The Chief Minister of the Northern Province CV WIgneswaran urged British MPs at the All Party Parliamentary Group For Tamils (APPGT) to avoid supporting any form of domestic inquiry in Sri Lanka, during his visit to the UK earlier this month.

The APPGt in a press release after meeting the chief minister of the Northern Provincial Council said,

The Chairman of Federation of National Organisations spoke out against the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) and slammed the concept of federalism, reports The Island.

Gunadasa Amarasekera, who is also president of the Patriotic National Movement, said “federalism will be a stepping stone to Eelam”.

Speaking at a news conference, Mr Amarasekara warned against voting for the United National Party (UNP) saying “with the kind of pressure mounting on Sri Lanka the separatists will achieve what they dream of if Ranil Wickremesinghe and the UNP are voted into power".

Comparing the situation in Sri Lanka to that of Kosovo and South Sudan, Mr Amarasekara went on to add "the TNA manifesto clearly spells out that it is advocating separatism and whether Ranil likes it or not, the TNA will do what it wants with the help of the international community”.

The Lanka Sama Samaja Party (LSSP) has stated it is against federalism and criticised the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) call for devolution.

Leader of the LSSP Tissa Vitharana said at a press conference that his party was “displeased” and that they “condemn the call for a Federal State by the TNA at this crucial juncture”.

Mr Vitharana went on to accuse the TNA of fuelling “racist elements in the South”. The LSSP joins a wide range of other Sinhalese parties across the political spectrum to have spoken out against devolving powers to the North-East, a key demand in the TNA election manifesto.

His comments came as he called on the public to vote against the UNP in the upcoming general election, stating that the United States wants to establish military bases in Sri Lanka and the UNP had agreed to do so.

"As far as the Tamil representatives are concerned we need those who would conform to the norms set by Valluvar - honest in politics, strong in principles, dedicated in people's service, far in sight and incorruptible in spirit. Such persons must stress the individuality of our community, they must confirm our right to self determination, they must be prepared to work ceaselessly to obtain the rights of our people and to obtain justice for them."

A senior leader of the United National Front has called on Tamils to integrate with the larger Sinhala society in order to progress.

The Sri Lankan government will not agree to an international investigation looking into former president Mahinda Rajapaksa’s involvement in war crimes.

Cabinet spokesperson Rajitha Senaratne said the government will set up a domestic mechanism to investigate the allegations.

He said the government would not agree, even if the report by the OHCHR Investigation in Sri Lanka (OISL) recommended an international court for those accused of war crimes.