19 refugees stranded in Dubai will not be deported back to Sri Lanka stated an official from the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, amid fears that they face torture on their return.

The Times of India reported Babar Baloch, spokesperson for UNHCR in Geneva, as saying,

"UNHCR is looking for a solution to resettle the 19 refugees in other countries. We have full cooperation from the UAE government and there is no threat of the refugees being sent back to Sri Lanka".

"We have been working sincerely to settle them in other countries. Fifteen of the 39 recognized refugees left UAE and 12 are in the process of departing. Resettlement for others may take time. The UAE government has been supporting UNHCR in sheltering the refugees."

Several groups including Human Rights Watch, Reporters Without Borders, the Committee to Protect Journalists and Journalists for Democracy have expressed concern over their return and urged for the group not to be deported (See here and here).

One of the refugees is a former presenter for the National Television of Tamileelam (NTT), Rathimohan Lokini. Ramanan, another of the group stated,

"She (Lokini) is depressed. She knows what happened to Isaipriya, another TV presenter with the LTTE channel, who was brutally killed by the Sri Lankan Army".

Tamil journalist Rathimohan Lokini, currently stranded in Dubai, told the Independent that she is 'terrified' of being sent back to Sri Lanka, saying:

TNA leader Sampanthan made a special statement in Parliament about attacks targeting TNA members and meetings, and the complicity of the Sri Lankan security forces in violence in the North.

Sampanthan asked the Speaker to observe that:

"the common feature of all these attacks is that they have been carried out by or with the connivance of the security forces and the police and even though the assailants were identifiable, no arrests have been made. These are also carried out under the watchful eyes of the police. This is clearly indicative of the complicity of the authorities."

The Sri Lankan army's report absolving themselves of any crime is a "joke" said the TNA MP Suresh Premachandran on Wednesday. Premachandran went onto to dismiss the government's claims that India was responsible for the protracted war as "absurd".

In an apparent response to protests by the Tamil Nadu film industry against the genocide of Eelam Tamils, dozens of Sri Lankan held a 'Adhisthana Pooja' in Colombo on Thursday.

Sri Lanka blamed India today for the 30 years of armed conflict, reports NDTV.

Human rights groups are urging the UAE not to deport Tamil journalist Rathimohan Lokini to Sri Lanka.

The report by the Sri Lankan Army Court of Inquiry, which was appointed by the Commander of the Army, Lieutenant General Jagath Jayasuriya, was handed over to the Defence Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa on Wednesday.

The Sinhala nationalist JHU (Jathika Hela Urumaya) said that India should look at its own human rights violations, including those in Kashmir.

Updated 13:45 Hardeep S Puri retired last month from the Indian Foreign Service.

A boat carrying 66 asylum seekers from Sri Lanka has arrived at the busy Western Australian port of Geraldton, completely undetected until its arrival.

The US Ambassador to Sri Lanka Michele J. Sison, has warned that unless accountability was addressed in Sri Lanka, the island would see a “return to a conflict situation”, whilst addressing the Foreign Correspondents Association of Sri Lanka.

See her full speech here.

Speaking in Colombo, Sison said,

“History has shown that societies that do not adequately address reconciliation and accountability usually return to a conflict situation at some point down the road. Thus, however difficult this process is, it is ultimately vital to the stability of Sri Lanka”.

“As we examine next steps, we will renew our consideration of all mechanisms available, both in the Human Rights Council and beyond. But it is important to emphasise that calls for reconciliation and accountability should not simply be seen as exhortations by the international community – reconciliation and accountability should be viewed as essential to ensuring a peaceful and prosperous future for the country”.

“We looked at the conditions around the country. We compared those to the government's commitments and stated goals. We realised that not only were many of the concerns that led to the first resolution still there, but also that in some ways the situation had deteriorated."

In terms of accountability, Sison expanded saying,

"We mean identifying those responsible for committing abuses and imposing consequences for these acts or omissions."

Sri Lanka's Foreign Minister GL Peiris has stated that Sri Lanka will not comply with a recently passed resolution at the UN Human Rights Council this March.

Speaking in Parliament, the Minister said,