The Metropolitan Police announced the opening of a full war crimes investigation into a British company that assisted the Sri Lankan military in committing crimes against Tamils, in a landmark move this week.

The unprecedented announcement marks the first time a fully-fledged investigation into British mercenaries has reportedly been launched by the Metropolitan Police’s war crimes team. 

The Sri Lankan government deployed a substantial number of police and army officers to the site of Vannivilankulam Thuyillum illam in Mullaitivu on Monday, as cleaning and preparation activities were being carried out by volunteers ahead of Maaveerar Naal.

Local volunteers and politicians that were present at the site reported that they were obstructed from preparing the site for Maaveerar Naal and also interrogated by multiple Sri Lankan police and army officers.

A statement from The Elders last week compared US President Donald Trump’s refusal to “adhere to the protocols and processes governing the transition of power” to that of “volatile and undemocratic situations in states such as Kenya, Sri Lanka and Zimbabwe”.

The statement comes Trump continued to claim on Twitter that he won the US presidential election, despite every other major broadcaster having called the election for his Democratic opponent Joe Biden.

I WON THE ELECTION!

UK Minister of State for the Foreign and Commonwealth Office said the UK believes that the UN resolutions "remain the best framework for establishing truth and achieving justice and lasting reconciliation following the armed conflict in Sri Lanka" in response to a question on Sri Lanka. 

Nigel Adams answered a series of written questions posed by Stephen Kinnock, Shadow Minister for Foreign and Commonweatlh Affairs, who asked "whether the Government is working with other states on (a) a new Human Rights Council resolution on Sri Lanka that ensures continued monitoring by the Office for the High Commissioner for Human Rights and (b) a mechanism to gather and preserve evidence of human rights violations in Sri Lanka at the forthcoming HRC in March 2021, in response to the Government of Sri Lanka's rejection of the existing consensus process on transitional justice, truth, and reconciliation under resolutions 30/1, 34/1 and 40/1?"

Tamil National Alliance parliamentarian M A Sumanthiran called on the Sri Lankan authorities not to use coronavirus restrictions “as a ruse to stop people going to cemeteries where their loved ones are buried to pay homage,” ahead of Maaveerar Naal this week.

“I urge the government to act magnanimously and not use COVID-19 or anything else to prevent legitimate commemorations by family members & others,” Sumanthrian told parliament.

“Lockdowns and curfews are necessary at times like this, but it must be imposed under a proper legal regime. I call upon the government to stop acting for political expediency and act in the interests of the country.”

Tamils in Kanagapuram, Kilinochchi, began clearing Maaveerar thuyilum illams (LTTE martyr resting places) earlier today ahead of the Maaveerar Naal. 

Sri Lanka's army commander and accused war criminal, Shavendra Silva, attended the Sri Lanka’s Tourism Leaders’ Summit and Tourism Research Conference held on the 27th of September in Kandy City.

The summit was organised by the students of Tourism study programme of the Department of Economics at the University of Colombo. Discussions and speeches centred around the theme of the conference “Together, Towards Resilience, Responsible and Sustainable Sri Lanka Tourism”.

Galagoda Gnanasara, an extremist Sinhala Buddhist monk, has made the unfounded claim that “Wahhabi groups are infiltrating society on the issue of cremation or burial of Muslims who die due to coronavirus”.

The monk stated the allowing for proper burial was allowing “Muslim extremism” to grow and the government should not allow it.

Gnanasara serves as the general secretary for Bodu Bala Sena (BBS), An organisation accused of racially charged hate campaigns and is currently an MP.

Tamil Makkal Viduthalai Pulikal (TMVP) General Secretary and former Eastern Provincial Councillor, Poopalapillai Prasanthan, was arrested by Sri Lanka's Criminal Investigations Department (CID) officers on 12 November 2020, on alleged witness tampering charges.

Prasanth was arrested by Criminal Investigations Department (CID) officers at his residence due to a complaint made in 2019 for intimidating witnesses in a double murder case in Arayampathy, Kattankudy. Prasanth was also arrested by Kattankudy police in 2008 over the same Arayampathy double murder case but later bailed out.