The Sri Lankan navy has stepped up land grab operations in Pungudutivu, a coastal island off the Jaffna peninsula.

Earlier this year the navy attempted to expropriate 14 acres of publicly owned land, including land occupied by the Malayadi Nachimar Temple with the permission of the Velanai Divisional Secretary, for the Kottayam navy camp.

The soil in the area is known to be the most fertile region in Pungudutivu.

A cinema theatre in Jaffna has been shut down for at least 14 days, after an early morning screening of Vijay’s latest ‘Master’ movie drew complaints from Sri Lanka’s Ministry of Health.

British politicians from across the political spectrum praised the Tamil community for their contribution to life in the United Kingdom in their Thai Pongal wishes. 

Boris Johnson, the UK's prime minister, thanked the British Tamil community for their contribution towards the coronavirus pandemic response in the country. 

During his Thai Pongal message, Sam Tarry, MP for Ilford South, has expressed his concern over the detonating human rights situation in Sri Lanka for Tamils and Muslims and has called for sanctions against Sri Lankan officials accused by the UN of war crimes.

In its Word Report 2021, Human Rights Watch (HRW) criticised the worsening human rights situation in Sri Lanka and called on the international community to speak out to prevent a return to "the bad old days of rampant human rights violations".

Justice and accountability

Thai Pongal was celebrated across the Tamil homeland this morning, with festivities taking place despite bouts of flooding, coronavirus restrictions and a continued heavy Sri Lankan military presence.

Gareth Thomas for Harrow West has urged British Foreign Secretary, Dominic Raab, to condemn the destruction of a Mullivaikkal memorial at Jaffna university.

Tamils around the world marked Thai Pongal, the traditional Tamil harvest festival, today as celebrations shone despite coronavirus restrictions.

In his Thai Pongal message Canadian Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau, expressed support for Tamil Canadian protesters responding to the destruction of a Mullivaikkal memorial at Jaffna university.

In his statement he noted:

On behalf of @UKLabour, I wish Tamils in the UK and across the world a happy, healthy and bountiful #Pongal. Thai Pongal Valthukkal! pic.twitter.com/o2sEU79fzB

— Keir Starmer (@Keir_Starmer) January 14, 2021

Labour leader, Kier Starmer, raises deep concerns over Sri Lanka’s human rights record and calls upon the government to be “a strong voice on international accountability” during his Thai Pongal message.

Jaffna Municipal Council passed a resolution yesterday calling for the construction of a new Mullivaikkal memorial monument within the boundaries of the Council's premises. 

The demolition of the Memorial at the Jaffna University can only been seen as an attempt to erase the genocide by the Sinhala racist racism and its ugly face, the Transnational Government of Tamil Eelam (TGTE) has said.

In a series of tweets French MP François Pupponi expressed his solidarity with Tamils and avowed to fight for the recognition of war crimes committed against the Tamil people. Pupponi is the MP for the department Val-d’Oise in the Île-de-France region (The regional capital of which is Paris.)