Q&A: Post-war Sri Lanka
The UN has released a report on the last months of Sri Lanka's decades-long war with Tamil Tiger rebels, accusing both sides of actions which it says led to the deaths of tens of thousands of civilians.
It comes almost two years after the government declared victory.
The civil war was one of the world's bloodiest and longest-running, and it left parts of the island devastated and hundreds of thousands of people displaced.
BBC News examines the future for the people of Sri Lanka.
What does the report say?
It says tens of thousands of civilians were killed in the final phase of the war and that most of them died as a result of government shelling.
It also says hospitals, UN centres and ships belonging to the international aid group the Red Cross were deliberately targeted by the army.
But it also accusees the Tamil Tigers (LTTE) of using civilians as human shields. Those that tried to escape were shot.
It said there were "credible allegations, which if proven, indicate that a wide range of serious violations of international humanitarian law and international rights law was committed both by the government of Sri Lanka and the LTTE, some of which would amount to war crimes and crimes against humanity".
Sri Lanka has rejected the report as biased and fraudulent, and is conducting its own inquiry.
It asked the UN not to publish the report, saying it could damage reconciliation efforts.
What efforts have been made to promote reconciliation in the country after the years of war?
This has proved a hugely controversial issue.
In June 2010 Foreign Minister GL Peiris said that a UN panel on human rights would not be allowed into the country.
He said there was no need for the UN to conduct an investigation because the government would conduct its own inquiry.
The government-appointed Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission began operating in August 2010 to hear evidence from army commanders, senior officials and members of the military.
It also spoke to displaced Tamil civilians from the former war zone in the north of the country.
President Rajapaksa's brother, Defence Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa, is the most senior official to testify before the panel.
The commission is reported to be in the process of finalising its submission.
Exactly how strong is the president's grip on power?
The president is at the moment Sri Lanka's undisputed and unchallenged leader.
Two elections in 2010 consolidated his hold.
In presidential elections of January 2010, the president defeated former army commander Sarath Fonseka.
He won six million votes compared to the four million cast for Gen Fonseka, his main rival.
Analysts had predicted a closely-fought contest between the two architects of the government's victory over the Tamil Tiger rebels.
But in the end President Rajapaksa won the vote comfortably - capturing 57% of the vote.
The president's United People's Freedom Alliance (UPFA) also won a convincing victory in parliamentary elections of April 2010.
That enabled MPs to approve proposals later in the year which allowed the president an unlimited number of terms.
The constitutional amendment also hugely boosted the president's powers.
It was a move which critics warned would lead to a dictatorship.
What are the key issues facing the country?
Mr Rajapaksa told reporters after his presidential election victory that he would start by focusing on the economic development of the country.
He also promised to focus on the concerns of Sri Lanka's Tamil minority and to discuss devolution of power - a subject his opponents have accused him of failing to address.
On the economy, the International Monetary Fund said in August 2010 that government targets for deficit reduction were on track, with taxes increasing and spending being cut.
On the Tamil issue, questions still remain. Many Tamil civilians still have not been able to return to their homes in the north and east of the country following the end of the war.
The government has admitted that it has only released about 3,500 out of 11,000 Tamil Tiger rebels arrested at the end of the conflict.
Is there any chance of a return to Tamil militancy?
On this the overwhelming majority of analysts agree that in the short term at least the answer is a resounding "no".
After more than 20 years of war, many Sri Lankan Tamils are war-weary and struggling to learn a living.
The views of many were summed up the rebels' former media spokesman in September 2010.
Velayutham Dayanidhi, better known as Daya Master, said that the decades-long war between them and the state was a waste of people's lives.
He said he was glad that the country was now at peace.
What is the fate of Gen Sarath Fonseka?
Gen Fonseka - the military commander at the time of the defeat of the Tamil Tigers - is in jail for arms procurement.
Gen Fonseka fell out with the president when he stood unsuccessfully against him in the the presidential election of January 2010.
In August 2010 he was stripped of his rank and pension after being convicted of engaging in politics while in uniform. He denied all the charges.
His conviction and 30-month sentence a month later meant that he lost his parliamentary seat.
The former four-star general and his supporters say the cases against him are politically motivated.
What was the human and economic cost of the war?
The United Nations estimates the conflict killed up to 100,000 people, displaced hundreds of thousands more and held back the island's growth and economic development.
Sri Lanka's defence expenditure has gone up consistently since the end of the war and amounts to about 5% of GDP, nearly double that spent by India and Pakistan.