The Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) and coalition National People’s Power (NPP) continued to elicit much controversy with Sinhala nationalists fuming over the discussions and stance taken by the leader Anura Kumara Dissanayake during his recent visit to India, as he continues to rise in popularity ahead of the presidential polls.

Sri Lankan president Ranil Wickremesinghe has committed to protecting and securing the 'Buddhist order' by declaring 11 Buddhist temples as 'sacred sites', of which four are in Tamil speaking areas. 

In his first visit to the North-East after assuming duties the Indian High Commissioner to Sri Lanka Santhosh Jha was quick to pursue India’s business interests in the region, specifically focusing on increasing connectivity between the two regions. 

A group of Tamil activists set off on their bicycles from London on Thursday 15 February and are cycling to Geneva, Switzerland where the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) are set to meet later this month. 

The current frontrunner in Sri Lanka’s presidential polls Anura Kumara Dissanayake, leader of Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) and National People’s Power (NPP) coalition, was invited to visit Delhi earlier this month, where he engaged in a series of high-level talks. The move was seen as recognition from the Indian government that Dissanayake is a serious contender in elections which are set to take place later this year. It also seemed to mark a significant shift in the militantly Marxist JVP, a movement that was once violently anti-Indian but now seemingly open to engagement with Delhi. As Dissanayake’s visit demonstrates, however, the veneer of anti-imperialist politics within the Sinhala left has always been thin. It is not necessarily Indian interests they oppose, simply Tamil ones. 

The Sri Lankan government announced it was increasing air connectivity with Israel last week, as ties between the two countries continued to grow in recent months.

Addressing a Jaffna District Coordination Meeting recently, leader of the Tamil National People's Front (TNPF) Gajendrakumar Ponnambalam questioned why the Sri Lankan navy had allowed Indian trawlers laden with narcotics to enter the island's territorial waters. 

Sinhala extremist lawmaker Udaya Gammanpila submitted a Private Members Bill to the Sri Lankan Parliament, which seeks to remove police powers that should be granted to provinces under the 13th Amendment to the constitution, warning that “foreign nations” may end up funding “Tamil separatists” if it was enacted.

Despite proclamations from Sri Lankan politicians on protecting their sovereignty and territorial integrity, minister for tourism Harin Fernando speaking at a recent event said that  “Sri Lanka is a part of India.”

Tamil fishermen in Mullaitivu complained that their main source of livelihood has been choked off, after a Tamil Canadian businessman reportedly blocked them from going about getting their daily catch, claiming he owns the beach and waters stretching across the coast.

Local fishermen in the area allege that Charlesjanthan Antony, the head of private Canadian company Canbe Foods Inc, has claimed a 2.5km stretch of coast in the Thiyogunagar area, Silawathai.