'If Rajapaksa regime thinks that the Diaspora will compromise on the demand for justice through an independent international investigation into  the allegations of crimes committed at the end of the war, then he is wrong.

We will not barter the justice process to any political negotiations. Over 40,000 of our people were killed, we want to know the truth of what happened and how they perished.'

'As far as we know there is no credible Diaspora organisation that is currently in any talks with the Government of Sri Lanka'

If (Sri Lankan President) Rajapaksa wanted to resolve the Tamil National Question he could have easily done so by talking with the elected members of the Tamil people the TNA... Nearly 4 years have passed but no genuine efforts have been made by Rajapaksa government in resolving the Tamil National Question.'

'We feel that because of the UN processes that are forthcoming where  Rajapaksa government will be answerable to the international community is  why he is now coming up with these suggestions of talks in such a rush.'

'Unless the current government recognises that just as there is a Sinhala Nation that there is a Tamil Nation too in that island, there will be little point in talking'

The leader of the TNA, R. Sampanthan, has affirmed his faith in India to take up the Tamil issue on the island of Sri Lanka, reported Uthayan.

Delivering a statement on the recent trip of a TNA delegation to New Delhi, Sampanthan is reported to have said:

“Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has given his assurance that India will take responsibility in ensuring that the Tamil people in Sri Lanka can live with justice, dignity and self-respect. Manmohan Singh said that he will do everything he can for this.”

“Upon meeting leader of the opposition, Sushma Swaraj, we were reassured that this would remain the case regardless of regime changes in India. She further said that it is not just the Tamil Nadu government that is concerned about the Tamils in Sri Lanka. Each state in India is on the side of the Tamil people. Ms Swaraj told us that all Indian states are committed to resolving the problems of the Tamils in Sri Lanka.”

“India’s attitude to the problems of Tamil people is a sympathetic one. I believe that they will soon take up responsibility in finding a solution to these problems.”

The defence secretary Gotabaya Rajapakse has repeated calls to abolish the 13th amendment to the Sri Lankan constitution, reported The Island.

He said the political strategy of the TNA left him with no option but to recommend the abolition of the amendment.

The Sri Lankan government has issued 50 birth certificates, 130 citizenship certificates and 60 passports to Tamil refugees at a camp in Rameswaran, Tamil Nadu, reports the Hindu.

The Deputy High Commissioner, RKMA Rajakaruna, said:

Adding to the chorus of Sinhala voices calling for the 13th Amendment to be abolished, the JHU and the now infamous Minister of Construction, Engineering Services, Housing and Common Amenities, Wimal Weerawansa, joined in.

In a letter to President Rajapaksa, Weerawamsa, requested that a referendum be held to repeal the provincial council system, stating that the system was introduced without the public consent through the Indo-Lanka Accord of 1987.

Meanwhile the JHU's deputy leader, Udaya Gammanpila, told the SundayTimes.lk that the party plans to launch a campaign to repeal it, adding, the "13th Amendment is harmful to the government and, therefore, it should be abolished. This will bring an end to a series of problems."

Extract of Gammanpila's comments to the SundayTimes.lk:

‘Our party has requested the government to abolish the 13th Amendment to the Constitution. We have done this because the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) has based all its arguments on devolution of powers as well as ideas of separatism based on the 13th Amendment.

“The TNA has resorted to action in the courts based on this 13th Amendment. The judiciary is helpless as this is now part of the Constitution. The existence of this Amendment is an obstacle to the development of the country. Whenever the country tries to move forward the issue of this amendment is brought forward stalling the progress. The 13th Amendment is harmful to the government and, therefore, it should be abolished. This will bring an end to a series of problems.

As concerns are raised about four Tamil Nadu fishermen who never returned home after setting off on Saturday night, fishermen in Tamil Nadu spoke to the Times of India, of the relentless alleged attacks by the Sri Lankan Navy.

District Secretary of the Tamil Nadu Mechanised Boat Fishermen Association, B Jesu Raja, said,

Adding to recent unsubstantiated claims by the Sri Lankan government that it is talking to the Tamil diaspora, the Minister Keheliya Rambukwella explained that it was a government strategy to use the recently freed former LTTE commander, Selvarasa Pathmanathan or KP to forge "constructive dialogue" with the Tamil diaspora.

Rambukwella said: