Illustration by Keera Ratnam/ waves of colour

The enforced disappearance and massacre of 158 Tamils from the Eastern University in Batticaloa in 1990 was remembered on Monday, marking 32 years since the incident. 

On September  5, 1990 Sri Lankan soldiers surrounded the Vantharumoolai campus of Eastern University, rounding-up and arresting 158 Tamils that were sheltering there. Those 158 were never seen again. Although locals believe they were likely to have been massacred, not even one body has been found.

Sri Lankan Foreign Minister Ali Sabry reportedly said that Sri Lanka will not accept any international investigation into war crimes perpetrated by Sri Lanka and its officials ahead of the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) 51st session which starts next week. 

The University of Jaffna Students’ Union is condemning a series of tweets by the Chinese Embassy in Sri Lanka that commits to protecting the regime against ‘accountability for war crimes, crimes against humanity, and Genocide committed by the Sri Lankan state against the Tamil people” at the upcoming UNHRC session in Geneva. 

Ahead of the 51^st session of the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC), the UN High Commissioner has released a scathing report on Sri Lanka outlining the deepening militarisation, the continued harassment of Tamil survivor communities, and the deterioration of human rights on the island.

Illustration by House of Thulasi 

A new report by People for Equality and Relief in Lanka (PEARL) examines how Sri Lanka has failed to punish perpetrators of conflict-related sexual violence against Tamils.

Following a tense leadership contest, Elizabeth Truss (Liz Truss) has been announced Britain’s new Prime Minister securing 81,326 votes compared to Rishi Sunak's 60,399.

Ahead of the leadership contest, Truss reaffirmed her commitment to justice in Sri Lanka telling a conference of British Tamil Conservatives;

Jaffna Press Club held a memorial event for young Tamil journalist Pragas Gnanapragasam who passed away last year after contracting coronavirus. 

Pragas was an independent journalist writing for magazines and newspapers in the North-East. He also contibuted to the Tamil Guardian, as a correspondent based in the North-East, sending updates from the homeland. 

Selvakumar Nilanthan, a Tamil journalist and Batticaloa Press Club secretary, has been summoned to Sri Lanka's Terrorism Investigation Department (TID) in Colombo later this month. 

Batticaloa police officers visited Nilanthan's home yesterday to give him the summons letter which orders him to go to Colombo on September 14th for an investigation for his alleged links to Thayamohan, former Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) Batticaloa political head. 

@GGPonnambalam 'Astonished and Shocked' by @sajithpremadasa saying the opposition won't be able to support the government in Geneva, given the oppression against protesters.

"Sadly, That is a slip that speaks the truth. ...#Tamil people cannot expect anything from this house". pic.twitter.com/W7cKQEFPeN