A new report states that at least 21 people were detained under the draconian Prevention of Terrorism Act since the new government came into power in January this year.

The report, by the Watchdog SL organisation, said the act has continued to result in arbitrary arrest, prolonged detention without charges, long drawn out court cases, multiple cases against one suspect, inhumane detention conditions, torture, forced confessions, long years to release those who are innocent, post-release harassment and restrictions, including re-arrests.

Five people are said to have been on remand for the past 18-19 years without a resolution to their case and at least one person’s case has been ongoing since 1998, the year the person was charged.

The signature campaign calling for an international accountability mechanism, which has been conducted across the North-East, today reached Mannar.

The local campaign was launched by the Mannar Citizen’s Committee along with the Disappeared Parents Association.

Head of the organisation Father Emmanuel Sepamalai, Northern Province transport minister P Deneeswaran and TNPF leader Gajendrakumar Ponnambalam, took part, alongside religious leaders, civil society representatives and dozens of passersby.

Several politicians from the TNA are walking from Kilinochchi to Jaffna to raise awareness for the call on the UN Human Rights Council to establish an international justice mechanism for mass atrocities committed during the armed conflict.

Northern Provincial Councillor MK Sivajilingam, along with some of his supporters commenced the walk from Kilinochchi earlier this morning.

He was later joined by TNA parliamentarian S. Sritharan and fellow NPC councillor Ms Ananthy Sasitharan.

Today marks the 25th anniversary of the massacre of 184 Tamil civilians by soldiers of the Sri Lankan army.

On September 9, 1990, the men, women and children from Sathurukondan and surrounding villages, on the outskirts of Batticaloa, were taken to an army camp by Sri Lankan soldiers, where they were killed.

The mass killings, which were carried out during the presidency of the UNP's Ranasinghe Premadasa, were investigated in a probe established by then-president Chandrika Kumaratunga in 1997. The probe identified three captains in the Sri Lankan army as being responsible for the killings. The retired judge who led the inquiry, K Palakidnar said that there was strong evidence for the massacre and urged Ms Kumaratunga to hold the perpetrators to account, however no action was taken by the government.

Tamil disappearances activist Balendran Jeyakumary has been released on bail by a Sri Lankan court on Wednesday, despite objections by the police force.

Ms Jeyakumary was detained last week after being summoned to Kebithgollawa courts following the issue of an arrest warrant. The court subsequently remanded her as she did not have two sureties and the police objected to her bail application, according to campaigners.

Sri Lanka’s National Patriotic Movement (NPM) warned that an international conspiracy was underway to destroy Sri Lanka’s military intelligence.

The South African Tamil Federation congratulated the Tamil National Alliance leader R. Sampanthan on being appointed leader of the opposition in Sri Lanka, stating that he was now in a position to “ensure that justice prevails”.

In a congratulatory message to the TNA leader, the SATF said that having had “robust and sometimes very candid” meetings with Mr Sampanthan, it could “safely say he is a matured intelligent politician who can get some resolution on the National Question for the Tamil speaking people”.

“Mr Sampanthan is also well placed now, to interrogate the UNHRC report, on the atrocities that took place in Sri Lanka, and ensure that justice prevails for the people that was killed in the 2009,” added the statement.

The SATF which represents 650,000 Tamil speaking people in South Africa and has Provincial Structures in 8 Provinces of South Africa, continued to say it “wishes Mr Sampanthan well in his new role as the official opposition leader in the Sri Lankan Parliament”.

The signature campaign, calling for an international accountability mechanism to provide justice for the tens of thousands of Tamil civilians killed during the final stages of the armed conflict has continued at the University of Jaffna on Thursday.

President Maithripala Sirisena has selected the leader of the Sinhala hard line JHU to represent him in the new government’s Constitutional Council.

Patali Champika Ranawaka, whose JHU plays an instrumental part in the UNP-led ruling coalition, will serve on the council which is responsible for establishing independent commissions.

Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe nominated Minister of Justice Wijeyadasa Rajapakshe, who is also the minister for Buddhist affairs, to the council.

The United States’ reported backing for a domestic process of accountability with ‘international technical assistance’ perverts international justice said exiled Tamil journalist J.S. Tissainayagam on Tuesday.

Writing in the Asian Correspondent, Mr Tissainayagam said:

“the U.S. and the international community are misguided in believing that the two elections and a national government have brought about enduring change that merits Washington to collaborate with Colombo on the forthcoming resolution at the UNHRC. This is because despite regime change there is little evidence that the new government has either the capacity or the political will to domestically investigate, try and punish perpetrators of international crimes.”

He went on detail the inadequacy in “important institutions of state that will be vital in determining if the process of accountability effectively delivers justice to the victims”.

“Even as he campaigned for the presidency, Sirisena, who has admitted being acting minister of defence “when most of the LTTE leaders were killed,” was insistent that Rajapakse and the military leaders implicated in mass atrocities against Tamils would not be brought before an international tribunal for war crimes,” said Mr Tissainayagam, adding, “Installed in power, the Sirisena government intervened directly to protect the status of those in the military implicated in war crimes”.

The journalist also stated that Sri Lanka’s new Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe “has been no less emphatic in expressing similar reservations on an international investigation”.

A signature campaign calling for an international accountability mechanism to provide justice for the tens of thousands of Tamil civilians killed during the final stages of the armed conflict has continued in Kilinochchi town on Tuesday.

Tens of thousands of signatures have been collected across the North-East to date by the campaign - organised by the Tamil Action Committee for International Accountability Mechanism (TACIAM).