The massacre of 32 Tamils in Othiyamalai, Mullaitivu by the Sri Lankan army in 1984 was remembered last week. 

Last week, thousands of Tamils, from the political strongholds in Jaffna, the militarised heartlands of the Vanni, to the allegedly contested territories of Amparai, lit up destroyed LTTE cemeteries to pay tribute to those who laid down their lives in the armed struggle. Since 2016, when Tamils reclaimed the Kanagapuram Thuyilum Illam in Kilinochchi to hold Maaveerar Naal publicly for the first time since 2012, when Tamil students were beaten by the Sri Lankan army for attempting to mark the day, the commemorations have been growing in scale each year, disrupted only by the lockdowns of the global pandemic. This year was the largest yet, with events reported in at least thirty locations across the eight districts of the North-East.

Harrow Arts Centre, the prestigious heritage building in the London borough of Harrow will be hosting an exhibition to mark Tamil Heritage Month 2023.

For the exhibition which "aims to creatively explore the rich heritage of the Tamil community", the arts centre is calling on members of the Tamil community to submit artwork which creatively expresses their heritage and culture.

In it's callout the centre says:

We welcome all art forms including creative writing, poetry, textiles, illustration, painting, photography, and ornamental (small scale) sculpture.

Approaching Sri Lanka’s 75h Independence Day, Sri Lanka’s Foreign Minister, Ali Sabry, met with US Secretary of State, Anthony Blinken where the US reaffirmed its support for Sri Lanka amidst its ongoing economic crisis and stressed the need for economic and political reforms focused on “transparency, inclusion and good governance”.

Vijay Sethupathi films tend to be a 50:50 deal for me. He is either a part of some of the best Tamil films in recent history or run-of-the-mill, unoriginal template masala films. Unfortunately, DSP falls in the latter category.

Meeting with Tamil National Alliance (TNA) MPs, U.S. Ambassador to Sri Lanka, Julie Chung, emphasised that "advancing human rights, rule of law & reconciliation among all communities" is key "to a stable and democratic Sri Lanka".

Responding to continued military land grabs, Jaffna Tamils chased out official land surveyors, which had planned to hand over 11 acres from Karainagar, belonging to 44 families, to Sri Lanka's army.

“We live in rented houses without our own land and depend on rain and water. They are trying to give land to the army without considering our condition. We strongly condemn this," a demonstrator told journalists.

Tamil families of the disappeared in Vavuniya rallied earlier this week to reiterate longstanding calls for international justice. 

The relatives held placards that read “ To say that those who surrendered in the civil war have died is a pure [lie] deceiving both us and the international community” and “How can we expect justice in a country where the President himself is considered a murder?”

On Sunday, Sri Lankan police stormed the house of Tamil Guardian journalist and Batticaloa Press Club secretary, Selvakumar Nilanthan, and interrogated his family over his whereabouts after he had fled the country.

British High Commissioner to Sri Lanka, Sarah Hulton has made a wide-ranging tour of Jaffna and Kilinochchi where she met with civil society groups, women’s organisations and Jaffna’s Mayor and Municipal Commissioner.

Useful meetings with Governor Thiagarajah and #Jaffna mayor Manivannan on key priorities for the region and recent government commitments.