In a joint statement UN Special Rapporteurs Ahmed Shaheed, Fernand de Varennes, Clément Nyaletsossi Voule and Tlaleng Mofokeng, have condemned Sri Lanka’s practice of forced cremations warning that it “ran the risk of increasing prejudice, intolerance and violence”.

Sri Lanka’s foreign secretary, Admiral Jayanath Colombage, has responded to criticism denying that policy was discriminatory stating:

Responding to the latest UN human rights report on Sri Lanka, Amnesty International has demanded the Core Group (consisting of Canada, Germany, Montenegro, North Macedonia, and the UK) present a “meaningful proposal” that ensures accountability for Sri Lankan war crimes.

Commenting on the situation David Griffiths, Director of the Office of the Secretary-General at Amnesty International stated:

Responding to the UN human rights chief's report on Sri Lanka, representatives from the US, Canada, UK and Germany have renewed their commitment to human rights and accountability on the island, with calls for accountability and sanctions. on officials implicated in war crimes.

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, alongside the Federal Liberal Caucus, held a virtual Thai Pongal and Tamil Heritage month celebration, showing their gratitude for Tamil frontline and essential workers on Thursday. 

A report by the United Nations human rights chief warns of the “seeds of future violence and conflict” in Sri Lanka, as she called for member states to consider “asset freezes and travel bans” on Sri Lankan officials accused of human rights abuses.

Sri Lanka’s foreign secretary has slammed a UN report just hours after it has been released, labelling it “unsubstantiated” and rejected calls for an international accountability mechanism for war crimes.

The European Union (EU) received criticism after a meeting with Sri Lankan officials where it stated that trade concession would continue and referred to the Office on Missing Persons, the Office for Reparations and the Human Rights Commission in Sri Lanka as “independent institutions”, despite officials in these bodies being directly nominated and appointed by the president.

Sri Lankan President, Gotabaya Rajapaksa, has caved to Indian demands over the development of the Eastern Container Terminal (ECT) at Colombo harbour.

This follows a visit by India’s External Affairs Minister, Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, who is reported to have laid down “unequivocal terms” for the ECT. The agreement reached enables Sri Lanka to retain a 51% stake whilst the Adani Group, an Indian business with ties to Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, will hold 49%.

Indio-phobia

Sri Lankan soldiers beat and tortured a Tamil man from Keppapulavu in Mullaitivu yesterday after one of his cows accidentally broke through a weak fence and entered an army camp.

Sri Lankan soldiers walked past when the cow entered and asked Azhagaraja Rajarupan if the cow belonged to him and whether he had broken the fence. Rajarupan denied breaking the fence, following which the soldiers called more troops and a commander.

Famed music composer A.R. Rahman has teamed up with Oscar and Grammy-nominated artist M.I.A. and an array of Tamil artists around the world to launch 'maaja', a project to support and amplify the voices of independent artists. A.R Rahman hopes to 'elevate the world class talent' to a global stage.