British PM tours Sri Lanka's former war-torn north

British Prime Minister David Cameron was met with appeals from dozens of relatives of people who had disappeared during Sri Lanka's brutal three-decade conflict on Friday when he visited the northern part of the country on the sidelines of his attendance at a Commonwealth leaders' summit. The protest had been organized well in advance of Cameron's visit, which was an attempt to see firsthand the situation in the former war zone. Cameron made the decision under pressure after widespread calls for him to boycott the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting ( CHOGM) over Sri Lanka's questionable human rights record. "I'm the first leader to go to the north of Sri Lanka since 1948. I want to shine a light on chilling events there first hand and political leaders in the north of Sri Lanka tell me they are glad I've come to help highlight what is happening here," Cameron tweeted. Cameron flew to the northern town of Jaffna on a special flight after attending the CHOGM opening ceremony presided over by Sri Lanka President Mahinda Rajapaksa and Prince Charles who represented his mother Queen Elizabeth as head of the Commonwealth. Cameron also met with recently elected Northern Chief Minister C.V. Wigneswaran for discussions on the challenges facing the region that is recovering from a brutal war, local media reported. Following the meeting, Cameron is reported to have toured the Valikamam area where a deep land dispute between the resident Tamils and Sri Lanka's military has been brewing for months. Residents said that the army is attempting to forcefully take over around 6,000 acres of land and have been surreptitiously destroying people's houses to acquire the space. A small protest was also organized at that site. CHOGM host Sri Lanka has been under a cloud of criticism over its alleged poor human rights record that includes allegations of killing thousands of civilians during the last phase of the war. The prime ministers of Canada, India and Mauritius pulled out of the CHOGM citing concerns over inadequate human rights protection and accountability.