Updated 07 May 2015 01:00 BST

As the UK general election 2015 approaches this Thursday, parliamentary candidates outlined their positions on key concerns of British Tamil voters, with many pledging their ongoing support for international accountability and justice mechanism, carrying out an investigation to establish whether a genocide occurred, as well as endorsing the Tamil nation's right to self-determination.

Candidates from the Conservative Party, the Labour Party and the Liberal Democrats, in London and key constituencies across the UK, were asked by the Tamil Guardian to detail their views on accountability and justice for mass atrocities in Sri Lanka, the deportation of Tamil asylum seekers from Britain, steps that should be taken if Sri Lanka fails to ensure justice for the victims by September, an investigation into genocide and the Tamil nation's right to self-determination.

To see the final survey report with full responses from candidates, sorted by constituency, please see the UK General Election 2015 Candidate Survey on Tamil Issues.

Canadian Member of Parliament Patrick Brown rose in the House of Commons on Wednesday to mark the sixth anniversary since the “the final stages of the Sri Lankan genocide”.

Marking six years since the battle of Mullivaikkal, Mr Brown said that he stands “with the thousands of Tamils who lost family members in the final stages of the Sri Lankan genocide”.

“Today, the Sri Lankan government has still failed to show progress toward ensuring justice for the victims of these terrible human rights crimes,” continued the MP.

Sri Lankan Foreign Minister Mangala Samaraweera said the government will be able to “salvage the good name of our country and our armed forces” through a domestic investigation into war crimes committed by Sri Lankan troops.

Speaking at a press conference in Colombo, Mr Samaraweera said “Since Sri Lanka is not a signatory to the Rome Statute regarding international jurisdiction with regard to war crimes, ensuring justice with regard to such matters will be the business of national independent judicial mechanisms.”

Stating that the government was in the process of doing so, with “international technical assistance”, and the minister was “sure we’ll be able to salvage the good name of our country and our armed forces by doing so”.

The chief minister of the Western Provincial Council, Prasanna Ranatunga said the government would “betray” national security if it demilitarises the North, The Island reported.

"If the government removes Army camps in the North to appease Chief Minister C. V. Wigneswaran, I would like to ask whether they would remove camps in the Western Province if I made a request to that effect," he said.

The CM said national security was being compromised again, just as it was under Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe in the past.

The International Monetary Funds (IMF) on Wednesday expressed concerns over Sri Lanka’s fiscal deficit in 2015, after the new government raised wages and increased spending since taking power in January, Reuters reported.

The 2015 deficit target of 4.4% of gross domestic production (GDP) "will likely be very difficult to reach even with relatively optimistic assumptions regarding revenue gains", the body said.

"In the absence of new measures to create a more durable increase in tax collection, revenues in 2016 will drop as the one-off measures expire, while the permanent increase to recurrent spending from the revised 2015 budget will likely push the deficit higher," the IMF said in a statement.

Sirisena’s government has changed several policies, including reducing import taxes on some commodities and fuel prices, and introduced a one-off super gain tax to raise revenue by Rs80.3bn while increasing recurrent spending by nearly 6% or an extra Rs87bn ($652.66 million).

President Maithripala Sirisena said the government is not facing any pressure from the US regarding Sri Lanka's foreign policy, Colombo Gazette reported.