The 34th anniversary of the Indian Peace Keeping Force (IPKF) massacre was marked at Jaffna Teaching Hospital, with staff and faculty members holding a commemorative ceremony on Thursday.

At least 68 civilians, including 21 medical personnel, were killed by Indian troops as they stormed the hospital building on the 21 and 22 October 1987, throwing grenades and firing indiscriminately at staff and patients. The building had been shelled by artillery before the raid. 

A Sri Lankan police officer was seen brutalising two Tamil citizens in Batticaloa this evening, kicking one individual and dragging and slapping another individual on a motorcycle.

In a statement, Nava Sama Samaja Party (NSSP) leader Dr. Wickramabahu Karunaratne called for the international recognition of the “ongoing” genocide of Tamils and the recognition of Eelam as a state. 

“A systematic referendum is needed to recognize Tamil Eelam internationally,” Dr. Karunaratne stated. 

Dr Beth Van Schaack, an esteemed human rights lawyer and academic that has written extensively on accountability and justice in Sri Lanka, has been nominated by US president Joe Biden for the post of Ambassador at Large for Global Criminal Justice at the Department of State.

See more of her work on accountability in Sri Lanka below.

In collaboration with several other Tamil Canadian organizations, the Tamil Canadian Centre for Civic Action (TCCCA) donated 18,792lbs of food in their second annual Thiyagi Thileepan Food Drive. 

The Sri Lankan government has reversed its blanket ban on the import of chemical fertilisers following widespread and intense protests by the country’s farmers who are overwhelmingly dependent on the commodity, according to a report by the AFP. 

Sinhala politicians, trade unions, civil society organisations and religious leaders have all banded together to express their outrage at the Sri Lankan government’s signing of a deal with US-based firm New Fortress Energy, which will see the company acquire a 40% stake of the Yugadanavi Power Plant based in Colombo and develop a new offshore liquefied natural gas (LMG) terminal off the coast of the southern capital.

Sri Lanka's Media Minister Dullas Alahapperuma, speaking at weekly press briefing has stated that the country's long-delayed provincial elections will only be held after a "suitable election system has been decided upon". 

The statement comes despite reported Indian pressure to hold the polls before the end of the year.

Sri Lanka’s Public Security Minister Sarath Weerasekara warned the country’s striking teachers that the government had “destroyed terrorism” and insinuated that it would deal with any disruption in a similar manner.

Speaking at an event in Colombo last week, the controversial minister said;

“We destroyed terrorism. Whether the root cause of that terrorism was fair or not, terrorism cannot be justified, because it is innocent civilians who die from it.

As Sri Lanka faces the threat of financial default, the latest survey by LMD-NielsenIQ Business Confidence Index (BCI) reveals that the majority of Sri Lankans polled (46%) believe that Sri Lanka's economic situation will worsen over the coming 12 months.

The survey further highlighted that 71% of corporate executives polled do not consider this to be a good time to invest. This follows a scathing report by the US State Department which noted that Sri Lanka had one of the most protectionist regimes in the world.