The Sri Lankan military says Omanthai checkpoint would continue to operate as usual, denying Monday's reports the checkpoint was opened to all vehicles and people.

Vehicles carrying fresh food products were given priority as of yesterday, but everyone else will be inspected as usual, according to army spokesperson Brigardier Jayanth Jayaweera.

The leader of the National Freedom Front (NFF), a former key ally of the Rajapaksa-regime, warned against the new president Maithripala Sirisena's 100-day programme for reform.

Wimal Weerawansa, whose NFF expressed support for the programme earlier this month, said it is an "undeniable risk" to Sri Lanka's "hard-earned freedom".

The MP said the programme will pave the way for a federal Sri Lanka and called for national unity to oppose it.

Sri Lanka's government is prepared to implement capital punishment to put a halt to the increase in crime according to Justice Minister Wijeyadasa Rajapakshe.

Secretary of State for Northern Ireland Theresa Villiers

Britain's Secretary of State for Northern Ireland Theresa Villiers stated Sri Lanka's new government should co-operate with a United Nations inquiry into mass atrocities and called for the rights of Tamils on the island to be protected.

In a statement released on Monday, Ms Villiers said “the UK Government has consistently called for a full and independent inquiry into war crimes and human rights abuses during the civil war in Sri Lanka.”

“Now it is important for the new government in Sri Lanka to cooperate with the work on the UN on these crucial issues, and for all sides to work together for a negotiated inclusive settlement which provides for political equality and protects the rights of Tamils and all parts of the community in Sri Lanka.”

Ms Villiers' statement also congratulated the All Party Parliamentary Group for Tamils and the British Tamil Forum for their “highly successful” dinner last week, saying the “fact that so many parliamentarians were here shows how influential the British Tamil community is in UK politics.”

"I am sure that all the elected representatives who [were present] are determined to see justice for the Tamil people,” she added in her statement.

(Photos: Uthayan)

Tamil protestors in towns in the North-East have demanded the return of relatives from state custody.

A demonstration in Vavuniya, organised by the Vavuniya Citizens Group and a civil society organisation from across the North-East called Naangal, was attended by parents, children and other relatives of people who were disappeared, who surrendered to the army during 2009 and other political detainees.

Sri Lanka’s president, Maithripala Sirisena, vested police powers to armed forces across the island in an “Extraordinary Gazette Notification“ announcement made on Tuesday, renewing an order introduced by the former president, Mahinda Rajapaksa.

The Tamil National Alliance spokesperson told the visiting US Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asia, Nisha Biswal, that only an international mechanism will ensure justice for the Tamil people, adding that the new Sri Lankan government was not paying attention to the Tamil people’s concerns.

Nisha Biswal meets TNA delegation Photograph:@USembSL