Sri Lanka’s defence minister reiterated that security in the country was not under threat and that not a single army camp has been removed from the North-East, in a statement issued on Wednesday.

“The President, the Prime Minister and I have placed utmost diligence in ensuring and furthering national security,” said State Minister of Defence Ruwan Wijewardene. “There is not an iota of truth in the notion that national security is in danger,” he added. “Every person who is promoting such notions in doing so with ulterior political motives”.

The minister went on to state “the government’s foreign policy is aimed at strategically dismantling the terrorist networks world over and the fact that the LTTE ban has been extended in certain countries is an example of the dividends of this strategy.”

His remarks come after Prime Minister Ranil Wickramasinghe told the Sri Lankan parliament that military camps have not been withdrawn from the North-East of the island.

Sri Lanka’s former Foreign Minister GL Peiris slammed the present Sri Lankan government for failing to manage the “rapidly developing situation influenced by Western powers, Diaspora and their agents” and endangering “national security”.

The Island reports Mr Peiris as stating the country” was facing a major security crisis” under the present government, accusing it of “dismantling post-war counter terrorism structure built by the then Defence Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa”.

The claims have been rebuffed in recent days by Sri Lanka’s defence minister and prime minister, both of whom have denied that any military camps in the Tamil North-East have been dismantled.

Mr Peiris also criticised the government’s plans to launch a domestic inquiry into reports of mass atrocities that occurred during the final phases of the armed conflict, stating that it could not be used to “rubber stamp [an] external investigation launched last year without Sri Lanka’s consent”.

The US State Department has highlighted human rights abuses which occurred in 2014, in its annual Country Reports on Human Rights Practices.

The report details attacks on human rights activists, journalists and Tamils viewed as sympathisers of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam by government-linked individuals and impunnity for wide-spread abuses.

See full report here.

"The major human rights problems reported over the year were: attacks on, and harassment of, civil society activists, journalists, and persons viewed as sympathizers of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) by individuals allegedly tied to the government; involuntary disappearances, arbitrary arrest and detention, torture, abuse of detainees, rape, and other forms of sexual and gender-based violence committed by police and security forces; and widespread impunity for a broad range of human rights abuses," the report said.

"Involuntary disappearances and unlawful killings continued to diminish in comparison with the immediate postwar period. Nevertheless, harassment, threats, and attacks by progovernment loyalists against media institutions, nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), and critics of the government were prevalent, contributing to widespread fear and self-censorship by journalists and diminished democratic activity due to the general failure to prosecute perpetrators."

The former commander of the Sri Lankan navy and other senior officers were aware that commandos were carrying out the abduction of children said the Sub Inspector of Sri Lanka’s Criminal Investigation Department (CID).

Giving evidence before the Colombo Chief Magistrate in the case of abductions that took place in September 2008, CID Sub Inspector Nishantha Silva stated that several high ranking officers and the commander were aware that the children were abducted.

Several government ministers were also aware that the abducted children were being held in police custody, reports Daily News.

“The officers responsible for the abduction of the children viz Lt. Commander Sampath Munasinghe, Hettiarchchi and Ranasinghe belonged to the private security outfit of the Navy Commander,” said Sub Inspector Silva. “Therefore, it is certain that the Commander should have been aware of the abduction.”

The Indian Ministry of External Affairs has criticised Sri Lanka’s “use of force” against fishermen from Tamil Nadu and stressed that they must be treated “in a humane manner”.

In a submission made to the Madras High Court Bench, India’s Ministry of External Affairs said,

“During India-Sri Lanka bilateral meetings, including those at the highest levels, India has reiterated its position that the use of force could not be justified under any circumstances and that all fishermen should be treated in a humane manner."

The submission went on to state that India had urged Sri Lankan “to act with restraint, not to fire on our [Indian] fishermen and to treat our fishermen in a humane manner.”

Hundreds of recent survivors of torture have been forced to flee Sri Lanka, says former BBC correspondent Frances Harrison, in a piece in the Huffington Post.

