Gavin Barwell, Conservative MP, Croydon Central. Photographs Tamilnet

British MPs and peers endorsed the call for an international, independent investigation, at an exhibition organised by the All Party Parliamentary Group for Tamils (APPGT) and the British Tamil Forum (BTF). Photographs Tamilnet.

A group of students from the University of Virginia’s School of Law visited Sri Lanka as part of a Human Rights Study Project (HRSP).

Eight students spent their time interviewing many people, including judges, military and government officials, NGO’s and individuals within camps, to study different areas of human rights within Sri Lanka.

Here is a description of the group’s experience by the President of the HRSP, John Akin:

At a recent debate in the House of Commons, British MPs urged the British government to ‘speak out loudly’ and raise human rights issues in Sri Lanka with the UN and other organisations.

Labour MP Kerry McCarthy called for a debate in the House of Commons about the controversial LLRC report.

Dismissing the recent boycott of Sri Lankan goods but activists in Tamil Nadu, an official of Sri Lanka's Deputy High Commission to India, drew attention to the lack of an apology from Tamil Nadu state government.

The official added,

Any decision of system of devolution will only be determined by a Parliamentary Select Committee (PSC) said Sri Lanka's president, Mahinda Rajapaksa:

“I had told Krishna that I had no objection to going beyond the 13th Amendment, and that I had said so earlier too. However, I added that I could not take a decision on the matter arbitrarily."

"The PSC, in which all parties in parliament would be represented, was the best forum to discuss and take a decision on the matter.”

Human Rights Watch (HRW) has urged the UN Human Rights Council to act against the continued lack of accountability for abuses committed in Sri Lanka.

The Colombo stock exchange, the best-performing stock market of 2009, has slumped to become the second-worst, only just ahead of Bangladesh.

The table, compiled by Bespoke Investment Group, looks at year to date stock market returns for 78 countries.

Sri Lanka’s bourse saw the second biggest loss of -7.94% compared to last year, placing them 77th on the list.

The Island blames the slump on over regulation and quoted brokers as saying that a lack of foreign inflows is also to blame for the lack of growth.