Sri Lanka's Ministry of Foreign Affairs released a statement saying it “categorically rejects” the unanimous motion by the Canadian government to recognise May 18 as Tamil Genocide Remembrance Day.

In a statement reacting to the recognition, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs states: 

Japan announced its pledge of US$1.5 million in emergency medical aid to Sri Lanka as the island continues to deal with it's worsening economic crisis.

Yesterday, Tamil Canadians gathered in Scarborough and Ottawa to mark the newly recognized Tamil Genocide Remembrance Day. 

As Tamils in the homeland travelled to the Mullivaikal memorial site to commemorate Tamil Genocide Remembrance Day, People for Equality and Relief in Lanka (PEARL) documented the proliferation of Sri Lankan military checkpoints at key locations, situated along roads leading to the site.

Sri Lanka has officially defaulted on its international debt for the first time in its history amidst warnings of accelerating inflation,  as the island’s economic crisis continues.

Ahead of the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue Alliance’s (QUAD) meeting on 22 May, Human Rights Watch (HRW) has urged leaders of the four-member states to address (the United States, India, Japan and Australia) to address democratic backsliding in Asia.

Yesterday was Tamil Genocide Day, a day of solemn remembrance and collective mourning. Across the Tamil homeland and around the world, millions commemorated their kith and kin who were deliberately and systematically massacred by the Sri Lankan state. This year, as flames were lit and flowers laid across the North-East, political turmoil continues to rage across the South. Whilst Colombo’s politicians tussle for power, international focus remains on whether Sri Lanka will be able to climb out of the crisis in which it has landed. May 18, more than any other day, served as a reminder that unless deep-rooted structural changes are enacted and the Sinhala Buddhist chauvinism confronted, it never will.

Tamils in Denmark held a rally in Copenhagen today to mark 13 years since the massacre at Mullivaikkal and to demand justice for the war crimes committed by Sri Lanka. 

Canada's House of Commons unanimously adopted a motion recognising May 18 as Tamil Genocide Remembrance Day, in a landmark move making it the first parliament in the world to recognise the Tamil genocide.

Marking Tamil Genocide Remembrance Day, US Democratic Senator Wiley Nickel expressed his solidarity with the Tamil people and highlighted their "right to self-determination, to peacefully and democratically determine their own political future"

The North Carolina Senator added

British Tamil businesses distributed kanji across London on Tamil Genocide Day, to honour the victims and survivors of the Mullivaikkal genocide that took place 13 years ago.