On February 20 2017, Tamil families of the disappeared started their roadside protest across the North-East, starting off in Kilinochchi, followed by Vavuniya, Trincomalee, Mullaitivu and Maruthankerny.

Families of the disappeared marking 1000 days of their protest in Vavuniya

Sri Lankan police threatened residents of a Mannar village including the local priest when they protested against Sinhalese people illegally extracting sand from the village.

Residents of Thottaveli have for several years complained of illegal sand mining causing environmental damage to the area and leaving villages prone to flooding and soil erosion.

Today marks 13 years since the passing of the chief negotiator and political strategist of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), Anton Balasingham. 

Balasingham, or as he was fondly known among Tamils - Bala Anna, was widely respected and adored by the nation. His charismatic addresses in venues around the world drew tens of thousands, as he provided political analysis with sharp wit. Leading LTTE delegations through numerous negotiations, Bala Anna eloquently and forcefully articulated the rights of the nation. His intellectual prowess and political acumen earned him respect from all sides of the negotiating table.

He remains an extraordinary theoretician and a formidable figure within the Tamil struggle.

Bala anna's special relationship with the Tamil Guardian is a bond that we remain deeply proud of to this day.

Just weeks into his tenure, journalists, activists and human rights defenders are increasingly fearful of Sri Lanka President Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s government following incidents of journalist harassment; intimidation, interrogations and abductions across the island. 

Colombo has denied reports linked to many of these incidents, with government spokesperson Ramesh Pathirana denying state involvement in any intimidation of media personnel. "There is no reason for the government to carry out such activities,” he said. “These are baseless allegations.”

Families of the disappeared rallied across the North-East today to mark International Human Rights Day. Families demonstrated in districts across the Tamil homeland, supported by Tamil politicians and members of the public.

A Sri Lankan brigadier who motioned death threats to Tamil protestors in London last year has been found guilty by a British court of violating the Public Order Act, after a protracted legal battle.

Westminster Magistrate’s Court upheld a previous ruling that Sri Lanka’s Brigadier Priyanka Fernando “is  not  protected  by  diplomatic  immunity”, despite pleas made by Sri Lanka’s Foreign Ministry.

Switzerland’s Federal Court has ruled that the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Elam (LTTE) is not a criminal organisation and that its primary goal was to establish an independent homeland, in a landmark ruling that has seen 12 Swiss Tamils acquitted of charges filed by the Office of the Attorney General (OAG).

In their ruling, which was made public earlier today, judges found there was not enough proof to consider the LTTE a criminal group under the Swiss penal code. 

Thirty-five years ago, while many slept and some were already in the fields, the Sri Lankan army declared a sudden curfew in the town of Cheddikulam and surrounding villages on the border of Vavuniya district.

As news of the curfew seeped through the town through radio and word of mouth, residents scrambled to their homes or the closest house of someone they knew so as not to be caught outside.

Writing in the Tamil Guardian on November 27th, the leaders of the Labour Party and Liberal Democrats both expressed their support for British Tamils and pledged to work with the community in their struggle for justice.

In his piece, Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn speaks on his work with British Tamils and his party's commitment to human rights and justice.

Tamils across Eelam and around the world marked Maaveerar Naal this year, remembering all those that gave their lives to the Tamil liberation struggle.