(Pictures: BattiNews)

A commemorative event for Tamils killed in the 1990 Saththurukondan Massacre, committed by Sri Lankan forces in Batticaloa, was stopped by a court order, preventing relatives of those killed and Tamil politicians to observe the anniversary on Tuesday.

Tamil National Alliance MPs P Ariyanenthiran, P Selvarasa and C Yogeswaran, along with several family members of those massacred, attempted to proceed to the site of the event in Kokkuvil, however police read out a court order which banned the event to “prevent damage to people and properties”, issued by Batticaloa District Court.

At least 184 Tamil men, women and children were hacked to death after being taken to the Sathurukondan army camp, on September 9, 1990.

The relatives and the MPs were forced to go to a temple in Saththurukondan, and lit candles there in remembrance of the dead.

TNA MP Ariyanenthiran condemned the hypocrisy shown by the authorities in cracking down on Tamil remembrance events, while allowing Sinhala and Muslim events to go ahead.

“Muslims and Sinhalese are free to hold events to commemorate their dead, but Tamils are not able to do so,” he said to the Tamil Guardian.

Tamil Nadu’s Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa urged Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi to ensure the release of the six fishermen, arrested by the Sri Lankan Navy on Tuesday.

In a letter to Modi, Jayalalithaa said that it was “inhumane” of Sri Lanka to detain the fishermen, who were in distress, due to a technical issue with their boat.

"These boats in distress and Indian fishermen on board are being apprehended and remanded to custody in Sri Lanka. This is a totally inhumane approach and completely against the ethics of maritime search and rescue operations," she said according to PTI.

The Sri Lankan strategy of keeping the apprehended fishing boats of the fishermen in its custody had "snatched away" the source of their meagre livelihood and "is also fuelling despondency and great unrest amongst the fishermen," Jayalalithaa said.

The Sri Lankan government announced that it has banned the import of potatoes, in a bid to protect local farmers from going out of business this week.

The move comes after Sri Lanka announced that it would increase import taxes on both potatoes and onions last month, in a bid to increase vegetable prices.

Traders had complained that the falling prices of vegetables had left many of them unable to make a profit. Sameera Gurusingha, a potato grower from the South told the Sunday Times,

“We mortgage our properties to buy the components that we need for potato cultivation but we don’t get enough profits to pay the mortgage and regain our belongings. We have to use the income to begin the next cultivation.”

The government has made efforts to try and protect the Southern farmers, purchasing potatoes through state-owned Lanka Sathosa retail network as well as declaring a guaranteed price of Rs. 80 per kilo in March this year.

Germany’s Ambassador to Sri Lanka Dr.

A Tamil student was found dead in Thalavaakkalai, near Nuwara Eliya, in the Central Province on Sunday, Ada Derana reported.

Yoganathan Sivatharshan, who disappeared from his house in Mattukalai on Friday, was found near the Melkothmalai reservoir.

The Northern Province Chief Minister CV Wigneswaran accused the Sri Lankan military of spying on northern Tamil civilians and even collecting data on their body language.