Students from the University of Jaffna's medical faculty held a commemoration event on campus yesterday to remember Lt Col Thileepan and the sacrifice he made 38 years ago. 

Tamils in Wutterpal, Germany marked 38 years since Lt Col Thileepan began his fast unto death, which he undertook to press the Indian government to uphold its commitments to the Tamil people. 

A mass rally was held today in Geneva, Switzerland, to renew demands for justice and international accountability for the Tamil genocide, as Sri Lanka features on the agenda of the 60th session of the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC). 

A memorial float dedicated to Lt Col Thileepan, who fasted unto death in September 1987, will travel through the North-East this week as the Tamil nation remembers his sacrifice 38 years on. 

The procession, led by the Tamil National People's Front's (TNPF) Amparai district organiser Dushananthan, began in Thirukovil, Amparai and travelled through Alaiyadevembu, Karaitivu, Valathappitty, Veeramunai and Kalmunai. 

To call the latest draft resolution from the UNHRC in Geneva disappointing would be too kind. It is a disastrous step backwards in the longstanding struggle for justice.

Tamils in Jaffna and Mullaitivu marked 38 years since Lt Col Thileepan began his hunger strike at Nallur Kandaswamy temple in protest against the failure of the Indian government to honour the pledges made it to the Tamil people. 

Sri Lankan authorities have arrested a police officer, an army colonel, and a former local councillor in connection with aiding and supplying notorious underworld figures, who were recently apprehended in Indonesia.

A new draft resolution on Sri Lanka at the UN Human Rights Council has faced criticism for dropping explicit calls for foreign judges and instead endorses a domestic judicial mechanism backed by Colombo, despite repeated rejections by the Sri Lankan government of any international involvement in accountability.

Sri Lanka’s Opposition Leader Sajith Premadasa this week denounced Israel’s assault on Gaza as a “genocide against the Palestinian people,” even as he continues to embrace Sri Lankan military commanders who conducted atrocities against Tamils during the final stages of the armed conflict.