Ahead of a planned speaking engagement hosted by the London School of Economics (LSE) and featuring Sri Lanka’s former President Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga, LSE’s student Tamil society spoke with Tamil Guardian to express their disappointment over the event.

“The very name of the event is problematic,” a member of LSE’s Tamil society told the Tamil Guardian.

Following landmark protests across the North-East, Canada’s ambassador to Sri Lanka and the Maldives, Eric Walsh made a historic visit to Jaffna where he visited Jaffna university and met Jaffna’s Mayor, Emmanuel Arnold.

Mannar's Women Development Federation organised a march in support of 'One Billion Rising', the biggest mass action to end violence against women. 

Women across the district participated in the march which made its way through Mannar and ended in front of the Mannar district Secretariat. During the procession, drums were played and members sang songs promoting women's rights. More than 100 women participated in the march, a mural was also painted to mark the event. 

Journalists in Batticaloa held a remembrance event for Tamil journalist Punniyamoorthy Sathiyamoorthy, who was killed by a Sri Lankan artillery barrage inside the ‘No Fire Zone’ in February 2009.

Responding to an event hosted by the London School of Economics’ South Asia Centre, which has invited Sri Lanka’s former President Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga as a guest speaker, a number of Tamil student organisations have expressed their opposition.

“Kumaratunga’s expression of peace was a mere charade to the world governments to cover the genocide that she had prepared to carry out against the North and East of the island” the joint statement reads.

Speaking at a Tamil Heritage Month event hosted at Parliament Hill on 31 January, Pierre Poilievre, leader of Canada's official opposition echoed calls to impose "sanctions on all military and political leaders who were involved in the Tamil genocide" including members of the Rajapakse family. 

The Mullaitivu Press Club commemorated Tamil journalist Punniyamoorthy Sathiyamoorthy, who was killed by a Sri Lankan artillery barrage inside the ‘No Fire Zone’ in February 2009.

Vavuniya families of the disappeared remembered Murugathasan Varnakulasingham today as they marked 2185 days of continous protest. 

Tamil National Alliance (TNA) MP MA Sumanthiran has condemned the arrest of Tamil National People’s Front MP Selvarajah Kajendran for participating in peaceful protests against the Sri Lankan president’s visit to Jaffna.

On this day 14 years ago, Murugathasan Varnakulasingham, self-immolated outside the United Nations Human Rights Council in protest at the inaction of the international community, in the face of the relentless onslaught of the Sri Lankan military on Tamils in the Vanni.