In an article published in the Guardian on Tuesday, a failed Tamil asylum seeker, 'Hari', recounted his harrowing experience of being tortured in the infamous '4th floor' of Sri Lanka's Criminal Investigation Department, accused of 'undermining diplomatic relations by complaining to the UK government' of previous abuses.  

See here for full article in The Guardian.

Extract reproduced below:

'... In what he described as a "torture hall" on the fourth floor of the criminal investigation department building in Colombo, Hari, who had already served time for being an intelligence agent for the Tamil Tigers (LTTE), was accused of campaigning and raising funds for the organisation while in the UK and also of undermining diplomatic relations by complaining to the UK government of the abuses he had previously suffered.

Brought from his cell, he said the hall was "designed" for torture. On the walls were sticks and poles, tables and chairs adapted for beatings and whippings. The floor was splattered and stained with blood.

When he denied the accusations, Hari was beaten, whipped with electric cables, suffocated with a plastic bag containing petrol, hung by his ankles by nylon rope and "again burned with cigarettes".

His back is now a welter of scars and the cigarette burns are still prominent on his chest. The Guardian has also seen medical reports supporting his claims of torture.

"Due to the unbearable pain, I finally admitted all the allegations and I was made to sign a document and was asked to work for them as an informer," he says...'

The body of male, found mutilated by Bambalapiti Hindu College on Friday morning, is that of Kanapathipillai Udayakanthan, reported The Sunday Times.

Udayakanthan, from Batticaloa, is said to be the former bodyguard of the LTTE political wing leader.

According to reports, he returned to Sri Lanka two years ago, after spending several years in the UK.

Published 22:40 BST

Photographs added 07 Jun 2012 02:01 BST 

Thousands of Tamils marched through the streets of London on Wednesday protesting against Rajapaksa's UK visit to have a Diamond Jubilee lunch with the Queen, before egging his car as he made his way to the airport.

At 8am this morning, buoyed but undeterred by the cancellation of Rajapaksa's key note speech at the Commonwealth Economic Forum,  hundreds of protesters began to gather outside Mansion House, before marching on to Marlborough House where Rajapaksa was due to have lunch with the Queen.

As the march progressed, hundreds rapidly swelled into thousands as scores of Tamils arrived with placards, banners and Eelam flags. By mid-morning the march had reached an estimated 8000 protesters, as they congregated around Marlborough House. Hundreds of Tamils from France, Germany and other European countries joined the protest with their country's flags flying outside.

Furious at the invitation extended to him, protesters dragged an effigy of Rajapaksa through the streets and burnt the Sri Lankan constitution.

Shortly before 1pm, dignitaries began to arrive at Marlborough House. Police with riot gear grew suddenly in numbers, curtailing protesters behind barricades, as the atmosphere grew tense at Rajapaksa's expected arrival. Decrying him as a war criminal, protesters shouted endlessly.

As the police presence reached its peak, Rajapaksa arrived suddenly and entered Marlborough House. The Queen followed shortly, driving past the throngs of protesters. Numerous eye witnesses state that the Queen was carefully observed to be reading the placards and banners held by protesters.

As the lunch got underway, furious protesters headed for the Park Lane Hilton hotel where Rajapaksa has been staying during his UK trip.

Marching and shouting relentlessly, the protesters stood opposite the hotel as the Metropolitan police and the City of London police surrounded the area.

Tamil Londoners reported hearing the protest mentioned in local traffic updates as the Park Lane area ground to a near halt with protesters and police.

Police vans were noted in all adjacent roads, with back up vehicles in Hyde Park, and police guarding every entrance of the hotel.

Sri Lankan diplomatic vehicles were spotted loitering around the back end of the hotel. At the front of the hotel meanwhile, one Tamil photographer told the Tamil Guardian, that Sri Lankan diplomats urged the police to arrest him - he was taking photographs of the protest.

As reports of Rajapaksa's arrival spread, the police presence swelled once more with lines of police officers, reinforced with canine units and police with riot gear, surrounding the barricaded Tamils.

Rajapaksa meanwhile snuck in the back way. Undeterred, the protest continued, waiting for his departure to the airport. 

One hour after his back door arrival, flanked by security, Rajapaksa was seen leaving the hotel in a black Range Rover. The protesters surged forward, shouting and throwing eggs at his car. One van that was stopped by the police in order to let the egged Range Rover speed off, was the unfortunate recipient of a wall of eggs.

The shouting, audible clearly from within the Park Lane subway, went on.

More photographs from the day:

Speaking to Channel 4 News on the mass protests against Rajapaksa in the UK on Wednesday, the chairman of the Royal Commonwealth Society, Peter Kellner, said the meeting with Rajapaksa had been an embarrassment to the Queen, however it was due to a "mistake" made at the last Commonwealth summit, when "they took no action against the mounting evidence" of human rights violations in Sri Lanka.

