Responding to continuing land grabs by Sri Lanka's regime, Jaffna University's Student Union has organised a sit-in protest in Tellippalai to demand the return of land to villagers in Valikamam.

The protest will be held tomorrow. Student organisers have called on all political parties and civil society organisations to participate in the demonstration.

“There are many lands in North-East which were grabbed by the Government. We should fight back to get our lands”, a representative of the student union told the media.

Not only does acting on Sri Lanka provide Sunak the opportunity to re-establish Britain’s presence internationally, it also remains entirely in British interests to do so. Successive Sri Lankan regimes have shirked off the building of any rules-based international order and refused to comply with global norms. Holding the state to account will be a demonstration that to the British government, values matter. The UK will not condone mass atrocities or genocides from Bucha and Xinjiang to Jaffna and Mullivaikkal.

Sri Lanka is not Sunak’s toughest test on the global stage at present. In fact, it should be his easiest. If Sunak wants to build a Global Britain, this is where he should start.

Tamil families of the disappeared protested against Sri Lanka’’s justice minister Wijeyadasa Rajapakshe's visit to Jaffna earlier today. 

Following growing demands to release all Tamil political prisoners, Sri Lanka’s Justice Minister Wijeyadasa Rajapakshe met with the relatives of those detained alongside the leader of the Tamil Makkal Thesiya Kootan (TMTK), CV Wigneswaran.

During the meeting, Rajapakshe claimed that the government is “considering the release of remaining political prisoners”. He further highlighted a spate of recent releases to signal that the government was taking a positive stance toward the issue.

On October 30, 1995, over half a million Tamil men, women and children fled their homes in Jaffna as the Sri Lankan military launched a military offensive to capture the peninsula, under the leadership of then president Chandrika Kumaratunga.

Sri Lankan soldiers took photographs of Tamils as they began clearing the Theravil Thuyilum Illam (LTTE martyr resting places) this morning ahead of Maaveerar Naal. 

Maaveerar Naal, or Great Heroes Day, falls on November 27, and is observed in remembrance of the war heroes who sacrificed their lives in the Tamil struggle for liberation. 

Seven Tamil Nadu fishermen have been remanded until November 9th after being arrested for allegedly fishing in Sri Lankan waters. 

The seven fishermen were arrested on Wednesday by the Sri Lankan navy who were patrolling the area. 

Eelam Tamil fishermen have been struggling to get by having to compete in their own waters with fishermen from Tamil Nadu, the Sri Lankan Navy, and even Chinese fishing expeditions.

Amidst growing concern over Sri Lanka’s human rights record, a delegation for the European Union paid a visit to the leader of the Tamil National Alliance, R. Sampanthan, where they discussed GSP +, the need to repeal Sri Lanka’s draconian Prevention of Terrorism Act; provincial council elections; and Sri Lanka’s economic recovery.

Following the appointment of Britain’s first non-white Prime Minister, Rishi Sunak, Sri Lanka’s President, Ranil Wickremesinghe, rushed to congratulate the UK’s new leader and claimed confidence that British-Sri Lankan relations would strengthen.

“I look forward to enhancing this partnership, particularly through the ‘Global Britain’ policy and the UK’s new ‘Platinum Partnership’ scheme with the Commonwealth countries,” Wickremesinghe wrote.

During his visit to Jaffna, the US embassy's deputy chief of mission, Doug Sonnek, met with the Families of the Disappeared and Tamil politicians from across the North-East.

Tamil Families of the Disappeared have protested for over 2,000 days to demand an account for their loved ones who forcibly disappeared by the Sri Lankan military. An estimated 138 protesters have died without knowing the fate of their loved ones.

The US embassy marked the meeting stating on Twitter: