The leader of the Tamil National People’s Front (TNPF) G G Ponnambalam has condemned the Sri Lankan governments complicit support of colonisation in the North-East and the deliberate ‘pauperisation’ of the Tamil people across the homeland.

Addressing parliament this week, the lawmaker said that ‘this government is not empowering the people of the North-East, they are pauperised and deliberately kept in that position, but infrastructure is given prominence, Buddhist viharas are given prominence why?”

A memorial statue of Fr James Pathinanthan, a Catholic priest remembered by the Tamil community for his social work, has been unveiled in the tsunami victims memorial complex in Mullaitivu.  

When the waves struck the coasts on December 26, 2004, claiming thousands of lives, Fr Pathinanthan provided much needed humanitarian relief to the affected Tamil community in the coastal Vanni area. 

^{Image: Shani Abeysekera}

The custody of former Criminal Investigation Department (CID) Director Shani Abeysekera has been extended once again announced Gampaha Magistrate’s court this week, bringing the new release date to February 3rd 2021.

Sri Lanka has officially reopened its airports for international travel, despite recent criticism over Sri Lanka’s covid response and the continued rise of COVID-19 cases on the island. 

The hashtag '#GenocideSriLanka' is trending in France, as part of a campaign across the country to bring awareness to the ongoing genocide of the Tamil people by the Sri Lankan state.

The movement which started last night is currently trending in second place on Twitter with over 13,000 Tweets and counting.  

See a selection of tweets below.

The Indian government said it was “shocked” and had conveyed "strong protest" with the Sri Lankan government after four fishermen from Tamil Nadu were killed last week, amidst reports of a collision with a Sri Lankan navy craft and claims that they were tortured.

The bodies of the four fishermen, three Indian nationals and an Eelam Tamil refugee, were handed over to the Indian coast guard after being recovered from the wreckage. The killing has sparked protests and outrage across Tamil Nadu, with locals claiming that the men may have been tortured before being killed.

Environmentalists in Sri Lanka have added to concerns over an Australian mining project being carried out in Mannar, already the subject of local protests and criticism from Australian environmental experts.

Australian drilling company Titanium Sands Ltd plans to carry out extensive limonite sand mining on ‘fragile’ Mannar Island, despite the company reportedly not obtaining the relevant permissions and environmental approval.

The mining would create great damage throughout the Mannar Island as well as to the Gulf of Mannar Marine National Park (officially part of Tamil Nadu), the Sri Lanka-based NGO Centre for Environment and Nature Studies (CENS) has said.

The Sri Lankan army’s Jaffna district commander has been promoted to army chief of staff.

Major General Senarath Bandara assumed his new duties on Tuesday, following a five-month stint as commander in Jaffna, during which time he continued with the programme of militarisation of the North.

In advance of the 46th UN Human Rights Council session, a leaked report on Sri Lanka, allegedly from the UN Human Rights Chief, has highlighted that the country remains in a “state of denial about the past” and calls on member states to advance “criminal accountability” by considering a referral to the International Criminal Court; establish investigations and prosecutions under universal jurisdiction; and, imposing sanctions on Sri Lankan officials implicated in international crimes.

India will continue to give due importance to its ‘Neighbourhood First Policy’, the country’s prime minister assured Sri Lankan president Gotabaya Rajapaksa on Twitter.

On Sunday, President Rajapaksa congratulated the Indian prime minister on the country’s successful roll out of the COVID-19 vaccine, tweeting, “my heartiest congratulations to Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi on the successful roll out of the COVID-19 vaccine & his generosity towards friendly neighbouring countries.”

Prime Minister Modi thanked Rajapaksa the following day and said “We will [continue] to give due importance to our Neighborhood First policy while collectively fighting the pandemic.”