Following continued opposition from Indian officials, Sri Lanka has requested an indefinite delay to a Chinese military ship that had planned to dock in Hambantota port.

The public U-turn follows the president’s inaugural speech in which heaped praise upon the Indian government for giving us “a breath of life” and slammed previous decisions to withdraw from Indian-led investment projects unilaterally. Sri Lankan President, Ranil Wickremesinghe, also spoke on the need to put “ineffective” state enterprises into private hands.

The National Forum of Tamil Culture launched a petition in Jaffna yesterday, demanding the arrest of former President and war criminal Gotabaya Rajapaksa.

Rajapaksa is accused of overseeing the military offensive which saw the massacre of tens of thousands of Tamils in 2009. At the time, Rajapaksa was serving as defence secretary and oversaw the bombing of makeshift hospitals, widespsread sexual violence and the execution of surrendering Tamils. 

All images courtesy of Thaarakam

Tamils in France held a memorial event to mark the 16th anniversary of the Muttur massacre, where 17 aid workers from the French NGO, Action la Contre Faim (ACF), were summarily executed by the Sri Lankan security forces. 

^{File photo: Sri Lankan army athletes}

Sri Lankan athletes who are currently competing in the Commonwealth Games in the UK have had been forced to turn in their passports after their team mates absconded from the athletes' village earlier this week. 

Image courtesy of Action Contre la Faim (ACF)

On August 4 2006, Sri Lankan security forces summarily executed 17 aid workers from the French NGO, Action la Contre Faim (ACF), in Muttur, Trincomalee. 

The killings, which have since been dubbed as the 'Muttur massacre', took place at the organisation's compund where the ACF team were based as they provided humanitarian assistance to the survivors of the catastrophic tsunami in 2004. 

Australian authorities have finally granted permanent residency to the Nadesalingams, an Eelam Tamil family of asylum seekers who have faced years of legal battles to avoid deportation to Sri Lanka.

The family – Priya, Nades, Tharni and Kopi – were removed by Australian authorities from their home in Biloela almost four years ago. This week, Australia’s Immigration Minister Andrew Giles announced they had been granted permanent residency.

Gotabaya Rajapaksa won the 2019 presidential election. It is no secret that it has succeeded in instilling Islamophobia among the Sinhalese population. 6.9 million voters – mostly Sinhalese Buddhists – elected him. They celebrated the victory with loud cheers and by serving milk rice, saying that they have got a solid leader for the country.

Demonstrations took place in Jaffna and Batticaloa today demanding the release of the General Secretary of the Ceylon Teachers’ Union Joseph Stalin and other protestors who have been arrested by Sri Lankan authorities in a crackdown that has taken place in the South in recent weeks.

Protests have been put up across Jaffna this week demanding that former Sri Lankan president Gotabaya Rajapaksa be arrested for genocide.

The posters, spotted at several points across the peninsula, were put up by the National Forum of Tamil Culture.

Hundreds of trade union members led by Coalition of Trade Unions & Mass Organisations protested in Colombo on August 4, demanding the release of General Secretary of Ceylon Teachers Union Joseph Stalin and all anti-government activists arrested by Sri Lankan police.