Sri Lanka’s Presidential Secretariat has dismissed recent media reports alleging a reduction in security measures for former president Mahinda Rajapaksa, detailing who the accused war criminal still enjoys lavish state protection.

Calling such claims "completely false," the Secretariat reaffirmed that Rajapaksa continues to enjoy the full range of entitlements specified under Sri Lanka’s Presidents’ Entitlements Act No. 4 of 1986, giving him access to more than 200 security officers and luxury vehicles.

According to the official statement, Rajapaksa retains a pension and access to an official residence on Wijerama Mawatha in Colombo, as well as allowances for a private secretary.

In terms of transportation, the former president has been allocated three luxury vehicles: a 2008 Mercedes Benz Maybach 600, a 2017 Toyota Land Cruiser, and a 2013 Mercedes Benz G63 AMG 4×4. To fuel this fleet, he is granted a staggering monthly fuel allowance of 1,950 litres, and each vehicle is equipped with a designated driver.

Sri Lanka’s Ministry of Defence and the Ministry of Public Security have also allocated a significant security presence for Rajapaksa. Military protection includes a team of three commando officers, four unit officers, and 56 additional ranks, totaling 63 army personnel. The police have also deployed an extensive force comprising 180 officers, including 29 police drivers.

These measures underscore the continued prioritization of Rajapaksa's security, despite ongoing public criticism over the resources dedicated to safeguarding former officials in a country grappling with economic challenges.

Under Rajapaksa's leadership tens of thousands of Tamil civilians were killed in 2009, and his administration has been widely accused of systematic human rights abuses, including indiscriminate shelling of no-fire zones and the enforced disappearances of thousands. The crimes he committed have increasingly been recognised as a genocide.

Dozens of Eelam Tamils who have been stuck on the remote Indian Ocean Island of Diego Garcia have been offered a move to the United Kingdom, more than three years after they were stranded and detained in “abhorrent conditions”.

Dozens of Eelam Tamils who have been stuck on the remote Indian Ocean Island of Diego Garcia have been offered a move to the United Kingdom, more than three years after they were stranded and detained in “abhorrent conditions”.

The group of 64 Tamils, including 16 children, are all asylum seekers fleeing persecution in Sri Lanka. They were being held on the British Indian Ocean Territory (BIOT) in conditions that have been slammed by United Nations inspectors, including living in overcrowded tents with rat infestations. Several had faced sexual harassment and abuse, as well as mental distress and suicide attempts.

Now, it is understood that British Home Secretary Yvette Cooper will be announcing within 48 hours that 61 of the Tamils will be brought to safety in the UK.

However, three Tamils who reportedly have criminal convictions will not be allowed to enter the UK. Their fate remains unclear.

The decision comes as a judicial review hearing of the asylum seekers’ claims of unlawful detention and habeas corpus was taking place this week.

On Monday, UK government lawyers presented to the High court a letter detailing a change in policy, in which “all families, children and those of the unaccompanied males who do not have criminal convictions, outstanding charges or investigations would be offered the opportunity to be transferred directly to the UK”. It added that work on the offer was “ongoing” and a formal decision would be made within 48 hours.

The UK government had previously refused to allow asylum seekers into the UK, and instead offered a temporary move to Romania. Monday’s offer cancels the earlier one.

“Our clients, including 16 children, welcome the Home Secretary’s belated decision to offer them safety in the UK,” said Leigh Day solicitor Tom Short. “It was made only after our clients issued legal proceedings in the High Court.”

“Our clients fled Sri Lanka seeking refuge from persecution. The treatment and unlawful detention they have endured at the hands of the British Indian Ocean Territory Administration for the past three years is disgraceful.” 

“Today’s decision is an enormous relief to our clients and we urge the Home Secretary to close the camp and bring our clients here without any further delay so that they can begin their recovery.”  

“The change in the UK government’s position is a very welcome step,” said Simon Robinson, of Duncan Lewis solicitors. “We are delighted. After three years living in inhumane conditions, having to fight various injustices in court on numerous occasions, the UK government has now decided that our clients should now come directly to the UK.”

