Keir Starmer has been appointed as the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and has formed a new cabinet that includes many ministers who have issued statements in support of the British Tamil community and demanded the previous government take Sri Lanka before the International Criminal Court (ICC). 

We examine key figures in the new cabinet and their previous statements on the British Tamil community, justice for mass atrocities committed by Sri Lanka and the need for Tamil self-determination.

As Britain’s new prime minister Keir Starmer takes up office this week, we look back on his previous statements on the British Tamil community, his calls for Sri Lanka to be referred to the International Criminal Court and on justice for mass atrocities committed against the Tamil people.

Earlier this year, Starmer released a message to commemorate  the “15^th year Mullivaikkal Genocide Remembrance Day,” paying tribute to the tens of thousands of Tamils killed in 2009.

On this day 29 years ago, the Sri Lankan air force dropped 13 bombs on St Peter’s Church in Navaly. More than 140 sheltering Tamils, who were encouraged by the military to seek refuge at the church, were killed on the spot.  At least 13 children were amongst the dead, with many more succumbing to injuries later as the local hospital was swamped with the wounded.

With the 2024 UK General Election set to take place on July 4, more British Tamils than ever before have been named as candidates with a range of Britain’s political parties.

The Tamil Guardian caught up with the candidates this month, as they vie to become one of the UK’s first-ever British Tamil parliamentarians.

Senior figures within the Labour Party addressed an event to mark Tamil Genocide Remembrance Day at the Houses of Parliament this month, where they reiterated pledges to British Tamils and called for Sri Lanka to be referred to the International Criminal Court (ICC).

The 2024 Gwangju Prize for Human Rights by the South Korean May 18 Memorial Foundation has been awarded to Tamil women's rights activist Suganthini Mathiyamuthan Thangaras.

Suganthini, who is with the "Amara" organization , has been fighting for the rights and empowerment of war-affected women in Tamil Eelam against the repression and suffering caused by the Sri Lankan government and its security forces. 

Thousands of Tamils have gathered in Mullivaikkal, Mullaitivu, the area where tens of thousands were massacred by the Sri Lankan government in the final days of the armed conflict fifteen years ago.

The Sri Lankan military overruns the last remaining ‘No Fire Zone’.

TamilNet receives a final phone call before it loses all communication with its correspondents in the field.

Members of the US Congress reiterated their support for a landmark resolution this week, calling for an independence referendum for Eelam Tamils and recognising the genocide committed against them by the Sri Lankan state.

Shortly after introducing the resolution and speeches on the Congress floor, members addressed an event at the Library of Congress. Over 100 Tamils from across the United States and around the world were in attendance to mark the occasion.

A landmark resolution was introduced to the US Congress calling on the United States to work towards an independence referendum for Eelam Tamils and recognise the genocide committed against them by the Sri Lankan state.

The resolution, introduced by Representative Wiley Nickel, is the first of its kind to be brought to the US Congress. It comes as Tamils marked 15 years since the Mullivaikkal genocide this week, with May 18 commemorated as Tamil Genocide Remembrance Day worldwide.