British MP, Bob Blackman, has joined a number of British MPs and Tamil activists who have called on the UK Foreign Secretary to impose Magnitsky style sanctions on Sri Lankan army commander, Shavendra Silva.

A committee headed by Fisheries Minister Douglas Devananda has decided to deploy army troops to control road traffic in Kilinochchi in a latest attempt to militarise the Tamil homeland. 

A special committee on road traffic was created following the recent death of a school girl who met with an accident on the A9 Highway in Kilinochchi. 

More than 100 people belonging to associations of the relatives of forcibly disappeared Tamils across the North-East have lost their lives since their struggle for justice commenced.  

Photo by ethili.te

Mullaitivu Press Club has condemned the brutal assault and torture of journalist Viswalingham Viswachandran for taking a photo of a Mullivaikkal road sign.

Netherlands Ambassador to Sri Lanka, Tanja Gonggrijp, met with Sri Lankan Foreign Minister, G.L. Peiris to mark the annual "Orange the World: 16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence" despite ongoing concerns over the systemic use of torture and rape within the island.

Norwegian Tamils held events in Oslo and Bergen to mark Maaveerar Naal. 

UK Tamils joined the Tamil nation in observing Maaveerar Naal - Great Heroes Day -  to commemorate those who sacrificed their lives in the Tamil struggle for liberation. 

London

Thousands of British Tamils gathered in London yesterday to pay tribute to fallen cadres. 

Maaveerar Naal commemorations started off early in the Jaffna District as tributes were paid at the family home of the first Maaveerar Lt. Shankar.

Tamil Americans in several states gathered to commemorate Maaveerar Naal to remember the lives lost in the Tamil Struggle for liberation. 

Maaveerar Naal, also known as the ‘Tamil National Heroes Day,’ is marked on November 27, in memory of the first death of a Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) cadre, Lt Col. Shankar, who died in combat on November 27, 1982. 

Queens, New York

Thousands of Tamils across Canada gathered today to mark Maaveerar Naal, remembering those who sacrificed their lives for the Tamil struggle for liberation. Canadians gathered in Markham, Ottawa and Montreal.

Tamil remembrance activities marking Maaveerar Naal are "a bulwark against Sinhala-Buddhist supremacy" the People for Equality and Relief in Lanka (PEARL) said today. 

In a statement, the US based advocacy organisation highlighted the intensifying crackdown on Tamil memorialisation "with the Sri Lankan state using judicial and extrajudicial methods to prohibit and prevent commemoration events." 

Speaking in Scottish parliament on the 30th international day for the elimination of violence against women, Labour MP Mercedes Villalba, welcomed the decision of Police Scotland to not renew its training contract with Sri Lanka but maintained that this came about " in spite of the inaction of the Cabinet Secretary for Justice and Veterans".

Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) member, Arun Siddharthan, has made death threats against leading Tamil politicians for paying tribute to Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) leader, V. Prabhakaran, and fallen freedom fighters, during a press conference this week. 

Across Tamil Nadu, thousands of Tamils, including prominent politicians, gathered to commemorate Maaveerar Naal, as Tamils across the world remember those who lost their lives in the Tamil struggle for liberation. 

Commemoration events were held in the Chennai, Kanchi, and Tiruvallur districts.