(AFP) Sri Lanka’s maritime authorities were monitoring a fleet of 11 US-sanctioned Iranian oil tankers just off the island’s southern coast, the foreign minister said Wednesday.

The tankers were spotted close to the Galle harbour where an Iranian frigate, IRIS Dena, was sunk by a US submarine in March, killing 104 sailors. Sri Lanka’s navy rescued 32 Iranian sailors from that frigate.

Iranian vessels have been in limbo, unable to return to their home port because of a US blockade.

Sri Lanka’s Foreign minister Vijitha Herath said the tankers were in international waters where they had freedom of navigation.

“These ships are away from our territorial waters… we have no hold on them, nor have we facilitated them,” Herath told AFP.

The military deployed reconnaissance aircraft and patrol boats to monitor the vessels outside Sri Lanka’s 12-nautical-mile territorial waters, a military official told AFP on condition of anonymity.

“There is no indication of any ship-to-ship transfer of oil or illegal discharge of pollutants, so there is no basis for Sri Lankan authorities to take action against them,” the official said.

Many Iranian merchant vessels moved east towards the Strait of Malacca and Singapore due to US sanctions, while several remained near Sri Lankan waters, authorities said.

Sri Lankan officials said Washington had not formally notified Colombo about sanctioned Iranian-flagged vessels

Parliament is to debate next Wednesday the Government’s proposal to abolish the post of Chief of Defence Staff (CDS), with the Second Reading of the Chief of Defence Staff (Repeal) Bill scheduled for September 9.

The Bill seeks to repeal the Chief of Defence Staff Act No. 35 of 2009, which was introduced shortly after the end of the armed conflict.

According to Secretary General of Parliament Kushani Rohanadeera, Parliament will meet from September 8 to 11, with the business for the week approved by the Committee on Parliamentary Business chaired by Speaker Dr. Jagath Wickramaratne.

The debate on the Chief of Defence Staff (Repeal) Bill is scheduled to take place from 11.30 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Wednesday, following questions to the Prime Minister and other parliamentary business.

The CDS post was established under the 2009 Act as part of the country’s higher defence command structure.

On Tuesday, September 8, the House will consider two Orders published in Extraordinary Gazettes under the Motor Traffic Act from 11.30 a.m. to 5 p.m., followed by an Opposition motion at the adjournment.

On Thursday, September 10, Parliament will debate a Resolution under the Women’s Empowerment Act.

The final sitting day of the week, Friday, September 11, has been allocated from 11.30 a.m. to 5.30 p.m. for several Private Members’ Motions.

The motions will cover issues including regulation of the petroleum, fuel and water industries, measures to increase the birth rate, protection of the Diyagama Forest, pension deductions affecting Pirivena teachers, food-crop cultivation in mountainous areas, development of the Kithul industry and the establishment of a Faculty of Medicine at South Eastern University.

Questions at the adjournment will be taken up at the end of each sitting day.

Mass graves across Sri Lanka are tragic and enduring evidence of the failures of successive states, Highways and Transport Minister Bimal Rathnayake said, describing the Chemmani site as a historic symbol of a failed state.

He said the Government had ensured that excavations at the Chemmani mass grave were conducted through a transparent, scientific and lawful process, backed by the necessary funding and judicial and medical resources.

“When we came to power, only skeletal remains recovered from 2009 onwards had been recorded from the Chemmani mass grave. Today, the number has risen to 565,” Rathnayake said.

He attributed the increase to the Government’s intervention, including the allocation of funds, deployment of judicial and medical officers and provision of facilities required to facilitate the investigations.

Rathnayake made the remarks at a special press conference held on Thursday (27) at the NPP district office in Jaffna.

He said the Government had also taken steps to subject the excavated remains to forensic examinations in an effort to identify the victims.

The Ministry of Justice was taking measures to identify those responsible for the incidents and pursue legal action against them, he said.

A total of 565 human skeletons had been excavated from the Chemmani site as of Thursday, according to Rathnayake.

Fisheries Minister Ramalingam Chandrasekar and NPP Jaffna District MP K. Ilankumaran also addressed the media.