“After three years living in inhumane conditions, having to fight various injustices in court on numerous occasions, His Majesty’s Government [HMG] has now decided that our clients should now come directly to the UK. We hope that HMG will now take urgent steps to give effect to this decision.”

“It looks like a dream. I don’t know what to think,” one Tamil said, according to the BBC.

A report released by the UN refugee agency called for “immediate relocation” after it detailed findings of violence, abuse and arbitrary detention of the migrants on Diego Garcia. Over the summer, Paul Candler, then-commissioner of British Indian Ocean Territory (BIOT), requested the UK government to bring all of the migrants to the UK following mass incidents of self-harm. There have also been hunger strikes, which lawyers state have included children. Some of the Tamils had been transferred to Rwanda to seek medical care.

“For three years I have been caged. Now they are releasing me but I don’t know what to do. I feel a bit blank,” one man in Rwanda said. “I am very happy because I am coming to the UK. I thought they would send me to some other country.”

Speaking to the Tamil Guardian, British parliamentarian Uma Kumaran said she welcoems the decision to "offer safe refuge in the UK to Tamils who have endured immense suffering in Diego Garcia".

"The right to come to the UK will include families, women and children who have faced years of uncertainty, isolation and harsh conditions - as well as threats to their physical safety," she added. "Offering them the right to come to the UK reflects our commitment to humanity and justice for refugees and notes the exceptional circumstances of this case. My hope is that this marks the start of a brighter, more secure future for them. I thank all those who have advocated tirelessly for their wellbeing."

However, the MP also said "there are serious questions to be asked about the troubling situation inherited by this Labour Government". "It went unresolved and forgotten about under the previous Conservative administration. Tamil migrants were left to languish in Diego Garcia for over 1000 days without representation or basic rights. I will continue to press for answers and hold those responsible to account."

Asked about Diego Garcia on Monday, the prime minister's official spokesman called it a "deeply troubling situation", saying it was never "a suitable long-term location".

The group of Tamils fled in October 2021, attempting to reach Canada to claim asylum before their boat came into trouble near Diego Garcia.

After over to years, India and Sri Lanka’s Joint Working Group on Fisheries met to discuss the issues of illegal fishing which has devastated both sides of the Palk Straits.

The meeting followed protests by fishermen in Rameswaram, Tamil Nadu, against the arrest of Indian fishermen. Tamil Nadu’s Chief Minister MK Stalin has written to India’s Foreign Minister to demand the release of over 100 India fishermen who were taken into Sri Lankan custody. In his letter he highlights that reports of such incidents are on the rise. Reports of Indian fishermen arrested by the Sri Lankan Navy often incidents of ill treatment and abuse.

Across 2024, Sri Lanka’s Navy is reported to have seized total of 61 Indian fishing boats and apprehended around 450 fishermen for poaching in Sri Lankan waters. 

Read more here: Sri Lankan Navy detains more Indian fishermen as rift deepens

During the meeting, representatives of the two countries reportedly discussed joint patrols and the release of fishermen from both countries following completion of legal proceedings. Also discussed was the status of investigations into the deaths of Indian fishermen in Sri Lankan waters.

The ongoing issue of fishing has also devastated Tamils across the North-East with many raising concerns over the impact bottom-trawling is having on their territory.

Read more here.

Tamil Nadu actor ‘Thalapathy' Vijay’s newly formed Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) has passed a resolution demanding an independence referendum “to bring about a permanent solution for Eelam Tamils”.

Tamil Nadu actor ‘Thalapathy' Vijay’s newly formed Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) has passed a resolution demanding an independence referendum “to bring about a permanent solution for Eelam Tamils”.

During the party’s executive committee meeting on Sunday, the TVK passed a series of 26 resolutions, including one that called for the Tamil Eelam referendum.

“In matters related to Sri Lanka, foreign policy should be formulated in consultation with the Tamil Nadu government,” the resolution added. “A Tamil should be appointed as the Indian ambassador to Sri Lanka.”

