UPDATED 1730 GMT

Addressing a virtual press conference on 5 April, Bangladesh’s Foreign Minister, AK Abdul Momen, defended their vote against the UN Human Rights Council resolution by claiming that it was “politically motivated” and stating that “Sri Lanka has done its own investigation”.

A Tamil lorry driver who was brutally attacked in public by a Sri Lankan police officer and had his shirt ripped, insisted that he “wants justice” and that “no one should ever have to face this kind of injustice”.

Kalaimakan Praveen, a Tamil lorry driver working in Pannipitiya, was thrown to the ground by a Sri Lankan constable who then proceeded to jump on his body.

Writing for ‘Left Foot Forward’, British MP for Leicester East, Claudia Webbe, condemned Britain’s silence on Sri Lanka’s alarming human rights record and calls on the government to impose sanctions on Sri Lanka’s regime.

Last week Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa had a phone conversation with Chinese President Xi Jinping during which he lavished praise for the Communist Party of China (CPC) on its 100th anniversary since its founding and the “strong leadership” of President Xi Jinping.

During the call, he further expressed interest in expanding “expand cooperation in fields like infrastructure and tourism, and smoothly advance major projects such as the Colombo Port City”.

Denial of Human Rights

A newly published book from the Swiss-based Puradsi Media and ‘Phoenix - the Next Generation’, provides a historical look back through the early years of the armed struggle.

‘Rise of the Tigers’, the second publication from the organisations, compiles rare photographs, newspaper clippings and in-depth biographies to provide unprecedented details about the founding members of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) and the formation of the leading Tamil armed movement.

Yet another Tamil father has died after spending over a decade demanding information about the whereabous of his missing son. 

Santhanam Raghavan, 65, from Talikulam, Vavuniya, joined other Tamil families of the disappeared for over 1,400 days in roadside protests in the district, demanding justice for his son Rajkumar who went missing in 2008.  

Pakistan hosted the head of Sri Lanka’s army, and accused war criminal, Shavendra Silva, during their national military parade despite increasing discrimination against Muslims in Sri Lanka.

Elections for the Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly took place on April 6 with 71.79% of eligible voters casting their ballot in an electorate of over 62 million people. 

In a multi-pronged contest, the ruling All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) with support from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), opposition Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) and its allied parties, the Tamil Nationalist Naam Tamilar Katchi (NTK) and Makkal Needhi Maiam (MNM) led by actor-turned-politician Kamal Haasan are the major contenders. 

Following the sudden and wide-reaching proscription of hundreds of individuals and several Tamil diaspora organisations, Sri Lanka’s Attorney General, Dappula de Livera,  has banned 11 Islamic organisations under accusations that they are linked to “extremist activities”.