(Photos: BBC Sinhala)

Tens of thousands of supporters of former president Mahinda Rajapaksa staged a rally in Nugegoda, calling on him to stand as a prime ministerial candidate in elections later this year.

In a written statement, read out by former government official Dayan Jayatillake, Mr Rajapaksa said he could not ignore their wishes and will make a return to politics.

"What we are experiencing today is not a defeat but a result of a conspiracy," he said in the message. "I say firmly that I am in anyway unable to ignore the wishes of those of you who think about the country and are committed for the country."

The UN Human Rights Council’s decision to give the new government 6 months to cooperate with the OHCHR Investigation on Sri Lanka (OISL), in view of gathering more information, and defer the publishing of the UN inquiry into mass atrocities till September, has been met with mixed reactions. Whilst Colombo celebrates what it sees as a diplomatic coup, human rights groups have cautiously welcomed the prospect that more evidence can be found. However, Tamil victims, witnesses and campaigners for justice have expressed deep disappointment that justice, denied to them for so long, is delayed once again.

Describing it as a “difficult decision”, the High Commissioner for Human Rights, Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein’s acknowledged the inevitable disappointment of witnesses, but said the decision was based on the promise of “broad cooperation” by the new government and the prospect of “a stronger and more comprehensive report”. Mr Zeid’s unequivocal statement that the deferment was “for one time only” and his personal commitment to ensure its release at the Council’s 30th session is welcome. However, despite the new government’s very basic promises (outlined in the foreign minister’s letter to Mr Zeid), the Tamil people’s deep scepticism that it will deliver on them remains palpable - nowhere more so than in the North-East.