The party went on to highlight the issue of “attacks on Tamil Nadu fishermen” by the Sri Lankan security forces, stating that the issue of fishing in the Palk Strait should be seen as a “humanitarian” one. “It is clear they should not be arrested or imprisoned,” said the resolution, stating that the party would “fight together with the fishermen” to ensure the assaults stop.

See the full text of the resolution in Tamil below.

The passing of the resolutions comes days after the party held its inaugural rally, thought to have been attended by hundreds of thousands of people.

Amongst the other resolutions passed were those relating to the Tamil language rights in Tamil Nadu, the abolition of the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET) and the closure of liquor shops in the state.

Previously Vijay has vocally advocated for the Tamil Eelam liberation struggle. In 2008, in the midst of the Mullivaikkal Tamil genocide, Vijay took part in a one-day hunger strike where he said "let freedom dawn for Eelam Tamils. This plea extends beyond just my fans; it is an earnest appeal to anyone who carries the essence of Tamil identity within them.” He went on, “We are tiger cubs!”. 

Read more here: 'We are tiger cubs!' - Vijay's support for the Tamil Eelam cause

Tamils across the North-East have begun cleaning Thuyilum Illams - resting homes - this week in preparation of Maaveerar Naal. 

Maaveerar Naal - or Great Heroes Day- is marked on November 27, in memory of the first death of a Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) cadre, Lt Col. Shankar who died in combat on November 27, 1982.      .

The LTTE built Thuyilum Illams across the North-East to vury the bodies of LTTE cadres who had died during the armed conflict.  However, all of these cemeteries were razed to the ground by the Sri Lankan military after the armed conflict ended in May 2009. In some areas, the military have built bases on top of the cemetries.

In recent years, Tamils have made efforts to gather the rubble of the destroyed tombstones and somewhat rebuild the graves, particularly in the run up to Maaveerar Naal. 

Tamils gathered at Chatty Thuyilum Illam in Jaffna yesterday and lit a flame and laid flowers for the fallen LTTE fighters by a monument made from the broken gravestones before they started cleaning the area. 

Tamils laid flowers by six remaining headstones at Aadkattivelli Thuyilum Illam in Mannar and cleaned the area for commemorations to take place on Maaveerar Naal. 

 

In Kilinochchi, residents cleared Kanagapuram Thuyilum Illam, which has so far seen the largest gatherings on Maaveerar Naal  following the end of the armed conflict.  

 

On Friday, Tamils paid their respects at Alankulam Thuyilum Illam in Mullaitivu and then proceeded to clean the cemetery. 

The Sri Lankan government reopened the Palaly-Achchuveli road in Jaffna yesterday after 34 years but the peninsula and the rest of the North-East remains occupied by the Sri Lankan military. 

In a press release, the president's media division stated that the road was reopened after residents "had long called for the road’s reopening to facilitate greater mobility and regional development." 

Whilst the military have opened up the Palaly-Achchuveli road, Tamil residents have reportedly been denied access to visit the roadside temples. Other roads in Jaffna also remain closed by the Sri Lankan military. Tamil residents have demanded that these roads that still under the military controlled areas are also opened. 

15 years have passed since the armed conflict ended but the North-East remains heavily militarised. The military continue to occupy vast swathes of land and are heavily involved in civilian activities, such as running restaurants, hotels, farms and distrubting school supplies to children, 

The Sri Lankan military's intrusion into civilian life is an attempt to normalise their presence in the North-East.

 

The Tamil National People's Front (TNPF) commemorated Brigadier Thamilselvan today to mark 17 years since he was killed by the Sri Lankan air force. 

TNPF leader Gajendrakumar Ponnambalam and party members observed a minute's silence and laid flowers for Thamilselvan at party's Jaffna office. 

On November 2, 2007 Sri Lankan air force jets carried out a strike on a residence of members of the LTTE's political division. Five other LTTE officials - Lt. Col. Anpumani (Alex), Major Mikuthan, Major Nethaaji, Lt. Aadchiveal and Lt. Maavaikkumaran - were killed alongside Brigadier Thamilselvan, in the attack.

