Authorities at the University of Jaffna have declared the university premises “out of bounds” as Tamil students were preparing to commemorate Maaveerar Naal tomorrow.

A notice served by the university’s competent authority declared the campus closed for Wednesday and Thursday and went on to state, “students are advised to refrain from entering into the university main premises and from taking part in all unauthorised activities”.

<p>Sri Lankan police arrested thirteen Tamils, including the Mullaitivu co-ordinator of the Tamil National People’s Front (TNPF), while they were preparing for Maaveerar Naal remembrance tomorrow.</p> <p>The group were clearing and decorating space in Mullivaikkal when Mullaitivu police and intelligence officers arrived and warned them not to carry out any remembrance activities.</p> <p>The police seized the red and yellow flags and other decorations the organisers were using and also arrested all thirteen individuals present, transporting them to Mullaitivu police station.</p>

Stones inscribed with the names of 25,000 Tamil liberation fighters were erected in Jaffna earlier today, as Tamils in the homeland and around the world prepare to mark Maaveerar Naal.

The University of Jaffna administration has sent round a circular, banning all Maaveerar Naal commemorations, a day before events are set to take place across the Tamil homeland and diaspora.

Maaveerar Naal - or Heroes’ Day - which is marked on November 27th, has been peacefully commemorated by students and staff of the university for several years. 

Under the previous Rajapaksa regime, Tamils in the North-East were forced to commemorate the day in secret, as the Sri Lankan security forces clamped down on any remembrance events.

Despite the return of the Rajapaksa, Tamils int he homeland have continued preparations for tomorrow.

Sri Lankan president Gotabaya Rajapaksa addressed the Tamil diaspora when questioned about war crimes committed by troops under his command, stating that they should “forget about these things”.

<p>Sri Lankan airport authorities have been sent a list of 704&nbsp; CID officers who the government is preventing from leaving the country.</p> <p>Ruwan Gunasekara, a spokesman for Sri Lanka’s police, told reporters that these CID officials were involved in numerous cases and that their presence was needed for the court proceedings.</p>

Sri Lanka will review the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) Resolution that it co-sponsored in 2015, Colombo Gazette reported. 

Newly appointed Foreign Minister, Dinesh Gunawardena, said that the new government will review Resolution 30/1 entitled ‘Promoting reconciliation, accountability and human rights in Sri Lanka.’ 

Students at the University of Jaffna marked the birthday of LTTE leader Veluppillai Prabhakaran in secret at midnight.

Sri Lankan police questioned the management of a Vavuniya-based Tamil newspaper and demanded details of all reporters be handed over, allegedly responding to an anonymous complaint about the publication of LTTE-related photographs in the paper.

The director of the Thinappuyal newspaper Sakthivelpillai Prakash said the police visited the offices on Friday and questioned him for over a hour, asking him about the publication of LTTE-related news and other topics. The non-uniformed men then requested personal details of all Thinappuyal reporters to which director Prakash refused.

“Everything written in the paper to date is accurate and authentic” the director said.

The Sri Lankan army continued with its militarisation of the North-East, by organising a seminar for students in Muttur last week.

The seminar was reportedly a part of the military’s ongoing ‘community project’.