UK Shadow Minister for Asia and the Pacific, Stephen Kinnock, has called on the British government to impose sanctions on the Commander of Sri Lanka’s Army, General Shavendra Silva, for his role in war crimes and human rights violations during the end of the armed conflict as commander of the notorious 58^th Division.

Tamil diaspora organisations across the world commemorated Tamil Genocide and Mullivaikkal Remembrance Day noting the tens of thousands of Tamil civilians who perished during the Sri Lankan government’s relentless shelling and bombardment of civilians during the end of the armed conflict.

In a joint statement, Tamil diaspora organisations noted that the Sri Lankan state’s “stranglehold on the Tamil people has intensified”.

Strong gusts of wind damaged houses and destroyed the woods in multiple parts of the Tamil homeland throughout Tuesday and Wednesday. 

Mullaitivu

Vaikasi Pongal celebrations at Vattappalai Kannaki Amman temple in Mullaitivu took place under the strict control and surveillance of the Sri Lankan police and military on Monday. 

Vesak lanterns were set up by the Sri Lankan military in public places in Jaffna despite warnings not to hold Vesak Day events as the corona spread in the country intensifies.

At the start of this month, it was reported that Sri Lanka had a higher infection rate than India on the basis of the country population.

Retired general Muhammad Saad Khattak, High Commissioner for Pakistan, met with Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa on Tuesday during a meeting in which he expressed a desire to strengthen cooperation despite ongoing concerns over Sri Lanka’s human rights record.

The areas of cooperation discussed include trade, educational cooperation, and sports diplomacy, with a special focus on promoting cultural heritage and religious tourism between Pakistan and Sri Lanka.

Naam Tamilar Katchi (NTK) Chief Coordinator, Senthamizhan Seeman, has called on the international community to question the “racist repression of Sri Lanka” noting that the recent failure to include Tamil on the Attorney General Library’s plaque following the passage of the Colombo Port City bill.

The plaque only includes English, Sinhala and Mandarin despite Tamil being an official language.

In response to the release of “The Family Man 2” trailer, the Tamil Nadu government has written to the Indian government requesting immediate action to ban the release of the Amazon Prime Web series for its highly objectionable depiction of Eelam Tamils.

This comes following a backlash from Tamil netizens who voiced their concerns over the series on Twitter using the hashtag #FamilyMan2_against_Tamils.

Stephen Kinnock, UK Shadow Minister for Asia & Pacific, raised concerns over the nomination of Mohan Peiris, former attorney general and legal advisor to Sri Lankan President, Mahinda Rajapaksa, to the UN’s Law Commission.

In parliament, Kinnock asked the government for their assessment of the “potential effect of the election of Mohan Peris on the credibility of the Law Commission”.

The Bank of Bangladesh has approved in principle a $200-million currency swap with Sri Lanka, as Sri Lanka continues to struggle with its foreign exchange reserve.