The penultimate day of Mullivaikkal Week was marked in various places in the East on Thursday.

Families of 24 missing Tamil youth were left in fear following a court hearing in Jaffna on Wednesday after Sri Lankan military intelligence officers dressed in plain clothes filled the court room and surrounded family members as they left the building. 

The hearing was regarding the disappearance of 24 Tamil youths who were arrested by army officers from the Navatkuli in 1996. They have not been seen since. 

The chief minister of the northern province, C V Wigneswaran and his team visited the Mullivaikkal memorial ground on Wednesday afternoon to check on preparations ahead of the Tamil genocide remembrance event planned for May 18. 

Former LTTE cadres, students from North-East universities, Northern Provincial Council members and local residents have spent recent days helping to clear and prepare the site ahead of tomorrow. 

Schools across the Northern Province have decided to fly the Northern Provincial Council flag at half mast on May 18 in respect of those the Tamils who were killed in the final stages of the armed conflict. 

The move was requested by the NPC's education minister, Kandiah Sareswaran in a circular sent to school principals on Wednesday. 

He also requested all staff and students to hold a moment's silence at 11am on May 18. 

^{Photograph: In this image released by the military, a Tamil man waves a white cloth in the air as he is surrounded by Sri Lankan soldiers in Mullivaikkal on May 17th 2009.}

Marking 9 years since the Sri Lankan military onslaught that massacred tens of thousands of Tamils, we revisit the final days leading up to the 18^th of May 2009 – a date remembered around the world as ‘Tamil Genocide Day’.  The total number of Tamil civilians killed during the final months is widely contested. After providing an initial death toll of 40,000, the UN found evidence suggesting that 70,000 were killed. Local census records indicate that at least 146,679 people are unaccounted for and presumed to have been killed during the Sri Lankan military offensive.

Stories of Mullivaikkal, a collection of stories showcasing the individual strength and resilience of survivors of the final phases of the war, was released by the Adayaalam Centre for Policy Research on Tuesday.

The book launch which took place at the Jaffna Public Library began with the lighting of lamps, to commemorate the victims of Mullivaikkal.

Adayaalam’s Research Director, Dharsha Jegatheeswaran, and Senior Researcher, Anushani Alagarajah, introduced the stories, part of the organisation’s wider ‘Stories of Resilience’ project.

Organisers have begun preparing for a remembrance ceremony at Mullivaikkal to be held later this week, as Tamils around the world prepare to mark May 18.

Families protested on Saturday against micro-finance loans provided by private companies that are causing people to become more in debt. 

Protesters in Vanthaaramoolai, Batticaloa highlighted rising rates of depression and family disputes over spiralling personal debts, as well as suicides. 

Members of Valikaamam West Pradeshiya Sabha on Tuesday remembered the tens of thousands of Tamils killed during the final stages of the armed conflict. 

Pradeshiya Sabha members lit candles and held a moment's silence during their 3rd session since the recent election.

A mobile tribute to the victims of the May 2009 reached Nallur today, after setting off from Valvettithurai yesterday. 

The remembrance vehicle, which is to do a tour of the Northern province, is expected to reach Mullivaikkal on May 18.