A close associate of the Rajapakse clan has been arrested in connection with the murder of a British tourist and the suspected rape of his Russian girlfriend.

Kuram Shaikah Zaman, who was 27 years old was killed on Christmas eve after intervening in a dispute between locals in Tangalle.

Amongst those arrested is Tangalle Pradeshiya Sabha Chairman Sampath Vidanapathirana, a close confidante of the president's son and member of parliament, Namal Rajapakse.

Zaman worked for the ICRC in Gaza and was on holiday with his girlfriend, Russian national Victoria Alexandrovna, who was also attacked and is currently in a critical condition in intensive care.

Reports indicate she had been raped but a police spokesman said they were awaiting medical results to confirm this.

“We were informed that there were no cloths on the Russian female when she was admitted to the hospital. However, we are still waiting to see the medical reports including DNA tests” the police spokesman said.

The International Committee of the Red Cross has paid tribute to their former employee.

A spokeswoman at the Jerusalem office said: "He went on holiday to Sri Lanka with a colleague and unfortunately this has happened.

"We are deeply shocked and the International Committee of the Red Cross is grieved by the loss. He was a very committed member of the Red Cross team in Gaza, the West Bank and Jerusalem. 

"We cannot give any specific details of the circumstances of what happened because the criminal investigation is taking place.

"We are in contact with the local authorities and will follow it up with them."

Tourists are reported to be too scared to venture out in Tagalle and are leaving the holiday resort in droves.

“Normally, tourists move around and visit other venues in the area, but now they are afraid to go out in the night” President of the Tangalle Tourist Hoteliers Association Keerthi Priya Wedaarachchi told BBC Sandeshaya.

"Almost all hotel rooms were full in Tangalle before the murder on the Christmas day."

“This is a bad omen not only for Tangalle but for the whole of Sri Lanka.” he added.

The Sri Lankan army, having been whale-watching, sold vegetables and run hotels, are now trying their luck with herding cattle.

Stray cattle in the Vanni have been herded and are being returned to civilians according to military officials.

Lt. Col. P.A. Dayananda, also known as the military's chief coordinator of civil affairs, stated that of the 10,000 stray cattle identified, 2500 have been returned to their "rightful oweners".

Dayananda asserted that as the majority of the military were Buddhists, they did not slaughter the cattle, nor did they allow for them to be stolen and transported to Colombo.

The cattle are no doubt grateful. Though, not nearly so much as the president's coordinator for Mullaithivu, Sathasivam Kanagaratnam, appears to be.

Kanagaratnam is reported to have said,

“Luckily [the] Sri Lankan Army took interest in safeguarding those cattle and now they are taking necessary steps to identify those cattle with the help of the veterinary surgeons of the area in grouping them and handing them over to the rightful owners - an unsung service by the Sri Lankan Army soldiers to the domestic animals of the region.”

Evidently the Tamil population of Vanni, at the hands of the very same military, were not so 'lucky' - but that of course would not be for a government puppet to comment on.

See here for details on Kanagaratnam's arrest and detention by the notorious Terrorism Investigation Department (TID).

Speaking in Tamil during parliament on 21/12/11, TNA MP, Mavai Senathirajah, stated the TNA will never succomb to the Sri Lankan state's oppression.

See video for speech in full, extracts translated below.

Demanding that Tamil IDPs must return to their homes, and their villages, Senathirajah asserted that once there, the Tamil people will continue to fight for self-rule.

"In the last election and the elections before that, we received a mandate from the public to hold talks with the government," said Senathirajah.

He continued,

"Mr Samanthan had talks with the government to fulfil the will of the people, however, the government did not accept the talks and continued to threaten us."

"But we will never back down or betray the faith our people have placed in us."

Reiterating the Tamil nation's demand of self-rule, Senathirajah added,

"We have never wanted to take control over the whole island, in the same way that you (president) have wanted to create Buddhist, militarised state."

"We only want to rule our part of the land, we want our people treated equally, we never wanted to rule the whole island."

Crimes by former and current members of the Sri Lankan security forces are on the increase, the Sunday times reports.

The paper details in its article several crimes committed, including the killing of MP Bharatha Lakshman and grease devil attacks in the Tamil homeland.

Extracts from the report:

"Investigations into recent crimes, have revealed a disturbing trend of the involvement of members of the armed forces who have deserted as well as those still serving.

