Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena reiterated that his government would not allow foreign judges to be involved in an accountability mechanism for violations of international humanitarian law that occurred during the final stages of the armed conflict.

Mr Sirisena once again, spoke out against international involvement, repeating similar statements he has made over the last few months.

Speaking at a National Law Conference in Wadduwa, Mr Sirisena told the audience,

"I will not agree to get foreign judges in to any kind of investigations into human rights violations allegations".

The Sri Lankan president has been staunch in his opposition to international involvement, despite Sri Lanka committing to a UN resolution in September that mandates foreign judges and prosecutors.

The Sri Lankan military held a lecture on ‘Human Rights and International Humanitarian Law’ in Mullaitivu earlier this month.

Soldiers were given a lecture on the subject as part of a training day “under the supervision of Major General P.U.S. Vithanage, Commander, SFHQ-MLT,” reported a military website.

The lecture was given alongside another talk on “Earth Moving Machinery”.

Former Eastern Province Chief Minister Sivanesathurai Chandrakanthan, also known as Pillaiyan, had his bail application rejected by Batticaloa magistrates on Friday.

Mr Chandrakanthan, a former member of the LTTE who was embraced by the Sri Lankan government after he turned against the movement, is in custody over the killing of TNA parliamentarian Joseph Pararajasingham.

He was initially arrested on October 11. His next court hearing will take place on April 1.

Sri Lanka's "joint opposition" staged a huge rally in Colombo today. The rally was attended by former president Mahinda Rajapaksa, who was cheered by the thousands of people in the crowds.

The Chief Minister of the Northern Province, C.V. Wigneswaran, said to the Australian High Commissioner to Sri Lanka that the people in the province are against the continued presence of the military.

High Commissioner Bryce Hutcheson visited Jaffna with a delegation on Wednesday and met with the chief minister during his time in the North-East.

After the meeting, the Chief Minister, said to reporters,

"I can see the Central government and the Australian government are jointly involved in some activities. The role of the provincial government in these activities is less. I conveyed that it is proper to discuss with us, when it comes to helping our people."

An EU delegation currently in Sri Lanka said the government should remain patient with the application for the reinstatement of GSP+ trade preferences until there is a strong chance of it being able to secure the tariff facility, the Daily Mirror reported on Tuesday.

“This is why we are advising them (GoSL) to wait with the application for GSP+ until the conditions are ready so the EU can annul the revoke of GSP+, we want to be confident. Normally it takes about eight months to the process of granting the access, assuming the access will be granted. Neither the EU nor the GoSL want the application to be rejected,” said Paul Godfrey, the Chargé d' affaires of the EU delegation to Sri Lanka and the Maldives.

The official further stressed that there needs to be clear evidence to ensure that progressive measures have been taken to improve human rights and to achieve an irrevocable status to regain the trade concessions granted by the EU. Mr Godfrey said the government had achieved remarkable progress in reconciliation over the past year.