October 10th 2021, marks thirty-four years since the death of 2nd Lt. Maalathy, the first female fighter of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) to lose her life in the Tamil armed struggle.

Across the world, the day is being commemorated as Tamil Women’s Day, an opportunity to honour women’s involvement in the fight for Tamil rights.

Sri Lankan Foreign Minister G.L. Peiris in his talks with Canadian High Commissioner David McKinnon expressed Colombo’s “strong concern” regarding Ontario’s Tamil Genocide Education Week Bill passed earlier this year.

In a meeting on Friday, Peiris conferred with McKinnon on a range of issues including Canada’s support to Sri Lanka in its recovery from the Covid-19 pandemic and issues pertaining to the economy. 

Speaking at a debate in Scottish parliament over the government's international policy, Scottish Labour spoke out against the Scottish government's inaction regarding Police Scotland providing training to the police forces of countries, such as Sri Lanka, which it considers are engaging in human rights abuses and repression”.

"What is the Scottish Government’s response to that alarming activity? To repeatedly pass the buck to Police Scotland. There is no point in having a justice secretary who is not prepared to stand up for human rights and hold the police to account when things go wrong, yet we have exactly that in Keith Brown." Mercedes Villalba, MSP for North East Scotland, told parliament.

A memorial event was held at the Mannar International Organization on Tuesday, to pay tribute to P.A. Antony Mark, Senior Tamil journalist and human rights activist from Mannar who passed away last month, at the age of 78 due to COVID.

During this event, many politicians and civil society leaders including Mannar Divisional Secretariat, Stanley De Mel paid their respects to the journalist.

Responding to the revelation that members of the Rajapaksa family stashed millions of dollars in anonymous offshore trusts and shell companies, Sri Lankan State Minister of Wildlife and Forest Conservation, C B Ratnayake blamed the Tamil diaspora.

The eighth iteration of the India-Sri Lanka bilateral joint exercise, Mitra Shakiti began in Amparai, Sri Lanka on the 4 October and will conclude on the 15 of October. 

The exercise will include an all-arms contingent of 120 Indian Army personnel and a battalion from the Sri Lankan Army of equal number. The purpose of the exercise is to "establish closer ties between the military of both countries, improver interoperability and share best practices in counter-insurgency and counter-terrorism operations". The exercise is expected to be observed by the Indian Army Chief, General Manoj Mukund Naravane alongside accused Sri Lankan war criminal, Shavendra Silva.

The World Bank reporting out of Colombo has stated that the economy is projected to grow by 3.3% in 2021, but the medium-term outlook is clouded by pre-existing macroeconomic weaknesses and the economic scarring from the COVID-19 pandemic. 

Faris Hadad-Zervous, Country director of the World Bank for Maldives, Nepal and Sri Lanka commented on the countries immediate situation, stating,

The Defence attaché of the Embassy of Israel based in New Delhi, affiliated to Sri Lanka, Colonel Assaf Mahler paid a courtesy visit to the war crimes accused Army Chief Shavendra Silva at the Sri Lankan Army headquarters. 

During the brief interaction, both parties discussed bilateral cooperation and the "understanding between both nations for so many years". The meeting also highlighted the importance of further enhancement of close cooperation and exchange of technical expertise between both military organisations. 

Retired Sri Lankan Air Force commander,Sumangala Dias, has been reportedly refused a post as Sri Lanka's Ambassador for Italy following similar rejections in Canada due to concerns over war crimes.

Writing in response to the state of emergency declared by Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, CIVICUS highlights that the emergency measures enable authorities "to detain people without warrants, seize property, enter and search any premises, suspend laws and issue orders that cannot be questioned in court".

"Officials who issue such orders are also immune from lawsuits" they add.