Officials and residents in Batticaloa are raising alarm over what they say is a deepening pattern of unilateral encroachments by the Sri Lankan Department of Archaeology into Tamil areas, following the sudden installation of disputed signboards across the district this week.

Officials of the Valikamam Southwest and North Divisional Councils lit lamps and held memorial observances in a tribute to fallen Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) fighters this week, as Tamils across the North-East prepare to mark Maaveerar Naal – or Great Heroes’ Day. 

Sri Lankan foreign minister Vijitha Herath announced that he met Canada’s High Commissioner to Sri Lanka, Isabelle Catherine Martin, where he pressed Ottawa to clamp down on Tamil political expression and activities linked to Tamil self-determination.

The City of Brampton marked Tamil Eelam National Flag Day on 21 November with a community flag-raising ceremony at Ken Whillans Square, recognising “the collective identity of the Eelam Tamil nation” and its “ongoing resistance to genocide”.

A memorial hall dedicated to 529 fallen Tamil fighters was unveiled in Puthukkudiyirippu, Mullaitivu, on November 22. 

The names of 529 Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) cadres who were from Mullaitivu were displayed throughout the hall

Vietnam’s Ambassador to Sri Lanka, Trinh Thi Tam, has expressed Hanoi’s willingness to support investment and economic development in the Northern Province, stating that Vietnam “clearly understands the challenges” faced by a region still struggling to recover from decades of war.

British Tamils gathered in London on Sunday to protest the visit of Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) General Secretary Tilvin Silva, confronting his convoy as he arrived at an event in Wembley.

Communities came together across the Tamil homeland this week to honour families of fallen fighters, as preparations for Maaveerar Naal continue at pace. At cemeteries razed by the Sri Lankan military, town halls and village grounds, parents, spouses, children and siblings were welcomed, thanked and recognised for the sacrifices of their loved ones. Tree saplings in memory of the fallen were presented to families at every event.

 

Mullaitivu - Moongilaaru - 16/11/2025

The events unfolding in Trincomalee over the past week have laid bare an uncomfortable truth that many in the Tamil homeland have long understood, but some around the world chose to hope against. The ruling National People’s Power (NPP) government is not the rupture from Sinhala Buddhist majoritarianism it promised to be.