Following a damning report by the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, and increasing calls for a ban on deploying Sri Lanka troops for UN peacekeeping missions, Permanent Representative of Sri Lanka to he UN, Mohan Peiris, has applauded its twelve women serving in South Sudan.

A rally was held in Jaffna this morning, as students, civil society organisations and families of the disappeared came together and demanded that Sri Lanka be referred to the International Criminal Court over charges of genocide.

After waiting more than five years for the return of her land after it was seized by Sri Lankan authorities, a Tamil woman in Mannar took direct action as she entered a District Coordinating Committee earlier this month and demanded immediate action.

Following a visit by Indian diplomat, Gopal Beglay, to the North-East of Sri Lanka, the Indian High Commission has awarded Sri Lanka’s Navy 22 million rupees worth of training aid, despite human rights concerns.

The Sri Lankan government has announced a substantial fund specifically for the development of Buddhist temples in the Northern Province, sparking further concerns about Sinhalisation of the Tamil homeland.

Sri Lanka's Foreign Secretary Jayanath Colombage has slammed the daughter of a murdered journalist, labelled her plea for international action an “attempt to destroy Sri Lanka and see its downfall”.

Colombage's comments follow Ahimsa Wickrematunge's Op-ed in the Washington Post last week, which called on the international community to ensure “murderous autocrats pay a price”.

China has approved a 10 billion yuan ( US$1.54 billion) currency swap deal with Sri Lanka, amidst Colombo's rising debt levels and dwindling foreign reserves.

The deal would allow Sri Lanka to address “present difficulties”, the State Minister of Money and Capital Market and State Enterprise Reforms, Ajith Nivard Cabraal said. The announcement follows contested reports of negotiations breaking down for another IMF credit facility last year due to Sri Lanka’s obligations on “debt sustainability” not being met.  

An editorial by the New Straits Times raises concern over the discriminatory legislation adopted by the Sri Lankan government, warning that the burqa ban and closure of over a thousand madrasahs, highlight that Sri Lanka “races to be another genocidal Myanmar”.

In their piece, they highlight how Muslim and Christians launched legal challenges against the government’s draconian policy of forced cremations which violated religious liberty and noted the Supreme Court’s dismissal without calling for evidence.

Ambihai Selvakumar, a British Tamil woman and one of the directors of the International Centre for the Prevention of Genocide (ICPPG), has concluded her hunger strike after 17 days of demanding that the British government pursue international accountability for genocide committed by the Sri Lankan state.

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— Kamal Haasan (@ikamalhaasan) March 14, 2021

Tamil actors Kamal Haasan and Sathyaraj have expressed their support to Mrs Ambihai Selvakumar, a British Tamil activist who has now entered the 17th day of her hunger strike, demanding the British government to refer Sri Lanka to the International Criminal Court (ICC) for the Tamil genocide.