See here for full interview with Channel 4 News.

Transcript of interview follows:

Q. I asked whether, in his view, the President of Sri Lanka should have been here today.

A. No I don't think he should, it wasn’t a mistake that the Queen or Buckingham Palace made, Sri Lanka is a member of the Commonwealth. The mistake was made by the Commonwealth at their last summit, last year in Perth in Australia, when they took no action against the mounting evidence that you amongst others have provided, of things going wrong and human rights being violated in Sri Lanka.

Q. But if they won’t suspend him, then he’s a legitimate leader of a Commonwealth country and has every right to be here and to be heard.

A. Here’s the problem, it’s not just any old Commonwealth country, they are, Sri Lanka is hosting the next Commonwealth summit, which the Queen shall attend towards the end of next year, What worries me is that if nothing is done to improve the human rights situation in Sri Lanka, that summit is going to be a disaster.

Q. So what do you think should happen now?

A. The fact that Sri Lanka is hosting the next Commonwealth summit I think gives the Commonwealth for once, some real leverage, to say to the Sri Lanka government, “Look  the EU, the UN, Amnesty, HRW, virtually everybody around the world that looks seriously at the issue, has said there are things wrong; there’s torture going on, you’re not chasing down the perpetrators of the end of the war with the Tamils. Get your house in order and then we can hold a good Commonwealth summit.” I’d like to see the Commonwealth as an institution putting real pressure, because I think Sri Lanka would not want to lose the summit and that might be the pressure that makes the difference.

Q. But doesn’t sensible diplomacy mean that you have to keep talking to these people as well? Mr Rajapaksa is not the first person accused of things who the Queen would have met, and British officials would have met. If you look at Syria, it’s only just now that diplomatic relations has been broken off.

A. Of course, you talk to them. I never suggested you shouldn’t talk to them. The EU withdrew trade concessions over Sri Lanka’s human rights record, but the EU is still represented in Sri Lanka. The UNHRC has taken action against Sri Lanka, but Sri Lanka is still a member of the UN and goes to UN events. So yes keep on talking to them but wield a stick.

Q. Isn’t the truth that there are probably other members of the Commonwealth who do not want to see action against Sri Lanka, because they’ll be next?

A. Krish, you’re right and I think that’s probably the main reason why the Commonwealth isn’t taking action. In the Commonwealth’s glory days, in the 1970’s and 80’s, when the Commonwealth led the battle against apartheid in South Africa, it took a big stand on a big human rights issue. I think the Commonwealth should revive itself. The best way to revive itself, is to once again stand up for human rights, and with Sri Lanka as the next Commonwealth host, now is the perfect time to show that the Commonwealth really can regain its strength on human rights issues.

Q. Was the Queen put in an embarrassing position today?

A. I think she was actually. The Queen through her reign has had to shake hands and host various unsavoury people, not least the old communist dictators at the time of the Iron Curtain, but the Commonwealth is something that she feels passionate about, she is our patron at the Commonwealth Society and I think it can’t be easy or happy for her to have a Commonwealth that might start to fray the edges and eventually fall apart if it doesn’t really stand up for human rights.

Sri Lanka deported Channel 4 director, Stuart Cosgrove, and his wife of Tamil descent, Shirani Sabaratnam, on Sunday.

Both have now been placed on a "blacklist" and barred from entering the country by the Department of Immigration and Emigration.

National Criminal Investigation unit arrested both individuals and deported them. Accoring to Virakesari, Shirani Sabaratnam stayed seven
hours in the country before she was refused a visa and turned back at the airport.

Meanwhile the BBC reports the Sri Lankan official in charge of immigration told Charles Haviland of the BBC that Cosgrove's departure "was not a deportation", but that he was "instructed to leave".

Asked why the pair had been blacklisted, the official said: "Because they are from Channel 4, which without reason has harmed Sri Lanka's reputation."

Across the Commonwealth nations, Tamils have protested against Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa’s visit to the UK to celebrate the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee.

An event held in Auckland, New Zealand saw Tamils brave the extreme weather conditions to hold banners and placards, denouncing Rajapaksa as a war criminal.

Canadian Tamils too held a demonstration outside the British Consulate-General in Toronto, calling for the arrest of the Sri Lankan President.

Photograph courtesy of TamilNet

In Chennai, 19 political parties and grassroot organisations handed a memo into British mission, registering their protest at Rajapaksa's invitation.

See reports for all three events from TamilNet here, here and here.

Published 00:01 BST. Updated 10:11 BST (more photos added)

Tamil protesters gathered once again on Monday, to demonstrate against the arrival of Rajapaksa to the UK. Gathering outside the Park Lane Hilton Hotel since mid-afternoon, protesters shouted for several hours ceaselessly.

