Sri Lankan police continued their attempts to disrupt Tamil genocide memorial events, as they intruded on another commemoration at the Navaly Church in Jaffna this morning.

Members of the Tamil National People’s Front (TNPF) had gathered to light a lamp in remembrance of the victims killed during the decades of Sri Lankan state violence, when uniformed Sri Lankan police officers attempted to stop the event.  

 

Sri Lankan President, Gotabaya Rajapaksa, has proposed expanding the scope of the Sri Lankan military into agriculture by establishing a separate unit despite the on-going damage military occupation has had on the livelihood of Tamils in the North and East.

Rajapaksa claimed that there was a pressing need to make “plantations into profitable ventures” but failed to address increasing land seizures which have occurred under the military and undermined the local economy. 

Jaffna Security Force HQ have opened a "harmony centre" in Kankesanthurai (KKS), despite calls for demilitarisation in the region. 

The centre was reportedly opened to promote "peace, reconciliation, cooperation and the wellbeing of the community in the Jaffna peninsula", according to the official military website. 

Armed Sri Lankan soldiers and police officers threatened to send a group of Tamils to coronavirus quarantine centres, as they marked the beginning of Tamil Genocide Remembrance Week in Jaffna this morning.

Sri Lanka’s president continued with his militarisation of government posts this week, as he announced two senior military officials would take over key ministries.

As Colombo looks to tackle the coronavirus pandemic, Gotabaya Rajapaksa announced Health Ministry Secretary Bhadrani Jayawardhana has been moved to the Ministry of Internal Trade and Major General Sanjeeva Munasinghe will take her place.

Munasinghe is a serving military officer and currently the Officer Commanding the Army Medical Corp.

Tamil diaspora organisations from around the world released a statement criticising Malayalam-language movie ‘Varane Avashyamund’, after a scene that involved naming a pet dog “Prabhakara”, caused widespread outrage.

“Tamils all over the world are outraged by the insult hurled at our National Leader Honorable V. Prabhakaran, whom Tamils consider a historic hero,” said the statement signed by the World Thamil Organisation, the Transnational Government of Tamil Eelam, the International Council of Eelam Tamils, the Thamil Thaai Mandram and the Kanthamurugasanaar Tamil Cultural Centre.

Marking 11 years since the massacres at Mullivaikkal, we reproduce our editorial from the time.

This editorial, entitled ‘Our Holocaust’, was published on this day 11 years ago.

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As healthcare workers around the world have been battling the coronavirus, Tamil diaspora activists and businesses have been helping to keep frontline workers fully fed and fighting fit over the last two months.

Activists in London and Toronto were handing out free meals to healthcare workers in both cities, as part of community efforts around the globe.

<p>Sri Lankan Muslim&nbsp;authorities, such as the Sri Lanka Muslim Congress (SLMC) and All Ceylon Jamiyyathul Ulama, have called upon the government to end the discriminatory mandate for cremation which goes against World Health Organisation advice (WHO).</p> <p>The introduction of compulsory cremation on 11 April was intended for victims of COVID-19, however, was unnecessary and disregarded WHO advice which maintained that victims “can be buried or cremated”. The mandating of cremations runs in direct violation of traditional Islamic burial practices.</p>

Sri Lanka's former Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe warned that a partial lifting of Sri Lanka’s curfew, without provisions for adequate testing, may lead to a worse crisis amidst the coronavirus pandemic.

Wickremesinghe stated:

“I have requested that at least 3,000 tests should be carried out daily. Sri Lanka would be plunged into a worse crisis if the lockdown is lifted without adequate testing,”