On this week 22 years ago, Sri Lankan soldiers burst into the home of Ida Camerlitta, a 21-year-old Tamil woman, in Mannar. They gang raped her and shot her dead, in what was yet another example of horrific crimes committed by the military. To this day, the soldiers responsible for her rape and killing continue to roam free. 

On the 12^th of July 1999, armed Sri Lankan soldiers stormed into Ida Camerlitta’s home in Pallimunai. Her whole family, including her mother, were inside at the time.

The soldiers beat and tied up some of those who were inside the home. They then proceeded to rape Ida, before shooting her dead.

Her post-mortem revealed 18 injuries across her body, including injuries from sexual violence and bite wounds on her breasts and lips. She had been stabbed in the abdomen and then shot through her genitals.

According to a Bloomberg model, Sri Lanka’s default probability was the highest in Asia with the organisation estimating a 27.9% chance of one-year default. 

Secretary of the Ceylon Teachers’ Union, Joseph Stalin, and ten other people have been forcibly detained in a Sri Lankan army quarantine centre for their protest against the "Sir John Kotelawala National Defence University Bill".

The arrests came on Thursday as demonstrators protesters near Sri Lanka's parliament. Demonstrators have criticised the bill as a move to "militarise the universities on the island". Stalin has since been released on bail. 

Batticaloa-based Tamil journalist Selvakumar Nilanthan was interrogated by Sri Lankan’s Terrorism Investigation Division (TID) today.

A Sri Lankan police officer obstructed and threatened a Tamil journalist yesterday, who went to cover a story about Sri Lankan Railway Department officials obstructing Vavuniya locals from helping in the setting up of today's Saubhagya Village Program.  

The Sri Lankan army has designated swathes of grazing land in Batticaloa as “Army Firing Range”, denying entry to local Tamils including native herdsmen. 

The “Firing Range” was established last week and later the herdsmen were ordered to vacate the land which falls under the jurisdiction of the Eravur Divisional Secretary.  

A protest was held in Jaffna, calling on the Sri Lankan government to release all political prisoners and to uphold human rights across the North-East.

Despite ongoing concerns over COVID-19, Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) supporters celebrated the appointment of Basil Rajapaksa last Thursday, who becomes the fourth Rajapaksa brother and fifth member of the family to enter the Cabinet. 

Quarantined house in Mannar

Mannar district council member, Anthonyamma Sritharan, blasted the Sri Lankan government for its mismanagement and neglect in appropriately providing self-isolating families in Mannar with COVID-19 relief items.

She stated that the families were pushed to the brink of starvation as they were receiving half of their promised rations, and also receiving the items up to 10-12 days into their quarantine period.

Tamil National Alliance (TNA) member Ananthy Sasitharan and former Northern Provincial Councillor (NPC) M.K. Sivajilingham paid tribute to the victims of the Navaly church massacre which took place 26 years ago today.