 1976, Maithripala Sirisena has re-affirmed his commitment to bringing back hanging criminals. This was despite outcry from human rights organisations and governments from around the world.</p>

Parliamentarian Selvam Adaikalanathan spoke on the LTTE’s participation in forming the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) during a speech in Mannar last week, stating the alliance “was formed for the purpose of liberation of our people”.

The Sri Lankan navy overnight arrested 13 Tamil Nadu fishermen on board three separate fishing boats. 

The acting Officer in Charge of Koppay police was arrested and shortly afterwards released over the assault of a Tamil journalist in Kokkuvil on Tuesday. 

Gunaratne was released on a surety bail of Rs. 50,000 after being produced in the Jaffna Magistrate’s Court. A hearing date was set for March 26.

Tamil villagers in Amparai marked 33 years since the Udumpankulam massacre this week, where commandos from Sri Lanka’s Special Task Force killed as many as 130 farmers.

Muslims in Mannar protested for the release of their lands from Sri Lankan navy occupation.

The Sri Lankan army announced that if had expanded its military-run holiday resort in Jaffna this week, as it continues to consolidate its presence in the Tamil homeland.

Tamil families of the disappeared were blocked from protesting in front of the Sri Lankan prime minister in Mullaitivu by police.

The leader of the Tamil National Alliance this week rejected the Sri Lankan prime minister's call to 'forgive and forget' the past, demanding justice through an international mechanism and stressing that offenders should be punished. 

The Crusaders for Democracy party of former LTTE cadres has slammed the Sri Lankan prime minister’s remarks in Kilinochchi calling for Tamils to “forgive and forget”, saying the Sri Lankan government will have to face accountability for atrocities committed against the Tamil people.

In a statement, the party said Sinhalese politicians “would not dare come down even a little from the Sinhala-Buddhist nationalist mentality which they have adopted at their core.”

Displaced Tamils in Munthirigai Kulam, Manalaaru expressed anger after army soldiers were seen harvesting paddy fields in the village.

Residents in Mullaitivu condemned police injustice and partiality yesterday, accusing officers of failing to take action on gang violence. 

A house in Kiliveddy, Muttur was targetted by a hand grenade attack on Tuesday. 

The president of the Philippines boasted that his Sri Lankan counterpart Maithripala Sirisena told him he would follow his lead in conducting a brutal crackdown on drug use and “kill the bastards”, in a speech in Davao City this week.