The body of a Tamil refugee who took his own life in Vietnam in protest of the country’s deportation attempts, has been repatriated to the island.

Sundaralingam Kiritharan, who was aged 37 at the time of his death, was one of 303 Tamil refugees rescued by the Singapore Navy last month when their boat was in danger of sinking in waters near Singapore, Vietnam and the Philippines. After being rescued, the refugees, who had attempted to go to Canada by boat from Myanmar, were placed in a refugee camp in Vietnam.

Another longstanding and active member of the Tamil families of disappeared struggle died on Thursday.

E. Valliamma, aged 78, of Kalmadu Poompuhar had been searching for her son Ramachandran Senthuran for over 15 years.

He was abducted aged just 16 on May 17, 2007, while on his way to work as a daily wage labourer in Vavuniya.

Vavuniya High Court has ordered the Sri Lankan army to produce the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) cadres who surrendered to the state's forces at the end of the armed conflict in May 2009 in court by next year. 

Sri Lanka’s Office of Missing Persons (OMP) has called 244 families to appear at investigations in the Mullaitivu district on December 19 and 20.

Since its founding in 2017, the OMP has been largely inactive. Its failure to solve a single case in five years has reaffirmed the criticism of Tamil families of the disappeared that the office would not be an effective answer to their demands for truth and justice.

World Bank Vice President for South Asia, Martin Raiser concluded a three-day visit to Sri Lanka last week, noting that the "deep crisis is an opportunity for fundamental reforms" within the country. 

During the visit Raiser met with current President and Minister of Finance Ranil Wickremesinghe and Prime Minister Dinesh Gunawardena and other senior government officials. Discussions revolved around government priorities for Sri Lanka's recovery and key areas for World Bank support. 

Sri Lanka’s All-Party Conference has unanimously agreed to meet Tamil demands for self-governance through full implementation of the 13^th amendment, and to go beyond, however, a history of broken promises has Tamil on the island sceptical.

Whilst Sumanthiran expressed satisfaction over the resolution of the conference and the acceptance of the 13^th amendment as a starting point, Tamil Families of the Disappeared staged protests in Vavuniya condemning Tamil MPs who met with the government.

Marking 2,126 days of consecutive protest, Tamil Families of the Disappeared in Vavuniya spoke out against the remarks of Tamil National Alliance (TNA) leader R Sampanthan who reportedly stated during the All Party Conference (APC), "we know you killed all disappearances”.

Members of the Tamil National Peoples Front marked 16 years since the death of Anton Balasingham, the chief political strategist of the LTTE.

Balasingham, aged 68 years, passed away at his home in South London on December 14, 2006. His death sparked grief across the Tamil nation, with three days of mourning declared.

Gajen Ponnambalam MP and other members paid their respects at the TNPF office in Jaffna. 

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Today marks 16 years since the passing of the chief negotiator and political strategist of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), Anton Balasingham. 

Balasingham, or as he was fondly known among Tamils - Bala Anna, was widely respected and adored by the nation. His charismatic addresses in venues around the world drew tens of thousands, as he provided political analysis with sharp wit. Leading LTTE delegations through numerous negotiations, Bala Anna eloquently and forcefully articulated the rights of the nation. His intellectual prowess and political acumen earned him respect from all sides of the negotiating table.

Former Sri Lankan Minister Wimal Weerawansa has lashed out against US Ambassador for Sri Lanka Julie Chung, claiming that she the puppet master behind the mistakes of Gotabaya Rajapaksa and the Aragalaya protests.

"All decisions that the former president took, he conveyed to envoy Chung and then implemented it as per her instructions. When the president took the decision to remove the protestors, envoy Chung prevented it, claiming it would affect the IMF loan," Weerawansa alleged.