Responding to growing criticism of the violent crackdown on protesters, Jaffna newspaper Kalaikkathir reports that, Sri Lanka’s President Ranil Wickremesinghe assembled a meeting of senior diplomats where he berated officials over their criticisms of his office.

Meenakshi Ganguly, South Asian Director for Human Rights Watch (HRW) has reiterated calls for the accused war criminal to be investigated and prosecuted under the principle of universal jurisdiction. 

Following a brutal crackdown on protesters, Colombo Magistrate’s Court has issued a travel ban on five leading activists engaged in anti-government demonstrators.

Members of the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) held a commemoration event in Jaffna on Saturday, to mark 39 years since Black July.

Lawmakers including M A Sumanthiran were present at the event, held at the Vadamarachchi office of the Tamil political party.

Sri Lanka will not see a bailout from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) until it emerges from its current political chaos according to a Professor of Political Economy at Johns Hopkins University.

Professor Deborah Brautigam told CNBC that “the IMF cannot… interact with the government when things are in a continuing crisis mode.” She continues “until the government stabilizes, until they have a Minister of Finance, there’s no one for the IMF to talk with.”

In a recent statement, Human Rights Watch (HRW) condemned the use of force against peaceful protesters by the Sri Lankan security forces. The organization emphasized that “respect for human rights is critical for economic recovery.”

Following a crackdown on demonstrators in Colombo, Britain’s South Asia Minister, Lord Tariq Ahmad, has stated on Twitter that he has had a “constructive conversation” with Sri Lanka’s President which focused on the right to peaceful protest.

Responding to crack down on protesters by Sri Lanka’s military, JVP General Secretary Tilvin Silva claimed that the act of was an “act of revenge”.

Marking the 39^th anniversary of Black July, an anti-Tamil pogrom that saw the slaughter of an estimated 30,000 Tamils, Canadian politicians have issued statements commemorating the tragedy.

Canada’s Prime Minister Justin Trudeau stated:

Speaking with The Sunday Morning, Tamil National Alliance (TNA) Spokesperson MA Sumanthiran spoke out against the crackdown on protesters whilst defending the party’s support for Dullas Alahapperuma on the grounds of “political stability”.

As Tamils across the world and in the homeland commemorate the 39th anniversary of the anti-Tamil Black July pogrom, the Tamil Coordinating Committee and hundreds of Tamils in the United Kingdom protested for justice and paid tribute to the thousands of Tamil lives lost during the state-sponsored atrocities of 1983.  

Marking the 39^th anniversary of Black July, Jaffna University students held a memorial on campus to commemorate the thousands of Tamils killed.

Speaking at the memorial, one of the speakers stated:

Marking the 39^th anniversary of the anti-Tamil Black July pogrom, the Tamil National People’s Front (TNPF) held a candlelight vigil to remember the thousands of Tamils slain.

In the 39 years since the pogroms of Black July, few images exist of the horrific violence that was unleashed on Tamils by Sinhala and Sri Lankan government backed mobs.

The photographs that do still survive are vivid.

Using the genealogy platform MyHeritage, we have enhanced and colourised some of the few photographs that have lasted. They offer a stunning new glimpse into the horrors of the pogrom.