Sri Lanka police blocked Tamil families of the disappeared in Batticaloa from distributing Mullivaikkal kanji to mark the third day of Tamil Genocide Remembrance Week. 

Defence Secretary  Kamal Gunaratne attending the Russian Victory Day ceremony at the Russian Cultural Centre in Colombo this week

Accused war criminal and acting defence secretary Kamal Gunarate was the chief guest at the Victory Day ceremony held at the Russian embassy in Colombo last week. 

File photograph

Today marks 39 years since 36 Tamils were massacred by Sri Lankan Navy officers on board the Kumuthini boat on May 15, 1985. 

Eye witnesses reported seeing six plain clothed Navy officers boarding the Kumuthini boat and pointing a gun at passengers before ordering them to come up to the main deck one by one and shout their name and destination. 

Ilankai Tamil Arasu Katchi (ITAK) leader and MP Sivagnanam Shritharan called the actions of Sri Lankan police who arrested four Tamils earlier this week for preparing Mullivaikkal Kanji ‘despicable’ and ‘inhumane’ adding that their arrests were unwarranted and illegal. 

The US President Joe Biden’s nominee for Ambassador to Sri Lanka, Elizabeth K. Horst, says that if confirmed she will support members of "marginalized populations, accountability, truth and reconciliation, and transparency and justice in Sri Lanka".

Day 3 of Tamil Genocide Remembrance Week is being marked in Jaffna today, with a blood donation drive at the University of Jaffna while a memorial float travels through the region. 

During May 12th - 18th, also known as Tamil Genocide Remembrance Week, Tamils in the North-East and the diaspora hold various memorial events to commemorate the tens of thousands of Tamils who were massacred at the hands of Sri Lanka's armed forces in 2009. 

Sri Lankan police deployed the paramilitary Special Task Force in Amparai to threaten Tamil women activists with arrest if they distributed a rice porridge dish today, following a court order to clamp down on Tamil Genocide commemoration events.

I am in grade 10 now. I want to score enough to be able to enter Advance Level soon. I love the subject history. I was four years old when I lost my leg, I am 15 years old now. My studies depend on the income we get from the coconut grove.

Herlev

A special service was held in Herlev Vor Frue Church in Denmark in memory of the tens of thousands of Tamils who were massacred in the genocide in the Tamil homeland. Floral tributes were laid and candles were lit as part of the service. Tamils gathered at the church to offer prayers during this service.

Grindsted

The Mullivaikkal Commemoration Committee invited Tamils from across the homeland to gather at the Mullivaikkal Memorial site on May 18, and commemorate the tens and thousands of Tamils massacred by Sri Lankan security forces.