In a statement released at a press conference held in Jaffna on Tuesday, The Tamil National People's Front criticised the failure of the international community "complete failure of the UN and the international community in its obligations under the doctrine of Responsibility to Protect (R2P) to have intervened on behalf of the Tamil Nation," and called on the members of the UN Human Rights Council to "to resolve to invoke the doctrine of R2P to the Tamil Nation and to set up a transitional administration in the Tamil homeland comprising of the North East provinces in Sri Lanka, as a matter of urgency."

See statement in English and Tamil. An extract is reproduced below:

It is under these circumstances that the TNPF also wishes to draw the attention of the members to 1) the Report by the Panel of Experts appointed by the UN Secretary General to look into accountability issues in Sri Lanka, 2) the recently leaked internal UN Petrie Report 3) the Report by the OHCHR to the 22nd session of the UNHRC, specifically the reiterated call for international independent investigations.

Whilst the Swiss government has expressed support for what has been dubbed the 'South African initiative' - an effort to promote negotiations towards peace and reconciliation between the the Sri Lankan government and the TNA, led by the South African government and civil society groups - Alan Keenan of the International Crisis Group ha

The US embassy has opened two new hospitals at a cost of over $1 million in Kilinochchi and Mullaitivu districts.

Deputy Chief of Mission William Weinstein opened the Mulankavil Base Hospital (Kilinochchi) and the Oddusuddan Divisional Hospital ( Mullaitivu) on Tuesday.

A Sri Lankan Army Officer and 4 soldiers have been arrested for stealing gold, desperately hidden in the ground by fleeing civilians during the last stages of the armed conflict in 2009.

See here a comment in the Financial Times on Sri Lanka’s row with the IMF over another loan.

Full text of joint statement:

The Sri Lankan government has earmarked $150 million for an investment project in Uganda, in order to provide safe water.

See here.

The pledge follows a visit by the Ugandan president, Yoweri Museveni, last year.

Fiften asylum seekers who were deported from the UK have alleged torture and rape by Sri Lankan security forces on return, reports The Guardian newspaper.

In a Freedom of Information request of Home Office data showed that the 15 who were deported between 2009 and September 2012, had managed to escape once again to Britain where they alleged torture and rape.

On a visit to Jaffna, Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa, has ordered the release of the Jaffna University students who were arrested late last year, for remembering those who had died in the struggle on 27th November.

In a statement published on the Commonwealth Secretariat's website yesterday, the organisation refuted Sri Lankan media reports that the Secretary General Kamalesh Sharma had made public statements confirming Sri Lanka as the venue of CHOGM 2013.

Statement is reproduced in full below:

The Sri Lankan government is in the process of introducing new laws that will ban the sale of land to any foreigners, according to Land Development Minister Janaka Bandara Tennakoon, reported the state-run Daily News.

The Minister stated that,

The Sinhalese head of the Catholic Church in Sri Lanka, Cardinal Malcolm Ranjith, has been touted as a possible successor to Pope Benedict XVI by Forbes magazine.

The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay has released her report on assistance for the Sri Lankan governemt on promoting reconciliation and accountability, as mandated by the resolution in Geneva last March.

The report details concern in several areas, including extrajudicial killings, enforced disappearances, militarisation and land grabs.

Sri Lanka has dropped plans for another $1 billion loan from the International Monetary Fund following disagreements over how the money should be spent, AFP quoted the central bank as saying.