Brigadier Thamilselvan was a member of the LTTE negotiating team that took part in peace talks with the Sri Lankan government in 2002 and 2003, becoming the Chief Negotiator after the death of Anton Balasingham.

Read more here: Remembering Thamilselvan.

 

Tamils began clearing Mavadi Munmari Thuyilum Illam in Batticaloa yesterday as preparations begin across the North-East to mark Maaveerar Naal. 

On November 27, the Tamil nation will honour the LTTE cadres that sacrificed their lives in the fight for liberation. 

Similar preparations have taken place at Koppay Thuyilum Illam yesterday and at Vannivilankulam Thuyilum Illam last week. 

^{Photograph: @TamilNarratives}

Today marks 17 years since S. P. Thamilselvan, the head of the political wing of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), was assassinated by the Sri Lankan air force (SLAF).

On November 2, 2007 Sri Lankan air force jets carried out a strike on a residence of members of the LTTE's political division. Five other LTTE officials - Lt. Col. Anpumani (Alex), Major Mikuthan, Major Nethaaji, Lt. Aadchiveal and Lt. Maavaikkumaran - were killed alongside Brigadier Thamilselvan, in the attack.

The assassination came as the Sri Lankan government ramped up its military offensive in the Tamil homeland. Brigadier Thamilselvan was a member of the LTTE negotiating team that took part in peace talks with the Sri Lankan government in 2002 and 2003, becoming the Chief Negotiator after the death of Anton Balasingham.

The Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights' (OHCHR) report into Sri Lanka's atrocities (OISL) noted that Sri Lanka's military killed the LTTE's political head before it officially withdrew from the Cease Fire Agreement (CFA) in 2008. It noted that the attack was preceded by a military budget that "had reportedly risen by 40 percent and the Army had tripled in size from 100,000 to 300,000, with almost an additional 5,000 troops recruited per month between 2005 and 2008". 

Tamil mourning

The death of Brigadier Thamilselvan was mourned by the Tamil nation across the globe.

Some 25,000 people attended his funeral in Kilinochchi, with several LTTE commanders, officials, religious leaders and Tamil National Alliance parliamentarians taking part in the funeral procession. The Sri Lankan government blocked Thamilchelvan's mother and siblings, who lived abroad, from attending the funeral.

He was laid to rest at Kanagapuram Heroes Cemetery in Kilinochchi, which has since been bulldozed by the Sri Lankan state.

LTTE leader Velupillai Prabhakaran said the killing was an “unparalleled loss”, in a statement days after his death.

“Despite the repeated and continuous calls from the international community to find a peaceful resolution to Tamil national question, we have not seen any goodwill from the Sinhala nation,” he continued. “We do not see the Buddhist universal love. Sinhala nation did not open its heart and send a peace message. On the contrary, it is sending war-vultures that are dropping giant bombs. It has cruelly killed our peace dove.”

Poddu Ammaan, the intelligence wing chief of the LTTE,  said “the International Community in an uneven judgement in applying its norms, scaled us with Sri Lankan government abounding with military and economic resources. The scale was not fair. The price we paid for the International Injustice is the life of Thamilchelvan,"

The Tamil National Alliance released a statement, saluting his "services to the Tamil people and selfless sacrifice for the Tamil Eelam struggle”.

"Although his death is destined to create thousands of new Tamilselvans who will doubtless serve our freedom struggle with dedication, we shudder at the repercussions for peace of this act by the Sri Lanka government," the TNA said.

"To deliberately target a peace negotiator sends a clear message that the Sri Lankan government is not even interested in talking about neither in peace nor in negotiations," said David Poopalapillai spokesperson for Canadian Tamil Congress.

A coalition of twelve American Tamil organisations said the killing was “an irreparable loss to both the Tamil nation and the peace process”.

Tributes to Brigadier Thamilselvan also poured in from Tamil Nadu, with the then Tamil Nadu Chief Minister penning a poem in his memory.

Dr Ramadoss, leader of Paattali Makkal Katchi (PMK) said “through the heinous assassination of Tamilselvan, the Sri Lankan government has clearly demonstrated its non-commitment to peace and its intention of wiping out the Tamil race from the island”.