Holding placards denouncing him as a war criminal, protesters called on the British government to withdraw its invitation.

As the Tamil protesters gathered opposite the hotel, eye witnesses state that a coach was seen to arrive by the entrance of the hotel and drop off around 30 Sinhala pro-Rajapaksa supporters who came with Sri Lankan flags and banners expressing support.

Although the supporters appeared to be chanting, it could not be heard amidst the protesters shouting.

At 17:25 BST, the Sinhala supporters appeared to be packing up to leave when a diplomatic car, flanked either side by security vehicles sped out from the back entrance of the hotel.

Several protesters told Tamil Guardian that Mahinda Rajapaksa and his wife were seen to be "waving and grinning" at them as the car drove off, and expressed disgust at his behaviour.

"Is that what he calls 'reconciliation'?" said one protester.

Protesters also reported that two unidentified persons were witnessed videoing the protest from inside the hotel.

Prior to Rajapaksa's back-door departure, the hotel was teeming with police officers who had surrounded the premises from all sides.

Front entrance of Park Lane Hilton hotel	Road in front of hotel (building to the right)

A further protest has been planned by the TCC and BTF on Wednesday 6th June, when Rajapaksa is due to have a series of formal engagements.

Rajapaksa's keynote speech due to have taken place at a meeting of the Commonwealth Economic Fourm at 10am on Wednesday has been cancelled amid fears of mass Tamil protests, after a series of protests against his UK visit over the past few days.

He will still be attending a lunch with the Queen, at an event arranged by the Commonwealth Secretary General and Marlborough House on Pall Mall.

See here for report by Channel 4 News.

The organisers, Commonwealth Business Council (CBC), stated on its website:

"After careful consideration the morning sessions of the Forum on Wednesday 6th of June have been cancelled and will not take place. The event will therefore commence with lunch at 1300hrs followed by the originally planned afternoon sessions beginning at 1400hrs."

Channel 4 News reports, that a spokesperson for Scotland Yard said that although they continued to guarantee Rajapaksa's safety, the CBC had “decided it was not in their interest to stage the event”, in light of policing requirements already stretched due to Diamond Jubilee celebrations.

The spokesperson for the Commonwealth Secretary General, Richard Uku, told Channel 4 News: 

 “The secretary general invited all heads of government to this lunch and Mr Rajapakse is one of them.  Sri Lanka, unlike Fiji, has not been suspended from the Commonwealth.  This doesn’t take anything away from our commitment to the Commonwealth’s core values, of which human rights is key.”

Tamil protesters have pledged to continue protests regardless of the cancellation, objecting at his very invitation into the UK. Activists have told Tamil Guardian that Tamils across Europe are preparing to join British Tamils at a protest event on Wednesday morning.

Published 03:00 BST. Updated 10:40 BST

Hundreds of Tamils flooded into the Arrivals lounge at London Heathrow Airport Terminal 4 on Sunday night, as reports of flight UL503, said to be carrying Mahinda Rajapaksa, emerged.

Carrying placards and banners denouncing him as a war criminal and shouting chants urging the British government and the British monarch not to invite him into the country, protesters filled the arrivals lounge.

Rajapaksa's arrival remains unconfirmed however. One source told Tamil Guardian that Scotland Yard's Community Liaison team were stating that he had not arrived, whilst protesters informed Tamil Guardian that police officers on the ground had announced he was not on flight UL503.

Speaking to Tamil Guardian, one protester who wished to remain anonymous fearing for the safety of her family in the North-East, said,

"There was a flight from Sri Lanka, UL503, that was said to have Rajapaksa on it, but don't know, the police keep trying to divert people by saying he isn't here, but that was what they said last time [protest at Heathrow in Nov 2010 at Rajapaksa's arrival] too."

Updated 10:40 BST:

Reports continue to be unconfirmed. Whilst the Daily Mirror has announced his arrival, one source told Tamil Guardian that diplomatic insiders have stated he is yet to arrive. Other reports state that the police have unofficially stated he is yet to arrive. 

There remains much speculation over his accommodation whilst in UK too with some reports suggesting The Dorchester, due to its close proximity to the Sri Lankan High Commission, and others suggesting the Park Lane Hilton.  

For live updates follow us on Twitter.  

One thing remains very clear - Rajapaksa and his delegation have gone to great lengths in an attempt to avoid this reception:

Published 11:19 BST

Scotland Yard have confirmed that Rajapaksa has arrived in the UK after leaving Colombo around midnight last night and is currently staying at the Park Lane Hilton Hotel, according to sources within the diaspora.

For live updates follow us @TamilGuardian on Twitter.