"From the killing of MP Bharatha Lakshman, grease devils who instilled fear in elderly women, to the murder of a popular doctor in Karandeniya and other killings in Udawalawe and Homagama, those who were arrested were military deserters and soldiers.

Consultant Psychiatrist of the Sri Lanka Army, Dr. Neil J Fernando, told the Sunday Times that although the war was over the psychological trauma of the combatants needs to be addressed.

“Unlike the servicemen of World War I, World War II or the Vietnam War, Sri Lankan combatants were exposed to combat trauma for long years. Many have served 10-15 years in the operational areas and have witnessed and experienced gruesome realities. About 150,000 have been directly or indirectly exposed to traumatic combat stress,” he said.

War trauma can later result in criminal activities, domestic violence, suicides, homicides, alcohol and drug abuse, cruelty to children etc, he added. Dr. Fernando said depression, and adjustment disorders are common among soldiers.

“Some are low in spirit, unable to experience pleasure, look at life in a pessimistic way, suffer from low self image and suffer from loss of self-respect and guilt. These soldiers especially those who were engaged in direct combat are prone to suicide. But if this self-aggression created by guilt is directed outwards they are capable of committing homicide and can turn violent."

For full article please see here.

Incarcerated, former commander of the Sri Lankan Army, Sarath Fonseka, is to be ignored in the write-up of the new chapters of the Sri Lankan epic, the Mahavamsa, The Sunday Leader reports.

Three new chapters are going to be added to the chronicles of Sri Lankan history, which covers "the life and times of the people who forged Sri Lanka, from the coming of Vijaya in 543 BCE to the reign of King Mahasena (334 – 361); from the 6th Century BC to the 4th Century AD."

Another volume, the Culavamsa covers the period from the 4th Century till the British colonisation.

The new chapters will include events from between 1978 and 2011 and will focus on the defeat of the LTTE by President Mahinda Rajapakse.

Sarath Fonseka led the army during the final years of the war and is hailed by many in Sri Lanka as a war hero.

However, sources at the Cultural Affairs Ministry said Sarath Fonseka will be omitted from the chapters.

The Sunday Leader further reports on how the official army website has removed Fonseka's details from the list of former army commanders, after his conviction at a court martial last year.

Motorists across Colombo are in danger from giant electronic billboards of Sri Lanka's president, Mahinda Rajapaksa, warned the Colombo Municipal Council (CMC).

Rajapaksa's cut outs and billboards could distract unsuspecting motorists the CMC asserted.

Billboards after all have a notorious history of leading motoring eyes astray, with ads for Sloggi and Wonderbra said to have resulted in road traffic accidents.

The CMC believe that the business men are behind the recent spate of electronic Rajapaksa cut outs popping up by the road side and at roundabouts.

It remains unclear what features of the president's cut out, the CMC believes would divert the motorists' attention. The shameless encouragement of idol status and populist politics does not appear to be one of them.

See 'Joy by Presidential decree' (18 Nov 2010)

India expects Sri Lanka to "act decisively" to achieve a "political settlement based on the devolution of power' announced the External Affairs Ministry in a statement made Sunday on the release of the LLRC report.

Urging resettlement and normal civilian life, India continues to avoid the issue of accountability and justice.

The ministry's spokesperson, Vishnu Prakash, said,

"The LLRC report has underlined that the present situation provides a great window of opportunity to forge a consensual way forward towards reconciliation through a political settlement based on devolution of power."

"Implementation of assurances to ensure speedy resettlement and genuine reconciliation, including early completion of the process of the return of IDPs and refugees to their respective homes, restoration of normal civilian life in affected areas would mark a major step forward in the process of reconciliation."

"[India] takes note of the assurance given by the Government of Sri Lanka in Parliament about implementation of many of its recommendations."

Political parties and police are amongst the most corrupt in Sri Lanka, according to a survey of South Asian countries by Transparency International.

The anti-corruption organization surveyed six countries and found that more than one in three people said they pay bribes when dealing with public services.

“In previous surveys of this nature, only Sub-Saharan Africa had a higher rate of bribe-paying,” Transparency International said in its press release.

The police was perceived to be the most corrupt institution in Bangladesh, Pakistan and Sri Lanka, and the second most corrupt institution in India, the report said.

“Political parties and the police are the most corrupt institutions in all six countries according to the survey, followed closely by the parliament and public officials,” the organization reported.

“Officials entrusted to oversee deals related to buying, selling, inheriting and renting land were the next likely to demand a bribe.”