K. Veeramani, the leader of Dravidar Kazhagam, D. Pandian, the Tamil Nadu State secretary of the Communist Party of India, the Periyar Dravida Kazhagam, V. Gopalsamy (Vaiko), the general secretary of Marumalarchi Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam and Desiya Murpokku Dravida Kazhagam president Vijayakanth were also amongst the others to express their condolences and solidarity.

Thousands attended commemoration events in London, Switzerland, Denmark, France, Italy, Norway, Netherlands, Germany, Finland, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa and Malaysia.

 

International condolences

Jon Hanssen Bauer, the Norwegian special envoy for the peace process in Sri Lanka, said Thamilselvan had “impressed me as a person who was hopeful and was willing to find ways ahead, even in such situations in which things seemed impossible to others”. “Tamilselvan's demise is a big loss for all of us,” he added.

In Canada, several parliamentarians attended a memorial event held in Brigadier Thamilselvan’s memory, alongside thousands of Tamil Canadians. Liberal MP Jim Karygiannis was on stage at the event alongside fellow Liberal MPs Derek Lee (Scarborough Rouge River), Maria Minna (East York Beaches), Yasmin Ratansi (Don Valley East), John Mckay (Scarborough Guildwood), John Cannis (Scarborough Centre), Mark Holland (Ajax-Pickering), and Lui Temelkovski (Oakridge Markham).

Also see below for coverage and obituaries from Reuters, The Guardian and The Independent.

Slain Tiger was public face of LTTE – Reuters

S. P. ThamilselvanTamil Tigers political leader - Independent

SP Thamilselvan: Chief negotiator and international face of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam - The Guardian

 

Sinhala jubilation

Whilst the Tamil nation was in a state of mourning, in Sri Lanka the Sinhalese were jubilant, celebrating the assassination.

Firecrackers were lit and traditional drums were played in the street. Parties were organised at home. Some Buddhist temples held all night celebrations. Meanwhile, the Colombo stock market soared on news of the killing.

Then Defence Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa warned that the assassination was just the beginning.

“This is just a message, that we know where their leaders are. I know the locations of all the leaders, that if we want we can take them one by one, so they must change their hideouts,” he told Reuters. “When the time comes only, we take them one by one.”

“He is a terrorist and no question of it, the government justifies the action that was taken by the air force,” said Defence Ministry spokesman Keheliya Rambukwella.

The then main opposition United National Party (UNP) also reveled in the news of Thamilselvan’s killing. UNP spokesman Lakshman Kireiella praised the Sri Lankan Air Force and hailed the assassination as “a victorious moment”. UNP stalwart S.B. Dissanayake also praised the killing as a “morale boosting victory” for the Air Force.

“There should not be any regret about his death,” he added.

Our editorial at the time reflected on how the assassination” is a quintessential reflection of the Sinhala mindset”.

President Mahinda Rakapakse, along with the vast majority of Sinhalese, see the island's ethnic problem purely as a Tamil terrorist challenge. For all the lip-service (and there's not much of that about now) about power sharing, the south is single-mindedly focused on a military victory. The abandon with which the military has for two years blasted Tamil villages, driven hundreds of thousands of Tamils from their homes and continues to abduct, torture and murder Tamils is underwritten by the confidence the international community, despite its distaste, is nonetheless solidly behind Colombo’s war.

 Both the Sinhalese and the international community have their legitimating theories. For the Sinhalese, once the LTTE is destroyed, the Tamils will docilely accept whatever limited (and decidedly undeserved) powers they are given. The leading members of the international community in Sri Lanka agree. But they also believe that once the LTTE is destroyed, the island can be 'developed' whereupon Sinhalese, Tamils and, for that matter, the Muslims, will come to see each other as fellow Sri Lankans and live happily ever after. Despite the decades of Sinhala oppression the Tamils have faced by successive governments since independence (i.e. three decades before Tamil militancy was triggered), the international community bases its strategy today off a utopian vision of an ethnic harmony to come. It is not that such a vision is impossible that is staggering but, rather, the belief it can be realized by enabling a violent Sinhala conquest of the Tamils followed by economic development.

