The former Sri Lankan defence minister, Gotabhaya Rajapaksa, who was named by the country's Criminal Investigation Department as running death squads in a report submitted to a Magistrate's Court this week, sought to deflect responsibility to the former army commander, Sarath Fonseka. 

“He [Fonseka] was the army commander at that time," Mr Rajapaksa told The Hindu on Tuesday.

The UN Human Rights Council on Thursday adopted a resolution on promoting reconciliation, accountability and human rights in Sri Lanka without a vote, granting the country two more years to implement the actions set out in resolution 30/1 which was adopted in October 2015. 

This session's resolution was sponsored by Sri Lanka, as well as Australia, Canada, Germany, Israel, Japan, Montenegro, Norway, the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, UK and the US. 

Protests were held in various locations across the North-East last Thursday demanding a justice mechanism with international judges.

The spokesperson for the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) reiterated the party's view that an justice mechanism examining mass atrocities committed in Sri Lanka must include international judges. 

"There is no compromise on the view that an investigation on war crimes and human rights violations in Sri Lanka's war must include international judges as a necessity," the TNA said in a statement published on its website on Friday. 

"The Tamil National Alliance has pointed out that there is no constituitional barrier to conducting an investigation which includes international judges," he added. 

There will be no real justice in Sri Lanka while there is no accountability or acknowledgement of the abuses committed against Tamils, Australian senator Lee Rhiannon has said.

In a press release following the publication of ITJP’s ‘Joseph Camp’ report, the Greens senator for New South Wales said “This is another extremely disturbing report from the International Truth and Justice Project containing accounts of the most horrific abuse and torture imaginable.

Sri Lanka's Criminal Investigations Department on Monday told a court that the former president's brother and former defence minister, Gotabhaya Rajapaksa ran a 'top secret death squad', Al Jazeera reported. 

The death squad was responsible for the assassinations of political opponents and journalists, including the former Sunday Leader editor, Lasantha Wickremetunge. 

Excerpts of a report compiled by the CID was read out in court: 

Impunity Reigns in Sri Lanka, a new report released by People for Equality and Relief in Lanka (PEARL), examines the failure of successive Sri Lankan governments to service justice for the massacre of Tamil civilians in Kumarapuram which took place over 20 years ago.

The report details findings based on, “interviews with victim survivors from Kumarapuram and the lawyers who represented/assisted them; and interviews with a broad cross-section of human rights lawyers in Sri Lanka.”

In a press statement released on Monday, PEARL’s Human Rights Director, Dharsha Jegatheeswaran, said,

The Mayor of Toronto paid tribute in Mullaitivu to the thousands of Tamils massacred by the Sri Lankan state in the final stages of the war in 2009.

China's minister of defence Chang Wanquan left the country on Sunday to embark on a visit of Sri Lanka and Nepal, Reuters reported. 

Details of his trips are unavailable. The deputy naval chief, Su Zhiqian is to be part of the offical delegation. 
 

Sri Lanka will carefully study the recommendations made by the UN Special Rapporteur on Minority Issues, Rita Izsák-Ndiaye, made in her report which follows her visit to Sri Lanka late last year. 

"We believe the visit was timely as the Government and the people of Sri Lanka have embarked on a historic journey to achieve durable peace, reconciliation and development," the ambassador, Ravinatha Aryasinha said.