A Sinhalese deportee, who said he was tortured on his return to Sri Lanka, was denied an interview with Australian police who were in Colombo, according to a cable released under a Freedom of Information law request by The Guardian.

The police declined the opportunity to interview the man, to avoid interfering with any ongoing Sri Lankan investigation.

The election manifesto of the Dravida Munettra Kazhagam (DMK) pledged to push the central government for a referendum, held amongst the Tamil of the North-East of Sri Lanka, and migrant Tamils living abroad, to decide on a permanent political solution.

The manifesto also said the party would press for the full implementation of the 13th Amendment on the island and that it would appoint Tamil speaking envoys to countries with large diaspora populations.

Updated 17:40 GMT

The Prime Minister’s Office has confirmed that Britain is supporting an independent international inquiry in Sri Lanka at the UN Human Rights Council, reported The Guardian.

A spokesperson for David Cameron said that Sri Lanka had failed to meet the deadline set by the PM to conduct a thorough and credible inquiry and that the UK would support the UN High Commissioner’s call for an independent, international investigation.

"Ahead of the vote, we are working hard to secure support from other countries. The PM has personally written to a number of leaders whose countries are on the human rights council this session calling on them to support this resolution which would help to deliver progress on reconciliation and human rights in Sri Lanka."

Photographs: Sesatha

A group of Sri Lankans protested against the UNHRC resolution on Sri Lanka outside British Prime Minister David Cameron's office in London this weekend, telling the UK and the international community to ‘keep your hands off a peaceful Sri Lanka’. 

The protest, organised by “Sri Lankan Living in UK”, saw protestors wave placards which read “Is defeating terrorism a war crime?”, ”USA & Britain are hypocrites” and “Our vote bag is bigger than LTTE”.