The Sri Lankan military have set up new checkpoints on the A9 and A32 highways in the lead up to Maaveerar Naal, the Tamil national remembrance day for fallen Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) cadres.

The road block style checkpoints come as a series of court bans have been imposed over the last week, ordering Tamil activists and politicians not to hold or participate in Maaveerar Naal remembrance events. 

Following the launch of the first FIFA approved tournament in Sri Lanka last week, the President of FIFA, Gianni Infantino, met with the Rajapaksa clan despite ongoing grave human rights concerns.

The South-East London Community of Bexleyheath has been devastated by the tragic deaths of a Tamil family of four in a house fire.

Yogan Thangavadivel, the father, rushed home after receiving a phone call from his wife, Niruba, in which she screamed "fire, fire". He arrived too late and witnessed the fire crew working to retrieve the bodies of his relatives. He was seen crying and collapsing on the ground outside of his home. 

The Jaffna Magistrate's accepted an application filed by Sri Lankan police seeking a ban on Maaveerar Naal events in Jaffna.

The Sri Lankan Police submitted that under the Criminal Code and the widely condemned, Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA) it is a crime to commemorate fallen LTTE fighters.

A Tamil youth was rushed to Puthukkudiyiruppu hospital in critical condition after his motorcycle collided with another vehicle at an army checkpoint on Mullaitivu Red Junction.

The roadblock-style checkpoints, on several roads in Mullaitivu were set up by the Sri Lankan army, to reportedly enforce coronavirus related lockdowns but have persisted for months afterwards without any explanation.

Sri Lankan police today applied to the Mannar Court seeking a ban on worship services at the St Sebastian Cathedral as well as other temples and churches between the 20th and 27th November, citing the possibility that fallen LTTE cadres could be commemorated during the services.

Priya Murugappan, a Tamil refugee who continues to be held in Australia detention, has been named as one of Marie Claire‘s Women of the Year, as campaigners continue to demand that her family be allowed to settle in the country.

The announcement, made earlier this week, saw Priya honoured alongside eight other women and the activists of Biloela for having “fought with passion, led with bravery and inspired with their triumphs”.

“Priya Murugappan’s memories are awash with pain and persecution: of her first fiancée being burnt alive before her eyes in Sri Lanka; of being manhandled by Australian guards who ripped a tendon in her arm while forcing her onto a plane seeking to deport her; and of her youngest child nearly dying when she didn’t receive proper medical care in detention,” said Marie Claire.

A grand ceremony was held in Sri Lanka this week, as dozens of political leaders from across the south accompanied Sinhala Buddhist monks and military generals at the unveiling of a newly constructed Buddhist stupa built to honour Sri Lankan troops.

Mullaitivu Magistrate Court has banned 47 activists and politicians from across Tamil parties from participating in Maaveerar Naal events, following a request from the Sri Lankan security forces.

Judge R Saravanarajah issued an injunction against several politicians, activists, civil society members in Mullaitivu to disrupt commemorations ahead of 'Maaveerar Vaaram', the week of remembrance preceding Maaveerar Naal.

The Tamil National Alliance and members of the Global Tamil Forum met with the US State Department in Washington last week, as they discussed “political representation [and] reconciliation as part of a wholistic transitional justice agenda”.