To mark the tenth anniversary of massacre that took place at the end of the armed conflict in Mullivaikkal on May 18, 2009, over sixty Tamil Diaspora organisations signed a declaration of solidarity to work towards justice for genocide, demilitarisation and Tamil self-determination.

“On 18 May 2019, ten years since the Sri Lankan state’s genocide against the Tamil nation reached its peak, we stand in solidarity with our brethren in their quest for justice," the organisations said in a joint statement.  

Local government bodies and places of worship across the North-East held remembrance events for May 2009 this week ahead of the main event tomorrow at Mullivaikkal where thousands of people are expected to attend at the site of the final phase of the armed conflict and where tens of thousands were massacred by the Sri Lankan armed forces. 

Tamils gathered in Neduntheevu on Wednesday to remember the thirty-six Tamils massacred by Sri Lankan navy officers on board the Kumuthini boat on May 15, 1985. 

Families of the disappeared in Vavuniya this week urged Sri Lanka to be referred to the International Criminal Court as they held a token fast in tribute to the tens of thousands massacred by the Sri Lankan armed forces in May 2009. 

Eleven people were arrested this week in Point Pedro by police, including two Tamil business owners and 9 Muslim men. 

Two Jaffna University student union leaders and a campus hospitality worker, arrested earlier this month under the Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA), were yesterday released on bail. 

The leader of the Ilankai Thamil Arasu Katchi (ITAK), Mavai Senathirajah, the former chief minister, C V Wigneswaran and the Tamil National People's Front (TNPF) called on Tamils to gather tomorrow at the May 2009 remembrance event in Mullivaikkal in memory of those who were massacred. 

A future Labour government would be committed to the causes of achieving justice and accountability for the Tamil people, as well as recognising their right to self-determination, the party’s leading figures said this week at an event marking the tenth anniversary of Mullivaikkal in Parliament.

“This is a sad occasion because we are commemorating the tenth anniversary of that terrible massacre,” said Labour leader and Leader of the Opposition Jeremy Corbyn MP.

<p>The Transnational Government of Tamil Eelam (TGTE) has challenged the banning of the Liberation Tamil Tigers of Tamil Eelam in the UK, citing that is being used to crack down political work of Tamils.</p> <p>In a petition to the British Home Secretary, TGTE members said that the ban on the LTTE is being misperceived as a ban on advocacy for a sovereign state of Tamil Eelam.</p>

A Sri Lankan minister this week said hard-line Buddhists were behind the recent days of anti-Muslim violence, describing the attacks as "organised" and "systematic". 

"These are organised attacks on Muslim business houses and premises," Navin Dissanayake, minister of plantation industries, said at a press briefing yesterday. 

The Committee to Protect Journalists this week condemned Sri Lanka's decision to reinstate an Army Major accused of the assassination of the Sunday Leader editor, Lasantha Wickremetunge. 

Prabath Bulathwatte was arrested two years ago over a number of attacks against media workers and is currently on bail. However, the army commander last week announced he would be reinstated following the Easter sunday bombings by Islamist extremists. 

European Union countries expressed concern yesterday anti-Muslim violence which has taken place in Sri Lanka this week. 

Students at the University of Jaffna protested today against arrest of two student union leaders and a campus hospitality worker under the Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA) earlier this month. 

As increasing eye witness reports and videos emerge of the collusion of Sri Lankan security forces with rioting Sinhala mobs responsible for the widespread anti-Muslim violence, the state's army has said it would be investigating the case of one soldier, accused of standing by whilst the mobs attacked.