“Torture is for life,” said Ms Harrison who stated that those who have fled abroad “should not be rendered invisible”.

Extracts from her piece have been reproduced below.

See the full piece here.

“The Sri Lankan Tamil diaspora numbers some million people worldwide. Some settled abroad decades ago; others fled only in recent months. In the current period of transition in the country there's much talk of victims' rights, though arguably little to realise them yet. The unthinking assumption is that the "victims" are those Tamils eking out a living in the former war zone, searching for loved ones, as well of course as the Sinhalese and Muslims who suffered. It's the victims inside the country whose fate is considered the litmus test for any future reconciliation effort.”

“But what about those who've fled abroad, those who've been driven out after experiencing unspeakable crimes. I call them the invisibles.”

The designated new US ambassador to Sri Lanka said the US wants to help build "a lasting peace" in Sri Lanka, including "credible justice, accountability and reconciliation" in order to help those who suffered and lost loved ones during the armed conflict.

Speaking at his nomination hearing, Atul Keshap said the primary interest of the US is to help people on the island "succeed as a prosperous, unified, reconciled, peaceful, and democratic nation".

"We want to help the Sri Lankan people strengthen democracy, civil society, and human rights, including media freedom and freedom of religion. We want to help build a lasting peace and fellowship among Sri Lanka’s ethnic and religious communities, including credible justice, accountability and reconciliation that can facilitate closure for those who suffered and lost loved ones during the war. It is important to get this right, and the UN and international community can lend useful insight to the efforts of the Sri Lankan people," he said.

Mr Keshap further said Sri Lanka will be a "critical partner" as the US looks to further its interests in the Asia-Pacific.

The Sri Lankan government has appointed two senior army commanders, who are both suspected of committing mass atrocities, as ambassadors.

The Foreign Ministry announced that former army commander Jagath Jayasuriya and former army chief Daya Ratnayake have been nominated as envoys to Brazil and Pakistan respectively. Both held senior positions during the last phase of the armed conflict, which saw grave violations of international humanitarian law.

Giving diplomatic posts to army officers is a trend initiated by former president Mahinda Rajapaksa, which saw suspected war criminals in the military, including Shavendra Silva and Jagath Dias, given diplomatic posts, which would provide them with diplomatic immunity while travelling.

The appointments casts further doubt on how genuine the government's apparent efforts to engage with Tamils are, with victims of the crimes long demanding international prosecution of those guilty of the mass atrocities.

The European Union said it was “impossible” to convene any formal dialogue with Sri Lanka regarding human rights, in its Annual Report on Human Rights and Democracy in the World.

The report, adopted by the Council on Monday, said “it proved impossible to convene any formalised dialogue with the Sri Lankan authorities, whilst concerns for the human rights and security situation grew”.

The report went on to note that,

“The EU issued several statements, inter alia on the attacks against the Muslim Community (20 June), the appointment of the UN investigation team for Sri Lanka (1 July), and restrictions on non-governmental organisations and on freedom of expression (23 July), in a context of worrying developments such as increased harassment and detention of human rights defenders under the Prevention of Terrorism Act, restrictions on the activities of non-governmental organisations, attacks against religious minorities, electoral violence, gender-based and sexual violence, as well as the detention and deportation of refugees and asylum-seekers”.

The Sri Lankan army ceremoniously declared open a new hall at a Buddhist temple in the Eastern Province last week, reports an official military website.

The UN Human Rights Council has rejected a claim made by a member of the ruling coalition in Sri Lanka, that it provided money to fund a “diaspora festival”, as “completely untrue”.

“Neither the High Commissioner for Human Rights, nor the Human Rights Council has provided any money for any such event,” OHCHR spokesperson Rupert Colville told JDS on Monday.

The Jathika Hela Urumaya, a key coalition partner of the government in power, condemned the decision by the government to hold a "diaspora festival", claiming that the UNHRC had provided $3.2mn.