The report, “Daily Lives and Corruption, Public Opinion in South Asia” (downloadable here), surveyed 7,500 people between 2010 and 2011 in Bangladesh, India, the Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka.

More than 44% of respondents in Sri Lankan said the government’s fight against corruption was effective, while a similar number said they most trusted the government to fight corruption. At the same time, many respondents also said the parliament and civil servants were corrupt or extremely corrupt.

Of the respondents in Sri Lanka, 43% felt that corruption had increased in the past 3 years. Nearly half the respondents who had dealings with tax authorities reported paying bribes, while a third of respondents who had dealings with customs reported the same.

Common across Sri Lanka, Nepal, Pakistan and India, bribes were mostly paid to speed things up, highlighting how corruption can also be a barrier to business expansion, Transparency International pointed out.

Sri Lanka's president, Mahinda Rajapaksa, presented members of the military with new houses on Saturday.

The ceremony, held in Kalutara, is the seventh phase of the 'Api Venuven Api' housing project aimed at giving Sri Lanka's military families houses. Construction work has been undertaken by the army itself.

Floods add to IDP woes in Vanni (21 Dec 2011)

2012 budget fosters militarisation (21 Nov 2011)

‘Resettlement’ in Sri Lanka – what the figures show and conceal (29 Oct 2011)

India to rebuild Vanni schools, but promised houses yet to materialise (10 Oct 2011)

So much for ‘resettlement’ ...  (22 Jan 2011)

A huge project to develop the Sri Lankan capital Colombo is going to be implemented by the Sri Lankan military, in an attempt to minimise costs to the government.

"The construction work will be entrusted to the engineering services divisions of the Sri Lanka Army, Navy and Air Force so that construction costs would be kept to the minimum," Minister Keheliya Rambukwella said on Thursday.

Several parts of Colombo are marked for modernisation, including several markets and bus stand complex.

Referring to the recommendations in the recent LLRC, which suggested the removal of the military from civilian life, Rambukwella said that this did not apply in this case.

The renovation project is headed by the Urban Development Agency, which is controlled by the defence secretary Gothabaya Rajapakse.

“A prime and alarming example of this is the attempts by Rajapaksa's regime to whitewash horrible actions by the government in the final stages of Sri Lanka's civil war, where 10,000 to 40,000 ethnic Tamils were slaughtered by government forces made up almost entirely of ethnic Sinhalese.”

“Only a handful of countries, including China and Pakistan, are backing Sri Lanka's calls for asylum from international intervention, which is deeply concerning considering each nation's own record on human rights abuses. Finding allies in such countries only casts an even darker shadow on the government's integrity.

As a Representative serving in the greatest democracy in the world, I feel Congress must not stand idly by as the Sri Lankan government continues to carry out policies that could stir up long-standing tensions and lead to another large-scale civil war.

Failure by the United States and international community to act sends the message that leading democratic bodies are unwilling to consistently protect and promote fundamental human rights and the core tenets of democracy.

Not only is an independent international investigation the right thing to do for the people of Sri Lanka, but it is the right policy for the U.S. as we continue to work to spread freedom and democracy throughout the globe.”

“fails in a crucial task – providing the thorough and independent investigation of alleged violations of international humanitarian and human rights law that the UN and other partners of Sri Lanka have been asking for.”

“the report works to exonerate the government and undermine its own limited calls for further inquiry”

“The responsibility now falls on the international community to take up the task of ensuring post-war accountability, beginning with a formal discussion of the LLRC report and the UN Secretary-General’s panel report at the March 2012 session of the UN Human Rights Council, leading to an independent international mechanism to investigate all credible allegations and to monitor domestic efforts at accountability.”

“Without such an investigation, accountability for the crimes committed at the end of the civil war is highly unlikely; without accountability, and a full understanding of the nature of the violations which took place on all sides, the seeds of future conflict will grow.”

The Sri Lankan Ministry of External Affairs has announced it will take legal action against organisations that have criticised the LLRC, ColomboPage reported on Friday.

Deputy Minister of External Affairs, Neomal Peiris said that certain human rights organisations have made false allegations about the LLRC report to the international community.

He expressed his regrets over the behaviour of those organisations.

The final LLRC report has been criticised by several organisations, including the Tamil National Alliance, the Tamil National People’s Front, the US State Department, a cross-party group of British MPs, the International Crisis Group, Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International.