Standing with the Eelam Tamil community in their struggle against oppression and injustice. We must find a permanent solution based on their right to self-determination that ensures stability and peace in the Indo-Pacific. pic.twitter.com/x2boQ4cek4

More Tamil diaspora organisations have spoken out against a declaration signed by the Global Tamil Forum (GTF) and Sinhala Buddhist clergy, stating it gives Sri Lankan president Ranil Wickremesinghe an “opportunity to hoodwink the international community”, as backlash continues to grow this week.

The GTF had met with Wickremsinghe in Colombo last week, where the group handed over a ‘declaration’ it had signed with several Sinhala Buddhist monks.

The Tamil Information Centre (TIC) hosted the annual International Human Rights Day event in London, UK, on 10 December 2023. The event, attended by renowned journalists, human rights activists, professionals and politicians, shed light on the role the international human rights system has played both in the past and continuing human rights abuses faced by the Tamil population in the North-East and in the diaspora.

**Content warning - scenes of animal cruelty**

Valaichenai police have refused to register a complaint after a Tamil livestock farmer alleged that his cow was shot by Sinhala settlers in Madhavanai.

The cow, Mappillai Nampan, was worth Rs.1,50,000, and belonged to Nimalan, the Cattle Farmers Association President. 

The Tamil Eelam Liberation Organisation (TELO), a constituent party of the Tamil National Alliance (TNA), has denounced a Sri Lankan government-backed initiative by the Global Tamil Forum (GTF) and some Sinhala Buddhist monks as “irresponsible” and one that “misdirects our entire political aspirations”.

Tamils in Batticaloa held a protest today on Human Rights Day to highlight the ongoing human rights abuses perpetrated against the Tamil people by the Sri Lankan state.  

Tamil civil society activists, politicians, farmers and clergymen drew attention to the human rights violations taking place in Batticaloa, in particular the cruelty faced by Tamil farmers, threats by Sri Lankan police and repression of Tamil civil society and media. 

Tamil families of the disappeared protested in Mullaitivu and Vavuniya today to renew their calls for international accountability and mark Human Rights Day. 

The leader of the Tamil National People’s Front (TNPF) refused to meet with the Global Tamil Forum (GTF) this week, after the diaspora organisation signed a declaration with Sinhala Buddhist monks that has been labelled a “whitewash”.

Gajendrakumar Ponnambalam told the Tamil Guardian that he had “nothing to talk” about with the GTF, after the announcement of their initiative this week.

“This government has been one of the most oppressive, if not the most oppressive, since the end of the war,” said Ponnambalam. 

In response to a Sri Lankan government-backed initiative that has seen the Global Tamil Forum (GTF) sign a joint declaration with Sinhala Buddhist monks, a host of Tamil diaspora organisations from around the globe have reiterated their commitment for Sri Lanka to be referred to the International Criminal Court for genocide and for an international monitored referendum to be conducted in the Tamil homeland.

“The key organizations listed below within the Tamil Diaspora, which closely align with the views of the Tamil people in the North-East, have developed their position through extensive dialogues with members of the grassroot community,” said the joint statement, which was released this morning.

The Global Tamil Forum (GTF) met with Ranil Wickremesinghe this week after it signed a declaration with a group of senior Sinhala Buddhist monks from different sects in Sri Lanka.

Photographs published on the Sri Lankan president’s official website show GTF members alongside saffron-robed monks, handing over a copy of the ‘Joint Himalayan Declaration’ to Wickremesinghe.