Amnesty International's Northern Ireland branch condemned the actions of the suspended DUP MP, Ian Paisley who failed to declare two luxury holidays paid for by the Sri Lankan government whilst lobbying to prevent against a resolution calling for an investigation into the mass atrocities, but stressed that the real scandal was that the victims of the crimes continued to be denied justice. 

“Ian Paisley’s historic suspension from parliament has received a lot of attention, but let us not forget that the real victims of this scandal are those who were disappeared, tortured and killed in Sri Lanka. This is really a scandal about an MP attempting to stand in the way of international justice for the tens of thousands of civilians who lost their lives at the hands of the Sri Lankan government and the so-called Tamil Tigers,"  Patrick Corrigan, Head of Amnesty International in Northern Ireland said in a statement today. 

“Mr Paisley saw fit to lobby the Prime Minister against a UN investigation into gross human rights violations, including the mass-killing of civilians at the end of the Sri Lankan war, for which no adequate investigation has ever been carried out. Mr Paisley’s intervention – which the House of Commons has found to be a breach of the rules on paid advocacy - was a moral disgrace, serving the interests of an abusive regime, not its victims."

The former state minister and UNP MP, Vijayakala Maheswaran was questioned by Sri Lanka's Organized Crimes Division today over allegedly making a 'pro-LTTE' statement.

Ms Maheswaran, who was questioned for over four hours at her home in Jaffna, was forced to resign from her ministerial portfolio after she was reported to have made a speech calling for the resurgence of the LTTE. 

The UNP also launched an investigation into the incident, with several backbenchers calling for her resignation and prosecutions at the time. 

The DUP MP Ian Paisley Jr was suspended from parliament today for 30 days for failing to declare two family holidays that were paid for by the Sri Lankan government and later lobbying on the country's behalf against an investigation into war crimes and crimes against humanity. 

MPs voted in favour of the suspension today. Meanwhile the DUP announced it would be suspending Mr Paisley pending further investigation into the matter. 

Following the suspension from Parliament, the chief electoral officer will be given ten days to establish a petition, which could lead to him standing down and a by-election if signed by 10% of his constituents. 

German Tamils held an exhibition in Berlin to mark the 35^th anniversary of the Black July pogrom and to call for justice for genocide.

Hundreds of British Tamils gathered at Downing Street in London yesterday, to commemorate the 35^th anniversary of the Black July pogrom.

Human rights activists have expressed concern about the mistreatment of a disabled former LTTE cadre, who is currently being chained to a hospital bed to receive treatment for injuries sustained in prison.

Kumarasamy Prabhakaran, a former cadre from Tharmapuram, Kilinochchi, is paralysed from the waist down.

He was arrested on 18th July in relation to a fight in the area, and remanded by the judge when produced in the court the following day.

^{File photograph: Ben Emmerson in Sri Lanka last year (Sunday Times)}

 Sri Lanka’s progress towards reform has “ground to a virtual halt” with Tamils on the island “stigmatised and disenfranchised”, concludes a United Nations report on the country’s human rights record.

The report by the former Special Rapporteur on countering terrorism Ben Emmerson, says that “none of the measures so far adopted to fulfil Sri Lanka’s transitional justice commitments are adequate to ensure real progress”.

Sri Lankan police have been accused of failing to investigate the discovery of human bones in Chemmani, Jaffna.

The bones were discovered on Friday when excavation work for a water tank was underway in the area.

Families of the disappeared in Mullaitivu, who protested for 500 days continuously seeking the whereabouts of their missing loved ones have created an office for relatives of the forcibly disappeared.  

"Our struggle is not over. Only the battlefield of protest and the form [of the protest] have changed," said the families of the disappeared. 

"Only when there is an answer for our loved ones will this come to an end," they stressed. 

A Sri Lankan army officer was arrested in Vavuniya on Saturday after he was caught by local residents trying to use a stolen ATM card to withdraw money.

The officer, whose name remains unknown, is believed to be 41 years old and attached to Mullaitivu army camp. 

He was found with 85,000 rupees on his person.