With Tamil Nadu actor Vijay announcing the formation of a new political party in Tamil Nadu, we look back at his history of support for the Tamil Eelam liberation struggle.

Thai Pongal, the secular Tamil festival that gives thanks to the sun and for the harvest, is being celebrated across the North-East today. 

A senior Canadian police chief sparked controversy with a visit to Sri Lanka last month, where he discussed “cooperation” with its notorious police force and visited the office of a senior official who the Supreme Court found had personally participated in torture.

For years the Canadian Tamil Congress (CTC) called for an international accountability mechanism for mass atrocities and for sanctions to be placed on Sri Lanka. Yet, last week, they met and posed for photographs with the man who bears chief responsibility for those very massacres. Tamil Canadians across the political spectrum, and the country, are furious.

A landmark resolution has been brought by a group of US senators and representatives from across both parties this week, urging Sri Lanka to demilitarise the North-East, repeal the Prevention of Terrorism Act, halt land grabs and remove war criminals from positions of authority.

An event commemorating the 40-year-old history of the Tamil diaspora in Switzerland took place in Bern last week, marking their journey to the country, as well as the growth and challenges they faced since arrival.

The first Tamil refugees arrived in Switzerland 40 years ago, escaping the horrors of the anti-Tamil Black July pogroms and the escalation of armed conflict in Sri Lanka. With an estimated 60,000 members, Eelam Tamils are one of the largest diaspora groups in Switzerland today.

The Global Tamil Forum (GTF) met with Ranil Wickremesinghe this week after it signed a declaration with a group of senior Sinhala Buddhist monks from different sects in Sri Lanka.

Photographs published on the Sri Lankan president’s official website show GTF members alongside saffron-robed monks, handing over a copy of the ‘Joint Himalayan Declaration’ to Wickremesinghe.

Tamils across the world marked Maaveerar Naal on Monday, paying tribute to the men and women who laid down their lives for the liberation of Tamil Eelam.

Whilst a crackdown was underway in the North-East, around the world - from Australia, to Europe to North America - several large scale commemorations were held.

See a round up of events that took place around the world below.

For events that took place in Tamil Eelam, see here.

Australia

Thousands of Tamils defied the Sri Lanka security forces and gathered across the Tamil homeland, and around the world today, to mark Maaveerar Naal - Great Heroes Day - and remember those who sacrificed their lives in the Tamil struggle for liberation. 

Commemorations took place despite a Sri Lankan crackdown this week, which intensified this morning. Riot police armed with shields and batons were sent to shut down a memorial event in Batticaloa, whilst in other parts of Eelam Tamils were blocked from commemorating their heroes.

The United States has agreed to lend US$553 million to build a new container terminal in the Sri Lankan capital Colombo’s port – a deal that that will see Washington work with India on the island as it grows ties across Asia.