The Office of Reparations Bill was passed in Sri Lanka’s parliament on Wednesday.

The government’s official line is that the Bill provides for the provision of individual and collective reparations for aggrieved persons who have suffered violations of human rights or humanitarian law.

The Kanagapuram Velakanni church was vanadalised by a group of unknown persons earlier last week, as attacks on places of worship in the North-East continue.

A group of unknown people reportedly vandalised the church property on Saturday and stole a statue from the premises.

The church administration complained that this has happened several times in recent years, and though they have complained to the Sri Lankan police, no action has been taken.

Last year the National Christian Evangelical Alliance of Sri Lanka (NCEASL) said there were more than 90 incidents of attacks on Christians in Sri Lanka in 2017 alone, noting a rise in the number of assaults.

A house in Chavakachcheri was targeted by armed burglars in the early hours of Monday morning.

A court in Valvettithurai, Jaffna has dismissed a Sri Lankan police petition against the rebuilding of a monument that was originally constructed in memort of fallen LTTE cadres in the town.

The monument, built in Theeruvil grounds in remembrance of 12 LTTE members including Lt Col Kumarappa and Lt Col Pulenthiran, was destroyed by the Sri Lankan military.

The empowerment of Tamil women is under threat from patriarchy within the Tamil community and under attack by the Sri Lankan state, said People For Equality And Relief in Lanka (PEARL), in a statement released to mark Tamil Women’s Day.

“Though advances to confront Tamil patriarchy were made during the war years, sexism and misogyny have plagued the Tamil people and Tamil activism, and continue to do so to this day,” said PEARL. “The Tamil community’s ongoing treatment of female former cadres, activists and women-headed households, shows that the earlier advances fell short.”

Today marks thirty-one years since the death of 2nd Lt. Maalathy, the first female fighter of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) to lose her life in the Tamil armed struggle.

Across the world the day is being commemorated as Tamil Women’s Day, to commemorate women’s involvement in the fight for Tamil rights.

The arrest of a British Tamil activist on the apparent bidding of Sri Lankan officials, was an ‘outrage’ and an attack on British values, the British Tamil Conservatives (BTC) said.

The remarks come in response to the arrest of Sockalingam Yogalingam, a prominent Tamil political activist, during a protest against the Sri Lankan Prime Minister’s visit in Oxford on Monday.

 “It is the equivalent of someone from the Iranian or Burmese mission inciting a UK police force to arrest a peacefully protesting British citizen when a member of their government is visiting,” the group said. “It is an outrage.”

Students at the University of Jaffna commenced a 194km protest walk to Anuradhapura prison on Tuesday.

Tamils for Labour has raised “serious concerns” over the arrest of Tamil activist Sockalingam Yogalingam during a peaceful protest against the visit of Sri Lanka’s Prime Minister in Oxford yesterday.

“Mr Yogalingam was exercising his right to peaceful protest and he should be released from custody as soon as possible,” said Sen Kandiah, chair of Tamils for Labour, adding that “it was very concerning to learn that Sri Lankan officials allegedly requested that he be arrested”. 

He went on to state,

British MPs have written to the UK’s Home Secretary expressing “serious concerns” about the arrest of Tamil activist Sockalingam Yogalingam during a peaceful protest against the visit of Sri Lanka’s Prime Minister in Oxford yesterday.

Members of the All-Party Parliamentary Group for Tamils urged the Home Secretary Sajid Javid to “investigate the circumstances” of the arrest, as it was reportedly “carried out at the behest of Sri Lankan government officials who were filming the protest”.