The massacre of up to 64 Tamils in Valvettithurai by Indian Peace Keeping Forces (IPKF) on August 2, 1989 was marked in an event by former Northern Provincial Councillor M K Shivajilingham. 

Yesterday marked 32 years since IPKF officers, led by Brigadier Sankar Prasath, entered homes in the region after imposing a curfew and shot and stabbed residents to death.

Some young men were dragged to the local junction where they were shot and killed. 

An undetonated mortar shell was recovered at Mullaitivu District Hospital on Wednesday, more than 12 years after it was subjected to intense Sri Lankan military bombardment.

The Sri Lankan police removed the device after workers uncovered the mortar shell during road construction on the hospital premises.

Sri Lanka’s new High Commissioner to India, former cabinet Minister Milinda Moragoda, is reported to be preparing for a visit to India in mid-August to restore trust between the countries.

According to Moragoda, whose appointment was announced in August 2020, “in recent years, the Indo-Sri Lanka bilateral relationship has been increasingly dominated by a transactional approach.” He adds that this is because “of the changes in the geopolitical equilibrium in the region” and has resulted in a “growing trust deficit”.

On this day 32 years ago, up to 64 Tamil civilians were killed by the Indian Peace Keeping Force (IPKF) in Valvettithurai in a massacre that was termed “India’s My Lai”.

The massacre, which saw dozens killed, came on the background of escalating violence and rights abuses committed by Indian forces across the Tamil homeland. As Tamil militant groups continued hostilities with the IPKF, the Indian forces imposed a curfew on August 2, 1989, following an ambush attack.

A Mullaitivu photographer was found dead in his home in Mallavi - Palinagar on Monday.

Mallavi police said they were investigating the circumstances surrounding the death of Shanmugaratnam Vinothan.

Vinothan was 34 years of age and a father of two children.

Sri Lanka’s terrorism investigation division (TID) has summoned the chair of a Kilinochchi council for investigation.

Chair of Karaichi divisional council Velamalikithan Arunasalam was handed the summons letter telling him to appear before the TID in Kilinochchi on August 6.

Local reports highlighted that the council recently objected to the Sri Lankan army constructing a monument at Iranaimadu Junction, stating it posed a traffic hazard and would increase the possibility of accidents.

A Tamil Nadu fisherman has been injured following an attack by the Sri Lankan navy yesterday. The attack took place near Kodiyakarai when the navy opened fire at an unarmed group of fishermen. 

Kalaichelvan, a native of Nagapattinam, entered the sea on a mechanised boat along with ten other fishermen on July 28. They were fishing around five nautical miles away from the shores of Kodiyakarai when the patrolling Sri Lankan navy spotted them. 

Speaking at a media conference, US Ambassador to Sri Lanka, Alaina Teplitz, called on the Government of Sri Lanka to abide by its international commitments to human rights and take decisive steps to either repeal or amend its draconian Prevention of Terrorism Act.

The statement comes despite Tamil parliamentarians and human rights organisations calling for a full repeal of the measure. Speaking in parliament, Tamil National Alliance (TNA) politician M.A. Sumanthiran highlighted how the PTA enabled for the systemic use of torture and called for its full repeal.

The United States says that all Sri Lankan soldiers continue to be fully vetted for involvement in human rights abuses before being allowed to train in the country. Recent appointments however point to holes in the vetting process and raise questions from survivors.  

On Friday, four Tamil political prisoners, arrested under the heavily criticised Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA), were released from Anuradhapura Jail after being acquitted by the Vavuniya High Court. 

The political prisoners released included: Nadesan Dharmarasa from Jaffna, Joseph Sebastian from Vavuniya, Nadarasa Sarveshwaran, from Kilinochchi and Jaffna University professor Kanesasundaram Kannadasan. 

Nadarasa Sarveshwaran was taken prisoner in 2016 under the draconian PTA. Two years later, in 2018, a case was filed against him in the Vavuniya High Court. He has now been acquitted and released after being deemed innocent by the court.