Tamils and Muslim in the North-East carried out a massive protest march, mobilising around demands for the United Nations and international community to heed Tamil calls for justice and accountability.

The walk for justice was named after its route from ‘Pottuvil to Polikandy’, delineating the two furthest ends of the traditional Tamil homeland, from Pottuvil in Amparai in the south, to Polikandy in Point Pedro at the northern tip. Despite court bans, encountering violent mob attacks and police intimidation and harassment, demonstrators came together to defy any resistance they encountered on their five-day rally.

See a selection of photos from the protests below.

The Federation of Saiva (Hindu) Temples UK released a statement speaking against the Sri Lankan government’s seizure of Hindu Temples to build Buddhist Viharas.

The statement was released on 27 January and encouraged Tamils and Hindus all over the world to unite and fight against Sri Lanka's “religious war against Tamil Hindus.”

Tens of thousands of people have joined one of the largest rallies in the Tamil homeland since the end of the armed conflict in 2009, as they marched to Polikandi to conclude a five-day long campaign across the Tamil homeland.

Following Sri Lanka’s withdrawal from the ECT agreement, India is reported to have lodged a strong complaint against Sri Lanka for enabling a Chinese company to establish three renewable energy projects in outlying islands off the Jaffna peninsula.

US President Joe Biden announced that Samantha Power, the former ambassador to the United Nations who has visited Sri Lanka on at least three occasions, will be his pick to lead the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) in a bid to confront “climate change, global poverty and democratic backsliding”.

Under the Obama administration, she served as a White House national security staffer from 2009 to 2013, before going on to become the US ambassador to the UN until 2017.

During her tenure, however, she came under both praise and criticism, particularly for the way in which the administration handled Sri Lanka.

Sri Lanka's Presidential Commission on "Political Victimisation" has called for the pardoning of 25 former military officers, including those involved in the notorious Trinco 11 case, as well as a number of high profile human rights abuses.

The Commission reportedly further calls for the release of all military personnel and is allegedly being used to exonerate and acquit war criminals and money launders, and punish respondents.

For the fourth day, demonstrators continued their march for justice from Pottuvil to Polikandy (P2P), commencing their protests at the Vavuniya new bus stand and heading towards Mannar, on Saturday morning.  

The Central Bank of Sri Lanka has announced that it has repaid a $400 million currency swap facility from the Reserve Bank of India.

This comes after India reportedly refused to extend the currency exchange which expired on 1 February 2021, stating it would not be possible without Sri Lanka negotiating a staff-level agreement for an IMF programme.

Following escalating tensions between Sri Lankan and India, Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa has claimed that “India is our closest friend” and that “we can resolve any dispute with them” but has not provided any further updates on the East Container Terminal (ECT) project.

A joint press release published by the International Truth and Justice Project (ITJP) and Journalists for Democracy Sri Lanka (JDS) reports a staggering number of retired and serving military officers being appointed to key administrative posts by President and former army officer Gotabaya Rajapaksa.