Responding to the arrest of Jaffna Mayor, Viswalingam Manivannan, under charges of “attempting to resurrect the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), the United National Party have issued a statement condemning the arrest under the Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA) and stating that “an inquiry into any alleged wrongdoing […] must be carried out by the relevant Ministry prior to any police action”.

Canadian politicians have condemned the arrest of the Mayor of Jaffna V. Manivannan by Sri Lanka’s Terrorism Investigation Division (TID) and demanded his immediate release.

Following Sri Lanka’s Terrorism Investigation Division (TID)'s arrest of Jaffna Mayor Viswalingam Manivannan, Tamil political leaders have issued stern condemnations of the police and TID’s actions.

Manivannan was arrested under charges of attempting to resurrect the Liberational Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) following allegations that the uniform worn by the Jaffna Municipal Council task force resembled those worn by the LTTE’s police. The task force was established to enforce penalties against environmental infractions such as littering and spitting

UPDATED 1730 GMT

Addressing a virtual press conference on 5 April, Bangladesh’s Foreign Minister, AK Abdul Momen, defended their vote against the UN Human Rights Council resolution by claiming that it was “politically motivated” and stating that “Sri Lanka has done its own investigation”.

A Tamil lorry driver who was brutally attacked in public by a Sri Lankan police officer and had his shirt ripped, insisted that he “wants justice” and that “no one should ever have to face this kind of injustice”.

Kalaimakan Praveen, a Tamil lorry driver working in Pannipitiya, was thrown to the ground by a Sri Lankan constable who then proceeded to jump on his body.

Writing for ‘Left Foot Forward’, British MP for Leicester East, Claudia Webbe, condemned Britain’s silence on Sri Lanka’s alarming human rights record and calls on the government to impose sanctions on Sri Lanka’s regime.

Last week Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa had a phone conversation with Chinese President Xi Jinping during which he lavished praise for the Communist Party of China (CPC) on its 100th anniversary since its founding and the “strong leadership” of President Xi Jinping.

During the call, he further expressed interest in expanding “expand cooperation in fields like infrastructure and tourism, and smoothly advance major projects such as the Colombo Port City”.

Denial of Human Rights

A newly published book from the Swiss-based Puradsi Media and ‘Phoenix - the Next Generation’, provides a historical look back through the early years of the armed struggle.

‘Rise of the Tigers’, the second publication from the organisations, compiles rare photographs, newspaper clippings and in-depth biographies to provide unprecedented details about the founding members of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) and the formation of the leading Tamil armed movement.

Yet another Tamil father has died after spending over a decade demanding information about the whereabous of his missing son. 

Santhanam Raghavan, 65, from Talikulam, Vavuniya, joined other Tamil families of the disappeared for over 1,400 days in roadside protests in the district, demanding justice for his son Rajkumar who went missing in 2008.