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).

The National Fisheries Solidarity Organisation says there are still 43 refugee camps in the Jaffna district.

At a press conference in Colombo, the organisations convener Herman Kumara denied the government’s claim that there were 36 refugee camps, quoting local activists who report that 43 camps remain.

The Mannar Citizen's Committee said that a signature campaign calling for an international inquiry into mass atrocities committed against the Tamil people at the end of the armed conflict would take place in Mannar on Thursday, following on from a series of similar campaigns that have been held in Jaffna, Trincomalee and Kilinochchi so far.

The campaign in Mannar would be held in conjunction with the Provincial Association of Families of the Disappeared.

Speaking to the media on Tuesday, Rev Fr Emmanuel Sepamalai said that an international inquiry was needed as they had no hope of finding truth through an internal investigation.

The Sri Lankan Buddhasana Minister pledged new laws would be enacted “for the betterment of Buddha Sasana”, reports The Island.

Upon assuming his duties Wijeyadasa Rajapakshe said that bills examining Bhikku Discipline and the Buddhist Publication Regulatory Act had already  been prepared by the Sri Lankan government and some already approved by the cabinet.

“There were thousands of Buddhist temples in remote areas without even basic facilities for monks and the ministry expected to rectify those serious shortcomings,” The Island reported him as saying.

The minister also pledged Sri Lanka would host an International Buddhist Sangayana (Council) and commemorate the 150th birth anniversary of Anagarika Dharmapala “on a grand scale”.

Mr Rajapaksha is also Sri Lanka’s minister of justice.

Retired Sri Lankan military intelligence officers have reported been arrested over the case of diapered journalist Prageeth Eknaligoda, reported Sri Lanka’s Criminal Investigation Department (CID).

Three retired members of the Army intelligence unit were arrested after surrendering themselves to police with their lawyers over the weekend. The latest arrests mean that 10 military personnel, including some who are currently serving, have been arrested so far.

The chairman of the Sri Lankan government's Presidential Commission into Missing Persons said the authorities had not set a deadline to complete its investigations.

The commission was announced over two years ago, under the previous Sri Lankan government led by former president Mahinda Rajapaksa.

The commission’s Chairman Maxwell Paranagama told The Sunday Leader that the commission would not yet fix a date as to when it would conclude, stating that investigations were still ongoing.

Last month, marking the “The Day of the Disappeared”, Amnesty International stated that successive Sri Lankan governments have appointed and largely ignored commissions to investigate the issue of disappearances.

Sri Lankan police today disrupted a signature campaign in Trincomalee, calling for an international accountability mechanism to deal with mass atrocities committed during the final stages of Sri Lanka’s armed ethnic conflict.

The organisers of the campaign were asked by police to meet the chief inspector over a complaint that they were forcibly recruiting signatures in Trincomalee.

President of the Tamil National People’s Front Gajen Ponnambalam, who went to the police station, tweeted that the campaign was filmed by the police media unit, pointing out that the police could confirm that the allegations were untrue by checking their footage.

Sri Lanka’s President Maithripala Sirisena and Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe met with the commanders of the country’s army, navy and air force, alongside Foreign Minister Mangala Samaraweera and Justice Minister Wijeyadasa Rajapakshe, to discuss an ‘acceptable format’ for the domestic inquiry the government says it will conduct.

A senior official of the foreign ministry described the discussion last week as an ‘initiation’ and said the officials will reach an agreement on the best mechanism to be adopted to handle outstanding issues of accountability, which will again be scrutinised at the UN Human Rights Council later this month, The Sunday Observer reported.

The official further said, the news reports that the government has shared details of the domestic mechanism with the US, had no basis.

The inquiry into the floating armoury, which was suspected to have been used by former defence chief Gotabhaya Rajapaksa, has been dropped.

The CID informed the court it would not proceed with the case as per the instructions of the Attorney-General.