TNPF leader Gajendrakumar Ponnambalam addresses World Tamil Conference

Gathering at the 2012 World Tamil Conference, Tamil activists and politicians from the North-East and the diaspora, together with British parliamentarians and Tamil Nadu politicians and civil society activists, made a united call for an international, independent investigation into the allegations war crimes, crimes against humanity and crimes of genocide by the Sri Lankan state against the Tamil nation.

The event, organised by the All Party Parliamentary Group for Tamils (APPGT) and British Tamils Forum (BTF), was held on Wednesday, inside the British Houses of Parliament in Westminster, London.

Follow us on Twitter @TamilGuardian to see our live coverage of today's event.

In a proposed resolution delegates from Tamil political parties and organisations worldwide urged:

1) Take immediate steps to provide for space for free flow of information that would bring to light as to the ground realities prevailing in the North and East of the Island of Sri Lanka.

2) To stop decimation of the Tamil Nation by the Sri Lankan State.

3) To stop Sinhalisation of the Tamil traditional Homeland.

4) To demilitarise the Tamil People’s Homeland for the people to exercise their democratic rights free from fear of persecution.

See here for full text of proposed resolution.

Addressing the event, the leader of the Tamil National People's Front (TNPF), Gajendrakumar Ponnambalam, asserted that the genocide of Tamils was nothing short of "a systematic dismantelling of the existence of the Tamils as a nation in the island of Sri Lanka", and though the international community may hestitate in recognising it to be so, the Tamil nation must never hesitate in articulating it.

Speaking at a press conference on Friday, at the 12th meeting of the Foreign Ministers of the Indian Ocean Rim Association for Regional Cooperation, India's new External Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid said that India "had no indication whatsoever that there is an issue of dilution or a reversal of the 13th Amendment."

Khurshid said:

The ambassador and head of the European Union delegation to Sri Lanka, Bernard Savage noted that further efforts were needed to address the issue of accountability.

Speaking to a journalists, the ambassador outlined various issues that were yet to be resolved.

Referring to enforced disappearances, Savage said,

“These are issues that have not been properly resolved. There are other cases of disappearances that have not been satisfactorily addressed. It is an issue where more clarifications are needed and the culprits brought to book.”

Although the EU is not represented on the UNHRC, Savage emphasised that the EU member states were active members of the UN council and had already made interventions with regards to accountability issues.

"I want an international inquiry and international judgment, otherwise I am not satisfied".

"The Trincomalee 5 case along with the ACF case [where 17 aid workers were executed] is sort of emblematic of a culture of impunity in Sri Lanka where security forces are given carte blanche to continue to commit violations because the state is failing to independently investigate and prosecute".

"In reality, the investigation has been a succession of obstruction, interference, of politics in the judiciary and a lack of transparency and independence...Nothing has really happened during the last six years."

"This really underscores the need for a proper full-scale international inquiry."

The British broadcasting regulator Ofcom has cleared Channel 4’s documentary “Sri Lanka’s Killing Fields: War Crimes Unpunished” from allegations it was biased and misleading.

In a bulletin, the watchdog outlined the allegations, and said it received “extremely detailed” complaints, disputing evidence presented by the programme makers and claiming the broadcaster “underplayed” the role of the LTTE.

Three military generals have been approved to diplomatic appointments across the world, reports the Sunday Times.

The head of the Indian Army, General Singh, is due to visit Sri Lanka in December, to discuss strengthening of defence cooperation, reports PTI.

The discussions are expected to centre around training, military hardware and joint exercises, but comes amidst increasing outcry against such joint exercises fromTamil Nadu.

• Fully implement the recommendations of the LLRC, in particular steps to ensure independent and effective investigations into all allegations of serious human rights violations, in the context of Sri Lanka’s civil war and its aftermath  (Austria)
• Rapidly implement the recommendations of the Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission (France);
  
• Continue implementing the recommendations of the LLRC report and the report of the Panel of Expert in accordance with the Human Rights Council Resolution 19/2 (Germany);
  
• Implement the constructive recommendations of the LLRC, including the removal of the military from civilian functions, creation of mechanisms to address cases of the missing and detained, issuance of death certificates, land reform; devolution of power; and disarming paramilitaries (USA);
  
• Guarantee access to the North and the East of the country to international and local humanitarian organizations specialized on family tracing and reunification programs (Uruguay);

The leader of the DMK, M Karunanidhi has called on India to urge the UN to hold a referendum in the Northeast of Sri Lanka, to determine the political future of its people, reported The Hindu.

When asked about reporters about Delhi’s reluctance to get involved in the affairs of a sovereign country, Karunanidhi said that this is why the resolution passed the TESO conference was not in support of an independent Tamil Eelam.

“We want only a referendum and believe that it will benefit Sri Lankan Tamils and secure their rights,” he said.
Karunanidhi said a referendum would put an end to "tears and blood” shed by Tamils and that India should use its influence to garner support across the world.

Sri Lanka's defence secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa recently undertook a 'secret' official visit to South Africa, reports The Sri Lankan Guardian.

Citing a 'reliable source' in Sri Lanka's External Affairs ministry, the news site stated that Gotabhaya arrived on the 27th October, accompanied by Vinayagamoorthi Muralidaran, Nimal Siripala de Silva, Anura Prayadarshana Yapa, Neomal Perera, Faizer Musthapa and Janaka Bandara.