The various reactions to the Sri Lankan military's assassination of Mr. Tamilselvan should serve as food for thought for anyone out there who still believes either that peace talks might end the bloodshed or, even more naively, that the international community will act to protect the Tamils against the rampages of the state.

Last week Sinhalese reveled in Mr. Tamilselvan's assassination. Traditional drums were played in the street. Parties were organized at home. Some Buddhist temples held all night celebrations. For any Sinhalese who genuinely desires a negotiated solution, the killing of the other side's top diplomat should have been deeply worrying and regrettable. But very few in the south feel this way, something the Tamils need to bear in mind as they make their way in the time to come. For decades, when faced with violence and brutality by a Colombo government, many Tamils have rushed to the feet of the Sinhala opposition, voting it into power in a laughably futile effort to end their suffering, if only for a while. They have chased after the SLFP and UNP in turn, insisting, despite the evidence of their past suffering, that this time round it would be different.

In reality, for the Tamils, there is nothing to choose between the main Sinhala parties.

Both Mr. Tamilselvan and Lt. Colonel Anpumani (Alex), who was also killed in Friday's airstrike, were friends of this newspaper. From the outset of the Norwegian peace process, concerned that the Tamil people be kept informed of developments, they, along with the LTTE's then Chief Negotiator, Mr. Anton Balasingham, went out of their way to ensure we were briefed on the peace process. We will miss them.

Read more in our editorial:

No choice - 06 Nov 2007

Months before he was killed Brigadier Thamilselvan spoke to The Guardian.

"It was never the intention of the Tamil people even in the early 1950s even to ask for federalism. They only asked that we be allowed to co-exist but don't treat us as second-class citizens," he said. "No government in Colombo has the political will or courage to educate their constituents about providing a solution to the Tamil political crisis. We have to get our own independence."

"Let the Tamil people live in their traditional homeland," he said in another interview in Kilinochchi.

"Leave the Tamil people without any military occupation or persecution. That will be the day there is no war."

The United Nations has awarded Sri Lankan peacekeepers serving in South Sudan with medals although they have a history of egregious human rights abuses at home and abroad. 

On October 17, 17 officers and 48 Other ranks from the Sri Lankan contingent received medals "in recognition of their dedicated service."

In 2007, over 100 Sri Lankan peacekeepers were implicated in a child sex ring in Haiti. Sri Lankan troops were accused of exchanging food and money for sex with girls and boys as young as 12. While most of the accused were repatriated, none have been criminally prosecuted.

The Sri Lankan military also stands accused of a litany of war crimes, particularly towards the end of the armed conflict where they deliberately shelled hospitals, food distribution lines and other humanitarian objects, killing tens of thousands of Tamils. 

15 years later, no one has been held accountable for the Tamil genocide that culminated in May 2009. 

In his latest report, the UN High Commissioner Volker Türk called on states to consider various forms of vetting for Sri Lankan officials  implicated in human rights violations, including the strict application of the UN human rights screening procedures for deployment to UN peacekeeping missions. 

 

 

Tamil residents and members of the Tamil National People's Front (TNPF) began cleaning Koppay Thuyilum Illam today as the Tamil nation prepares to mark Maaveerar Naal which falls on November 27. 

Maaveerar Naal - or Great Heores Day - is observed annually by Tamils in the homeland and across the diaspora to remember the LTTE cadres who gave their lives in the struggle for liberation. 

November 27 marks the death anniversary of Lt. Shankar, the first LTTE cadre to die in combat in 1982.

The LTTE built Thuyilum Illams across the North-East but these were destroyed by the Sri Lankan army following the end of the armed conflict. In July 2010, the Sri Lankan army bulldozed the graves at Koppay Thuyilum Illam where the bodies of over 2,000 fighters were buried and built an army base on top of it. 

Tamils in the North-East gather at the destroyed cemetries on November 27 to honour the fallen fighters.  Every year as Tamils in the homeland make preparations for the day, Sri Lanka's security forces attempt to repress any memorialisation activities by enforcing court orders to ban events and ramping up their surveillance. 

