India’s Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has called for political devolution in Sri Lanka to be addressed with a “sense of urgency”, in his address to the Lok Sabha on Wednesday.

Replying to the debate on the President’s Address, Singh stated,

"Members have raised the issue of human rights violations during the conflict in Sri Lanka and the lack of progress on reconciliation, accountability and political devolution in Sri Lanka. The Government takes the sentiments expressed by Members very seriously. We are firmly of the view that issues of reconciliation and political devolution in Sri Lanka need to be addressed with a sense of urgency."

"We have consistently called upon the Government of Sri Lanka to fulfil its public commitments for the implementation of the 13th Amendment and for building further on it so as to achieve a meaningful political settlement. We have also urged that elections to the Northern Provincial Council be held at the earliest and have called for effective and time-bound implementation of the constructive recommendations contained in the Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission report."

"This was also the message, Madam, I conveyed to President Rajapaksa during his visit to India in September 2012. We will continue to remain engaged with the Government of Sri Lanka to implement these steps and take forward the process of reconciliation and settlement."

Sri Lankan security forces have stopped thousands of Tamils from joining a protest march in Colombo to demand justice for disappeared or detained relatives on Wednesday.

Protesters, who were travelling mainly from Vavuniya, had boarded buses in order to make the 210 km journey to Colombo when Sri Lankan police stopped the buses.

In a statement published on Wednesday, the US embassy in Sri Lanka expressed alarm at the blocking of 1000s of Tamil protesters travelling to Colombo by Sri Lankan police.

See here. Reproduced in full below:

In an interview to Phoenix News Media on 1st March 2013 regarding Sri Lanka, the Canadian MP for Mississauga-Streetsville, Brad Butt, reaffirmed Canada's commitment to "continue to put pressure on through international bodies, through the Commonwealth and other agencies that Canada is a partner", and made clear that whilst quiet diplomacy can work, "sometimes you have to raise the bar, and that's exactly what we are doing."

"As we learn more, we continue to step up," he added.

Extracts of Brad Butt's responses have been transcribed below:

"The Prime Minister has spoken out very loudly and clearly on this issue, so has our foreign affairs minister, John Baird. We continue to be concerned about the lack of accountability for the serious allegations of war crimes. We know that there has been work done by the UN, a number of other reports that you've mentioned, that the Canadian government is gravely concerned about.""From what I heard, the US government is stepping up their comments and their concerns as well on this issue, so we are starting to build a better international voice on this to make sure that these issues are well articulated."

 Defence Secretary, Gotabaya Rajapaksa will open a new 'Buddhist Leadership Academy' later this month.

The Academy will be located in the Ranchawala region of Galle, reported the Mirror.

Government supporters have held a protest in Colombo, calling on the UN to take action against the “LTTE” in the diaspora and the Tamil National Alliance, for being a “proxy” of the organisation.

Around 1,500 people from a group called “Dead and Missing Persons Front” gathered outside the office of the United Nations in the capital and handed over a petition demanding action.

"It is only on one side that attention is being focused at the Human Rights Council sessions in Geneva," an organiser told state-run radio.

A senior official from the British Mission in Geneva at the United Nations Human Rights Council has denounced Sri Lanka's speech which sought to attack UN High Commissioenr for Human Rights Navi Pillay.

The head of Sri Lanka's delegation at the UN Human Rights Council session in Geneva has reportedly snubbed UN High Commissioner Navi Pillay, by missing a scheduled meeting with her.

According to the Island, Plantations Minister Mahinda Samarasinghe caused a stir by skipping a meeting that he was due to have with the HIgh Commissioner.

Hundreds of protesters made of DMK party workers along with the leader, MK Stalin, were arrested on Tuesday as they attempted to picket the Sri Lankan High Commission in Chennai.

Calling for an an international inquiry into alleged war crimes by the Sri Lankan government, protesters shouted slogans demanding that the Indian government does not "betray" the Tamils.