Pictures: @tamilguardian

Around 2,000 Sri Lankans gathered today outside the UN Human Rights Council headquarters in Geneva, in protest at the resolution on Sri Lanka, to be tabled later this week.

One student was admitted to hospital suffering severe injuries from the attack.

A Tamil youth was arrested in Mannar by the Sri Lankan Navy, reported the Uthayan, as Sri Lanka continued with its increased spate of arrests of Tamils in the North-East.

The youth, originally from Kilinochchi was arrested whilst staying in Siruthoppu and is being held at Mannar police station for further investigations.

A family in Vavuniya were arrested earlier, following the interrogation of 300 Tamil youths in Vaddukoddai by the Sri Lankan military earlier this week.

Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa has accused western countries of being pushed by the Tamil diaspora to take the UNHRC resolution forward, saying that Sri Lanka will not tolerate foreign interference.

“Madam (Navi) Pillay (UNHRC chief), U.S., U.K., all are moved against us by the Tamil diaspora,” he said at an election rally in Kaluthara.

“We are being punished for ending terrorism. We did not fight Tamils, we only fought terrorism,
“We will not tolerate any foreign interference and that will be the message,” he said.

The Sunday Island has quoted a “senior government source” as saying that the British Foreign Secretary William Hague is ignorant of ground realities, after he suggested that an international tribunal should be set up.

The official said that any such move would also have to examine India for supporting “terrorism” in the 1980s and the government would raise India’s accountability during the conflict.