With the release of the revised draft resolution, Tamil Guardian looks back at the proceedings of the 51^st UN Human Rights Council session.

A second draft resolution focusing on Sri Lanka has been released by the United Nations Human Rights Council today. The amended resolution does little to strengthen accountability measures and the change of wording reveals a fundamental failure to recognise the root causes of Sri Lanka’s woes.

Several armed Sri Lankan soldiers halted and questioned organisers of a travelling memorial dedicated to Lt Col Thileepan in Mannar earlier today.

The memorial, organised by the Tamil National People’s Front was halted by the military in Mannar, by the Madhu Road junction.

Amidst growing concerns over the worsening human rights situation in Sri Lanka, Britain’s new head of state, King Charles III, met with Sri Lankan President Ranil Wickremesinghe, where the two were pictured in conversation.

The meeting follows growing criticism of the Britain’s new hereditary monarch who has held 95 meetings with 8 repressive monarchies in the Middle East since the ‘Arab Spring’ protests of 2011 and for his role in promoting 14.5-billion worth of UK arms exports to these regimes.

Responding to the news of seven Eelam Tamils being captured and tortured by Russian forces, Sri Lanka’s Foreign Ministry slammed the asylum asserting that they are illegal migrants and refuse to return to Sri Lanka.

^{Photograph: Public Kharkiv}

Several Eelam Tamils were captured by Russian forces in Ukraine and tortured for months, before finally being released earlier this month.

The group, made up of 6 men and 1 woman, were held captive by the Russian forces in Vovchansk during the occupation of the city. It was recaptured by Ukraine earlier this month.

A travelling memorial dedicated to Lt Col Thileepan, a political leader of the LTTE who undertook a hunger strike until death in 1987, travelled through Mullivaikkal this week.

During the 51^st session of the UN Human Rights Council session, a large crowd of Eelam Tamils engaged in a peaceful demonstration and commemorated the 35^th anniversary of   Lt Col. Thileepan’s hunger strike to death.

More signatures calling for the repeal of the draconian Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA) were collected in Anuradhapura and Puttalam today after a mass campaign was launched last week.  

The campaign initiated by the Ilankai Thamilarasu Katchi Youth Wing, Justice for All and the Alliance of Trade Union & MassYouth Front organisations, demands the Sri Lankan government to repeal the notorious legislation which has been used disproportionately to detain and torture Tamils and Muslims.