Sri Lanka’s Former Health Minister, Rajitha Senaratne, has been arrested following orders from Colombo’s High Court to reject a bail order issued for him.

Orders for his arrest were issued following a controversial media conference preceding the elections which discussed the “white van” disappearances.

Tamil National Alliance spokesperson M A Sumanthiran said he 'bows his head' and paid his respect to LTTE leader Velupillai Prabhakaran, after he provoked widespread outrage from across the Tamil political spectrum, including condemnation from within his own party, following comments made in a Sinhala interview earlier this week.

Despite his response in Tamil, his initial comments accepting Sri Lanka's lion flag and national anthem sparked widespread anger and outrage amongst Tamils across the North-East, with condemnation from even normally supportive fellow lawmakers in his own party.

As part of a series marking 11 years since the atrocities of Mullivaikkal, land protestors from Keppapilavu shared their reflections on their experiences and the struggles they continue to face.

The community has been protesting the military’s occupation of their land continuously since February 2017.

Today marks 44 years since the passing of the Vaddukoddai resolution, a document that concluded an independent state of Tamil Eelam was needed to safeguard the very existence of the Tamil nation in Sri Lanka and remains a cornerstone of the Tamil movement for self-determination.

Sri Lankan police continued their attempts to disrupt Tamil genocide memorial events, as they intruded on another commemoration at the Navaly Church in Jaffna this morning.

 

Sri Lankan President, Gotabaya Rajapaksa, has proposed expanding the scope of the Sri Lankan military into agriculture by establishing a separate unit despite the on-going damage military occupation has had on the livelihood of Tamils in the North and East.

Jaffna Security Force HQ have opened a "harmony centre" in Kankesanthurai (KKS), despite calls for demilitarisation in the region. 

Armed Sri Lankan soldiers and police officers threatened to send a group of Tamils to coronavirus quarantine centres, as they marked the beginning of Tamil Genocide Remembrance Week in Jaffna this morning.

Sri Lanka’s president continued with his militarisation of government posts this week, as he announced two senior military officials would take over key ministries.

As Colombo looks to tackle the coronavirus pandemic, Gotabaya Rajapaksa announced Health Ministry Secretary Bhadrani Jayawardhana has been moved to the Ministry of Internal Trade and Major General Sanjeeva Munasinghe will take her place.

Munasinghe is a serving military officer and currently the Officer Commanding the Army Medical Corp.

Tamil diaspora organisations from around the world released a statement criticising Malayalam-language movie ‘Varane Avashyamund’, after a scene that involved naming a pet dog “Prabhakara”, caused widespread outrage.

“Tamils all over the world are outraged by the insult hurled at our National Leader Honorable V. Prabhakaran, whom Tamils consider a historic hero,” said the statement signed by the World Thamil Organisation, the Transnational Government of Tamil Eelam, the International Council of Eelam Tamils, the Thamil Thaai Mandram and the Kanthamurugasanaar Tamil Cultural Centre.

Marking 11 years since the massacres at Mullivaikkal, we reproduce our editorial from the time.

This editorial, entitled ‘Our Holocaust’, was published on this day 11 years ago.

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As healthcare workers around the world have been battling the coronavirus, Tamil diaspora activists and businesses have been helping to keep frontline workers fully fed and fighting fit over the last two months.

<p>Sri Lankan Muslim&nbsp;authorities, such as the Sri Lanka Muslim Congress (SLMC) and All Ceylon Jamiyyathul Ulama, have called upon the government to end the discriminatory mandate for cremation which goes against World Health Organisation advice (WHO).</p>

Sri Lanka's former Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe warned that a partial lifting of Sri Lanka’s curfew, without provisions for adequate testing, may lead to a worse crisis amidst the coronavirus pandemic.

Wickremesinghe stated: