India has committed to help ease the debt of Sri Lanka as part of a possible International Monetary Fund (IMF) supported program, Reuters reported this week.

Tamils in Denmark marked the 30th death anniversary of Sathasivam Krishnakumar alias Colonel Kittu this week. 

Murdered Tamil journalist Subramaniyam Sugirdharajan was commemorated in Batticaloa this morning, to mark 17 years since his death. 

The Office of the Parliamentary Commissioner for Administration of Sri Lanka and Ombudsman Institution of Turkey entered into a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to protect human rights, despite ongoing human rights abuses.

Responding to the arrest of Tamil civil society leader Velan Swamigal, British MPs have expressed their deepening concern over the continued persecution of Tamils in Sri Lanka.

On Twitter, Elliot Colburn, MP for Carshalton and Wallington and Chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group for Tamils, noted his concerns stating:

On the day Sri Lanka’s president attempts to visit the Tamil city of Jaffna, a familiar scene unfolds. Peaceful Tamil demonstrators are swarmed by armed Sri Lankan officers; the military erects roads blocks to cordon off demonstrators; and, the police resort to firing water cannons in an attempt to disperse the Tamil public. 

As India’s foreign minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar visited Sri Lanka on Thursday, Tamil National People’s Front (TNPF) leader, Gajendrakumar G. Ponnambalam has written to the minister urging for a federal solution, in rejection of Sri Lanka’s 13^th amendment.

Marking Thai Pongal and Tamil Heritage Month, British Tamils were invited for the first time to enjoy the festivities at the Prime Minister’s residence at 10 Downing Street.

Guests at the Prime Minister’s residence were treated to an assortment of hors d'oeuvre and a bowl of pongal.

Responding to the violent crackdown on Tamil protesters during Thai Pongal, a joint statement from Tamil civil society actors has condemned the actions of the Sri Lankan police and called on the Sri Lankan government to take tangible steps towards accountability for past and ongoing crimes.

Last Tuesday, the Canadian government broke historic ground with the sanctioning of two former Sri Lankan presidents, Gotabaya and Mahinda Rajapaksa. In this act, they shattered any lingering illusion that the crimes of the Sri Lankan military were simply the acts of rank-and-file soldiers. Instead, they were calculated, meticulously planned and executed by the head of Sri Lanka’s wartime administration and his right hand, the acting defense secretary. These were not the actions of rogue soldiers but “gross and systematic violations of human rights”. Thus, strengthening the case that the Rajapaksa must be brought before the Hague.

Sri Lanka’s Foreign Ministry has responded, predictably, by lashing out against the Canadian government for its “unilateral action” and of “polarising communities” on the island. The statement of the ministry is a pitiful attempt to prop up a mirage of communal harmony against a background of military occupation and continued human rights violations. For generations, Tamils have had to suffer under the thumb of the Sinhala Buddhist state. Their lives are punctuated by the threat of military violence; the prohibition on memorials; the memories of their loved ones abducted by the state; and the genocide they suffered.

The arrest of Tamil civil society leader Velan Swamigal for participating in peaceful protests during Thai Pongal has sparked international condemnation with British MP, Siobhain McDonagh, stressing the importance of peaceful protest.

Fitch Ratings has downgraded the National Long-Term Ratings of 10 Sri Lankan banks following the recent sovereign downgrade and recalibration of the agency's Sri Lankan national rating scale.

Celebratory events have taken place across Canada to mark Tamil Heritage Month and Thai Pongal.