Sri Lanka has temporarily closed three overseas diplomatic mission posts from December 31 in a bid to save foreign currency reserves and cut spending, as the country deals with crippling debt.

The Sri Lankan High Commission in Abuja, Nigeria, the Consulate General of Sri Lanka, Frankfurt, Germany and the Consulate General of Sri Lanka in Nicosia, Cyprus will be closed from January.

Commenting on the closures, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said: 

As 2021 draws to a close, Tamil Guardian reflects on some of the most significant moments across this past year.

Responding to the death of anti-apartheid activist Bishop Desmond Tutu, Global Tamil Forum (GTF) has released a statement mourning his passing and remembering his support for “justice, reconciliation and prosperity” in Sri Lanka.

In their statement, they highlighted that the Nobel laureate closely followed the brutal massacres that concluded the armed conflict in Sri Lanka and the continued abuses that followed in the years that came.

Yasinthan, 27, was severely injured after the Sri Lanka's notorious Special Task Force (STF) opened fire against him last week in Ariyalai-Mulli, Jaffna. 

Yasinthan was operating a tractor in farmland when the STF obstructed him. They opened fire at him when he continued operating the tractor on the soil without obeying the officers’ orders. 

Yasinthan suffered terrible injuries as a result of the shooting and was admitted to the Jaffna Teaching Hospital by the police. The police are also said to have confiscated the tractor. 

Charges have been filed against former Jaffna University Students’ Union President M. Thivakaran and Secretary S. Babilaraj in Colombo's High Court.

These charges come thirty months after the two men were arrested under the Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA) and released on bail by a Jaffna Court. 

Tamil people in Oothuchenai, a village in Batticaloa bordering Polonnaruwa district, blocked a highway between Polonnaruwa and Colombo on Monday, in protest against rampant sand mining in their locality. 

Located near Vadamunai, Oothuchenai also suffers from a poor road system and the protesters demanded that the road between their village and Velikanthai be renovated. 

The 34th anniversary of the passing of former Tamil Nadu Chief Minister and popular Kollywood actor M.G. Ramachandran was commemorated in Jaffna late last week. 

Remembrance of the towering personality in modern Tamil political history is usually organised in Jaffna by Koppay Sundaralingam, a friend and fan of the superstar. This year, however, due to his recent passing, Sundaralingam’s wife led the proceedings by laying a wreath around MGR’s statue and lighting a candle. 

A joint statement by numerous global Tamil diaspora organisations pays tribute to life of human rights advocacy and justice lived by Archbishop Desmond Tutu and his continued support for the Tamil nation.

“Archbishop Tutu has always been our inspiration to provide guidance and leadership to exert political pressure on Sri Lanka to end its national oppression of the Tamil nation with genocidal intent. Archbishop Tutu not only spoke loud for justice but has always matched it with his own and collective actions” the statement reads.

Sri Lankan Energy Minister, Udaya Gammanpila, has claimed to be finalising the Trincomalee project with India and has told the Hindu that he hopes “sign the agreement in a month”.

The agreement would see 99 storage tanks of oil kept in Trincomalee leased out to the Indian Oil Corporation (LIOC). Each tank has a capacity of 12,000 kilolitres and the LIOC currently runs 15 tanks.

The US State Department is suspected to have listed Sri Lankan General Udaya Perera as a suspected war criminal and has subjected him to a travel ban.