The Sri Lankan government confirmed it has launched an investigation into its High Commissioner to the United Kingdom Rohitha Bogollagama, after allegations of financial misconduct in London.

Sri Lankan foreign minister Vijitha Herath confirmed that an investigation would take place, but claimed that allegations a car was purchased for Bogollagama by the government were not true.

Earlier this month, unconfirmed reports by Sri Lanka’s Daily Mirror claimed that British police also visited the official residence of Bogollagama, with claims that a domestic worker there was being harassed.

Bogollagama, who trained as a lawyer, was Minister of Foreign Affairs from 2007 till 2010 and spent much of his term denying increasingly substantiated reports that war crimes were committed by the Sri Lankan military in a systematic manner. 

In January 2010, Bogollagama flatly rejected the UN human rights investigator, Philip Alston's calls for an international inquiry into war crimes, after a video emerged of Sri Lankan troops killing blindfolded Tamils. The government described the video as a fake, whilst Bogollama accused Alston of deliberately timing his comments to interfere with the then upcoming presidential elections.

A month after the conflict ended, Bogollama was vocal in rejecting any reports of the military firing into the No-Fire Zone, claiming the military "never returned" LTTE fire in the area. "Within the no-fire zone we never returned fire because we would never have taken that degree of chance for inflicting harm on civilians," Foreign Minister Rohitha Bogollagama told The Times in June 2009, after the paper reported over 20,000 Tamils civilians died in the NFZ. 

Sri Lanka’s Foreign Employment Bureau (SLFEB) announced that another group of Sri Lankans are leaving to work in Israel today, to make up for vacancies that were previously occupied by Palestinians, after Israel enforced sweeping revocation of worker permits in several sectors.

SLFEB spokesperson Madushan Kularatne said that in spite of the ongoing Israeli assault on Gaza and Lebanon, Sri Lankans working in Israel would be “safe”. A total of 61 persons would be leaving for Israel today and in the coming weeks.

All will be working in the agriculture sector. Israel’s farms, particularly in the central and southern regions, have traditionally relied on thousands of Thai and Palestinian workers to cultivate the land and bring in harvests. However, following the Hamas assault on October 7, many Thai workers fled the country, and Palestinian workers have been largely banned from the workforce. This shortage of labor has led Israeli farms to issue urgent calls for workers to help with the harvest.

The deepening of trade and diplomatic ties comes even as Sri Lanka claimed that it has demanded an immediate ceasefire and a supply of humanitarian aid to Gaza. Sri Lanka has however continued to maintain its relationship with Israel, especially in the labour sector.

Sri Lanka has admitted that the issuing of several travel warnings advising tourists to avoid the Eastern hotspot of Arugam Bay due to a potential ‘terrorist’ attack was not a “pressure tactic”, as investigations reportedly continued.

“We do not consider this as a pressure tactic because the U.S. Embassy clearly advised to avoid traveling to Arugam Bay,” said Sri Lanka’s foreign minister this week. “It was not a travel ban. It is something they have to ensure the safety of their citizens.” 

Several foreign embassies, including the US, UK, Russia, Germany and Canada all issued travel warnings to their citizens in the wake of the alleged terror plot. However, Sri Lanka Tourism Alliance Chairman Malik J. Fernando struck back at the travel advisories questioning whether it was “some kind of cruel joke being played on Sri Lanka”.

The seven countries that issued travel advisories accounted for 29 percent of the total tourism arrivals in the first nine months of this year.

“Individuals can come to different conclusions because there was no such incident. But as a government we had to act with full responsibility,” Herath said.  

“It is yet to ascertain if this is a false alarm because only after the investigation we will be able to find whether the information is true or false.” 

The threat brought back memories of the 2019 Easter Sunday attacks, where suicide bombers targeted churches and several luxury hotels on the island, killing hundreds of people, including foreign tourists. The attacks and its aftermath severely impacted Sri Lanka which is heavily reliant on its tourism sector. 

At the time, repeated warnings from foreign agencies were reportedly ignored by Sri Lankan authorities.