“by deporting the convict herein, there is every apprehension that he will become a victim of genocide, and thus the State of India would have failed to live up to its commitment of preventing genocide under the convention.”

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki Moon stressed the need for a "credible national accountablity process" in a meeting with Mahinda Rajapaksa on Saturday at the UN General Assembly.

Drawing attention to measures previously agreed upon in a joint statement with Rajapaksa in 2009, Ban reportedly "underlined the need to find a political solution to the underlying factors of the past conflict".

“When the whole of Tamil Nadu is demanding that India have no relations whatsoever with Sri Lanka, it is improper for the Indian Navy to engage itself in joint naval exercises with the same country”.

“These egregious violations of international and domestic law have gone unanswered for over two years now, as survivors continue to suffer in suffocating silence on the island.

Finally, after years of waiting for someone to answer for the loss of loved ones, the voices of Tamil victims  and survivors have been granted their day in court.

Today, U.S. courts provide a forum for justice and accountability, where there would otherwise be continued impunity for Sri Lanka’s crimes against Tamils.”

"This lawsuit  seeks damages  for violations of international, Sri Lankan and domestic law under the Alien Torture Claims Act (ATCA) and Torture Victim Protection Act (TVPA).

These statutes grant jurisdiction to U.S. courts  over human rights  violations committed  abroad, and serve to ensure that the U.S. does not become a safe haven for war criminals.

“When asked why can't [Tamil] refugees go back to the villages that they originally came from, the government said that it is not possible because those areas are now special economic development areas, uncleared minefields or on land the military wants to keep.”

- ANI news agency. See the report here.

The decision to air the documentary “Lies Agreed Upon” (and not Sri Lanka’s Killing Fields) was made by the UN Correspondent’s Association President, Giampaolo Pioli, who also covered the event.

Tamil lawyers in Jaffna reportedly boycotted the Court of Law, on Thursday, in protest against the arrest and brutal assault of a Tamil civilian by the Sri Lankan police.

Describing the conduct of the seven policemen involved as an "affront to the authority, dignity and the sanctity of the Courts of Law", they added that such conduct "constitutes a brazen and blatant violation of all norms of behaviour that are expected of the guardians of the law."