Tamil diaspora groups have called on the Foreign Commonwealth Office (FCO) to 'investigate and report' on the allegations of crimes against Tamil civilians committed by British mercenaries. 

In a joint letter to the UK's Foreign Secretary, Dominic Raab, the groups highlight that a private British company, Keenie Meenie Services (KMS) was "involved in inflicting death and carnage to Tamils in Sri Lanka, and worse, enjoys impunity in this country."

This month saw the release of an explosive new book that documents how a private British company formed of former Special Air Service (SAS) veterans turned mercenaries, went on to effectively set up one of Sri Lanka’s most notorious military units – one that has been accused of committing egregious mass atrocities.

Authored by Phil Miller, ‘Keenie Meenie: The British Mercenaries Who Got Away with War Crimes', goes into meticulous detail of how a band of former British soldiers trained and even flew helicopters for the Sri Lankan military whilst massacres were reportedly underway, all under the watchful eye of the UK Foreign Office.

Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, who is accused of numerous war crimes, when addressing Chairpersons and Board of Directors of several plantations and financial institutions, said he would work to “recover” the nation without pointing blame at the past.

This statement follows a statement by the President’s Media Division which placed blame for Sri Lanka’s economic downturn squarely on the previous administration.

In attendance at the meeting was also the President Secretary, Dr. P. B. Jayasundara and senior advisor Lalith Weeratunga.  

A Sri Lankan police officer has been found dead in Batticaloa this morning, with initial reports indicating that he was beaten to death.

The man, identified as a 55-year-old Tamil police officer attached to Valaichchenai police station, was found by passers-by in Vavunathivu this morning. It is reported that his body was found dressed in civilian clothing.

The Sri Lankan government, headed by accused war criminal Gotabaya Rajapaksa, dropped the Tamil national anthem at Independence Day celebrations in Colombo yesterday, for the first time since 2016. 

The government announced that the 72nd Independence Day celebrations of Sri Lanka would be sung only in Sinhalese a reversal of a policy by the previous regime in 2015, who had included the Tamil version.

Mano Ganesan, former minister of national integration that by "rejecting the anthem in Tamil... in front of local and the international community, the government has justified discrimination".

International human rights organisation Amnesty International said Sri Lanka saw “continued impunity for violations and abuses… little progress on disappearances and no accountability for other crimes,” in its 2019 report on rights in the Asia-Pacific region.

Biraj Patnaik, South Asia Director at Amnesty International said that in Sri Lanka, “the tragic April bombings, which devastated hundreds of lives, led to the state adopting a heavy-handed security response that trumped people’s human rights.”

“For the victims of Sri Lanka’s decades-long conflict, there was little progress on disappearances and no accountability for other crimes,” he added.

Sri Lanka’s president Gotabaya Rajapaksa said he would continue with Sri Lanka’s “Buddhist philosophy” and vowed to ensure that “extremist organizations” will not be allowed to function on the island, as he addressed a military parade in Colombo to mark Sri Lanka’s Independence Day.

Heavily armed soldiers marched before the Sri Lankan president in what has become a traditional show of force in Colombo, showcasing heavy weaponry including tanks and multi barrel rocket launchers (MBRLs) – the same types used in the shelling of hospitals and the massacre of tens of thousands of Tamils a decade ago.

Tamils across the North-East held rallies and protests today demanding justice for the disappeared and for perpetrators of abuses to be held accountable, as Sri Lanka marked its 72 Independence Day.

See a selection of photographs from events in the North-East and diaspora below.