Following Archbishop of Colombo Cardinal, Malcolm Ranjith call for an international inquiry into the Easter Sunday bombings which claimed an estimated 270 lives, Tamil National Alliance (TNA) MP, MA Sumanthiran has supported these calls and highlighted the urgent need to investigate Sri Lankan war crimes.

“His Eminence has called for an international inquiry after 2 years. We have waited for 11 long years or longer than that, how can anybody blame us for asking for an international investigation?” Sumanthiran stated.

Following Sri Lanka’s unilateral withdrawal from the East Container Terminal (ECT), worth an estimated $700 - $800 million dollars, India has reportedly discussions on the West Container Terminal (WCT).

Ambihai Selvakumar, the British Tamil woman hunger striking in demand of Sri Lanka’s referral to the International Criminal Court, continues to receive support and solidarity from politicians around the world.

Virendra Sharma, MP for Ealing South, called on the UK government to consider applying sanctions to senior figures in Sri Lanka, in a letter to British Minister of State for South Asia Lord Ahmad, as calls for the UK to present a stronger UN resolution on Sri Lanka continue. 

The Tamil National People’s Front (TNPF) expressed their solidarity with Ambihai Selvakumar, a British Tamil woman who has reached the 16th day of her hunger strike, and urged the British government to “open its doors to justice in good faith” and exhort the rest of the international community to endeavour towards delivering justice for the Tamil people, in a statement released on Thursday.  

“As Tamil people and human rights activists have come together to lend support to her (Ambihai’s) non-violent protest, the TNPF is also working in conjunction with them,” the TNPF stated.

A note instructing Mariyasuresh Eswary to appear at the Mullaitivu Police Station for interrogation at 10.00 AM on March 9, 2021

Sri Lankan police questioned Mariyasuresh Eswary, the head of the Association of Relatives of Disappeared Persons in Mullaitivu, over her participation in the Pottuvil to Polikandy (P2P) march which took place over a month ago. 

As the 46^th session of the UN Human Rights Council continues, the Oakland Institute has released a report which highlights Sri Lanka’s continued militarisation and Sinhalisation of the island as the government continues its campaign to “eradicate the history and culture of the Tamil people”.

The International Truth and Justice Project Sri Lanka (ITJP) released a series of infographics this week, detailing casualty estimates during the final months of Sri Lanka’s 2009 military offensive that killed tens of thousands of Tamils.

Examining different sources, including from the United Nations, census figures and World Bank data, ITJP found that the highest estimate of those killed during that final phase could be as large as 169,796.

UN analysis from the final week alone puts the figure at 17,000 killed, though other estimates state the number killed could be as high as 25,000 people.

^{File photograph.}

Britain’s parliament is to hold a debate on the “UK’s Commitment to Reconciliation, Accountability and Human Rights in Sri Lanka,” as a resolution on the issue is due to be voted on at the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva this month.  

The debate, organised by the All Party Parliamentary Group on Tamils, will be held on March 18^th.

In a joint statement by eight human rights ambassadors, including the UK, Germany, and Sweden, denounced the continued detention of Muslim lawyer Hejaaz Hizbullah by the Sri Lankan authorities.