From the Sunday Times, May 30:

Rehearsals for the Victory Day parade held on Friday began two weeks ago. Among those rehearsing were a group of 23 newly-recruited policemen from Jaffna, six of whom were women constables.

Sri Lanka's announcement of the appointment of yet another commission to investigate human rights abuses should come as no surprise. Following the release of report by the UN expert panel, calls for an international, independent inquiry into the final stages of the conflict are gaining momentum on a global level.

This new commission, like its predecessors, including the infamously impotent Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission (LLRC) is a farce. Its announcement is a insolent retort at the UN report and all those advocating accountability, as well as another of Sri Lanka's habitual ploys to buy time for international attention to fade.

The United Nations has signed a ‘routine’ agreement with Sri Lanka so that resources can be accessed when needed for peacekeeping.

At the conclusion of the visit to Delhi this week by Sri Lanka’s External Affairs Minister G. L. Peiris, the two governments issued a joint statement which set out a range of bilateral policy.

However, no sooner had Peiris returned to Colombo, Sri Lankan officials were backpedaling from any commitments he may have given.

“The British government’s delay in seeking international justice for victims of genocide must be a matter of continuing shame for our country.

"Today, two years on, our nation once again stands united to remember. Not just amongst us here in London, but we stand united with Eelam Tamils in every major city, throughout the world, and with every mind of every Tamil who continues to live oppressed in our homeland. We will never forget those horrors that passed.

"The UN Panel of experts has reported that there is credible evidence to institute an inquiry into war crimes and crimes against humanity committed in the conduct of the war in Sri Lanka. However, the UN continues with its inaction by calling on the very same murderous Sri Lankan regime to investigate its own murder.

India on Tuesday urged Sri Lanka to probe human rights abuses, implicitly endorsing the UN expert panel’s report, which made allegations of war crimes committed in the last stages of the war between the Sri Lankan government and the Liberation Tigers.

In a break with tradition, and despite refraining from joining international endorsements of the UN report, India "urged the expeditious implementation of measures by the government of Sri Lanka, including... investigations into allegations of human rights violations," a statement said.

Sri Lanka and Iran are finalising plans to expand trade ties between the two countries.

In the last days of Sri Lanka’s war in mid-May 2009, over 300,000 Tamil civilians fled from the war zone and were housed in internment camps in sub-standard conditions. Gradually they have been released from the camps, and the Sri Lankan government has tried to claim credit for a ‘return to normalcy’ or improving conditions.

“During this month, we all must not be guilty of forgetting our history. We must instead actively remember the sufferings of our people, and educate our peers about their plight. We can all bear witness to the truth of what happened, and we must educate our friends, peers, coworkers, and neighbors.”