Amnesty International has repeated their call for an international independent investigation into human rights abuses in Sri Lanka, in a statement welcoming a report released by UN High Commissioner for Human Rights.

Released ahead of the upcoming United Nations Human Rights Council session, where a resolution on Sri Lanka is set to be brought forward, Amnesty International said,

An editorial in today’s Washington Post has accused Sri Lanka of “squandering opportunities” to heal the “ethnic rift” on the island.

Detailing the “retrograde” measures Rajapakse has taken, in spite of global condemnation, the editorial argues that threats to boycott or move the upcoming Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in Colombo by the UK, Canada and Australia could send a “clear message” that the country’s policies are unacceptable to other democratic nations.

See extracts below:

"Having acquired a two-thirds parliamentary majority by inducing the defection of opposition representatives, the ruling party rewrote the constitution to eliminate a two-term limit on the president. Government critics in the press, civil society organizations and the judiciary have been threatened and sometimes attacked by pro-government thugs. According to Human Rights Watch, several thousand people are detained without charge, and state security forces have continued to abuse Tamil activists, including through torture and sexual assault.

The Sri Lankan General Secretary of the Free Trade Zones and General Services Employees’ Union (FTZ & GSEU), Anton Marcus, announced that the loss the European Union’s Generalised System of Preference Plus (GSP+) concessions to Sri Lanka has forced over 186 garment factories to close.

In a statement published on Tuesday, Human Rights Watch urged the UN Human Rights Council to dismiss the "tactics" of the Sri Lankan government and launch an independent, international investigation.

See here.

The spokesperson of the US State Department Victoria Nuland has said the US continues to be “deeply concerned” about allegations of human rights violations in Sri Lanka.

The clergy of the North-East have written to the UN Human Rights Council, calling for stronger action against Sri Lanka and also pointing out the systematic destruction of the Tamil nation by the government.

The letter, signed by 133 priests, is the first of its kind to be signed by so many of the clergy.

The Sri Lankan government has reached out to Estonia in an attempt to strengthen trade, tourism and investments between the countries, reported ColomboPage.

The announcement comes after a high-level 24-member business delegation from Estonia toured Sri Lanka last week, the first visit of its kind.

Sri Lanka's Defence Secretary Gotabaya Rajapaksa visited Jaffna earlier this month, to observe how new "permanent structures" were being put in place, according to the Sri Lankan Army website.

Three BBC media crew, including South Asia correspondent Charles Haviland, came under attack at a Bodu Bala Sena rally on Sunday.

Charles Haviland tweeted:

Thousands of Sri Lankans have attended a rally launching a campaign calling for the boycott of Halal meat.

The shooting 52-year-old Sunday Leader journalist Faraz Shaukatally in Colombo on Friday evening has drawn “shock and serious concern” from the British Foreign Office, as attacks on journalists continue on the island.

British Foreign Office Minister Alistair Burt who recently visited Sri Lanka released a statement stating that British consular staff had visited Shaukatally, who holds British and Sri Lankan citizenship.

The statement went on to say,

“It remains unclear whether this horrific incident was connected to the victim’s work as a journalist. The Sri Lankan authorities must quickly identify who committed this crime and bring them to justice.”

“There has been a range of attacks in Sri Lanka on journalists, civil society organizations and others in recent years. To date, too many incidents have had little investigation and no resolution. The UK and EU have urged the Government of Sri Lanka to do everything possible to investigate such incidences and ensure that those responsible are brought to justice.”

The attack also drew sharp criticism from the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay, who in an interview with Channel 4 said,

"I'm deeply disturbed by this particular shooting because it's a journalist and he's attached to a newspaper that's known to be critical of the government - particularly on accountability and in justice issues - which are issues that I cover. And I will be reporting to the Human Rights Council my concern over extra judicial killings, abductions and this kind of treatment and suppression of freedom of expression."

She went on to call for a “credible investigation” for this incident and for all others, calling for civil society to be involved, as the government or police does “not enjoy the confidence of the people, they’re not impartial”.

In an interview with Channel 4 news, the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay, has reiterated her call for an international independent investigation into allegations of war crimes and stated that Sri Lanka would be reviewed once more at the upcoming UN Human Rights Council session in Geneva.

The High Commissioner also praised Channel 4’s documentary “Sri Lanka’s Killing Fields”, commenting,

"Let me say how much Channel 4's information is appreciated because you have brought this to the fore. I myself mandated by the Human Rights Council have been filing reports on the human rights situation in Sri Lanka - we will be reviewing that again in March, but I have consistently called for a credible international investigation particularly of the occurrences in the last few days of the conflict".

Despite Sri Lanka’s refusal to allow any international investigation take place, Pillay went on to say,

“We want to provide them with expert investigative assistance, we are ready to provide this kind of assistance and I'm really disappointed it has not been taken up."

"It's particularly bad because this was government forces firing on civilians indiscriminately - they were shelled and the normal responsibility of governments is to protect people - not to kill them."