Sri Lanka’s High Commissioner to the United Kingdom has hit back at The Elders this week, after the group referenced Sri Lanka when they spoke on US President Donald Trump’s refusal to “adhere to the protocols and processes governing the transition of power”.

Mary Robinson, Chair of The Elders and former President of Ireland, said, “it is shocking to have to raise concerns about US democratic processes as The Elders have previously commented on volatile and undemocratic situations in states such as Kenya, Sri Lanka and Zimbabwe”.

Muslim human rights lawyer Hejaaz Jizbullah, who has been arbitrarily detained by the Sri Lankan state under the Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA) since April 2020, missed out on the birth of his first child on Sunday morning. 

A campaign group dedicated to the release of the prominent lawyer, Justice For Hejaaz, tweeted:

“Early this morning Hejaaz’s wife gave birth to their first child. Hejaaz still remains in detention without charge as he was for the past 7 months and missed the precious moment of welcoming his baby daughter into this world. How long do we have to wait for Justice?”

Sri Lanka’s Tamils are rarely given a fair hearing on the world stage. But on the occasions when their voices do gain some momentum, there will always be some among them who use their privilege and status to dismiss and deride their concerns. From denying the racism and oppression rife within Sri Lanka, to undermining the decades-long struggle of the families of the disappeared, no one has been more willing to do that than Muttiah Muralitharan.

Writing on the Muralitharan biopic controversy in online Indian magazine The Wire, Tamil Guardian co-editor Abinaya Nathan outlines how appeals for freedom of expression are rarely extended to Tamils in the North-East.

The United Kingdom will continue with the European Union's Generalised Scheme of Preferences (GSP) frameworks after the end of the Brexit transition period, giving a number of countries, including Sri Lanka, the ability to trade with the UK with zero, or reduced tariffs.

Sri Lanka will be one of eight countries eligible for waived import tariffs on certain goods under the UK's Enhanced GSP framework, the equivalent of the EU's GSP+. The UK government states that, like the EU's GSP+, countries receiving this benefit must implement 27 conventions relating to human rights and labour rights, the environment and good governance.

Sri Lanka’s army commander and alleged war criminal, Shavendra Silva has ‘banned’ this year’s public Maaveerar Naal commemoration events and threatened that any efforts taken to remember will result in legal action and isolation, according to Tamil Newspaper Kalaikathir.

“Relatives have the right to remember ordinary people who died in the war. This can be done from home. However, Maaveerar Naal commemorations attempting to commemorate terrorists cannot be held in public. Therefore, any attempts to honour LTTE cadres will not be permitted,” he said.

Amnesty International has called on the Sri Lankan government to commit funds to support the transitional justice process for victim survivors, ahead of today's national budget announcement for 2021. 

In a statement, the rights group expressed their concern that the budgets of the Office on Missing Persons and the Office on Reparations, which have produced minimal progress, "may be scaled back". 

The Sri Lankan government is reportedly under “great pressure” to “concede” the development of the East Container Terminal (ECT) at the Colombo Port to India, according to the National Union of Seafarers Sri Lanka.

_{Arputhammal Ammal, mother of AG Perarivalan}

Arputhammal Ammal, mother of the accused in the Rajiv Gandhi assassination case,  AG Perarivalan, has pleaded through a video message to the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu, asking for her son’s release. 

The Metropolitan Police announced the opening of a full war crimes investigation into a British company that assisted the Sri Lankan military in committing crimes against Tamils, in a landmark move this week.

The unprecedented announcement marks the first time a fully-fledged investigation into British mercenaries has reportedly been launched by the Metropolitan Police’s war crimes team.