Thousands of Tamils in the Jaffna district attended Maaveerar Naal commemorations at thuyilum illams - destroyed LTTE cemeteries - around the district.

Koppay

Commemorations at Koppay take place close to the original site of the thuyilum illam, which is now occupied by the Sri Lankan army.

Chamal Rajapaksa, brother of Sri Lankan president and alleged war criminal Gotabaya Rajapksa, has been appointed State Minister of Defence.

He is the third in his family to receive a top tier post within the new government.

Yesterday, the Colombo High Court Judge, Pradeep Hettiarachchi lifted the imposed travel ban on Namal Rajapaksa. He is due to stand trial on February 10 having been arrested on money laundering charges.

The court case accuses Namal’s embezzlement of Rs. 70 million through a firm named the Gowers Corporate between 2013 – 2014. He was subsequently arrested by the Financial Crimes Investigation Division in 2016.

Thousands of Tamil from across Batticaloa district attend several Maaveerar Naal commemoration events yesterday, braving Sri Lankan military intimidation.

In line with Tamils across the homeland and in the diaspora, locals lit flames and offered flowers before portraits of fallen liberation fighters.

See photographs and videos from across the district below.

Tharavai Thuyilum Illam

After weeks of preparation and threats, Maaveerar Naal was commemorated all over Mullaitivu on November 27.

Mullaitivu was the district with the highest number of thuyilum illams - cemeteries for fallen LTTE fighters - in the Tamil homeland. It is now currently the most heavily militarised district in the Tamil homeland, and organisers of Maaveerar Naal felt the consequences of the militarisation heavily as volunteers were intimidated and threatened throughout the preparation process.

Front pages of Tamil newspapers across the North-East marked Maaveerar Naal on Wednesday morning.

See a selection of the front pages below.

Thinakkural's front page highlights a memorial erected for Maaveerar in Jaffna. 

Tamils in the diaspora and across Eelam hold memorials for Maaveerar Naal (Great Heroes Day) despite the clear and present threat posed by Gotabaya Rajapaksa.

See this video from 47 roots above.

Writing in the Tamil Guardian on November 27th, the leaders of the Labour Party and Liberal Democrats both expressed their support for British Tamils and pledged to work with the community in their struggle for justice.

In his piece, Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn speaks on his work with British Tamils and his party's commitment to human rights and justice.

Writing in the Tamil Guardian on November 27th, Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn speaks on his work with British Tamils and his party's commitment to human rights and justice.

Writing in the Tamil Guardian on November 27th, Liberal Democrat leader Jo Swinson speaks on genocide recognition, justice for mass atrocities and her party’s commitment towards supporting British Tamils.