Speaking to Charles Haviland of the BBC, General Sarath Fonseka, asserted that he was in charge of the military in 2009, and not the political leadership.
In statement released on Monday, a coalition of Tamil diaspora youth organisations across the world, the Global Taml Youth League (T-League), condemned the attack on Paramalingam Tharsananth, the secretary of Jaffna University Student Union (JUSU).
Describing it as an "act of intimidation and violence", T-League said it was "an attempt to instill fear in students and silence their voices for justice", adding that the targeting remembrance events was "an attempt to extinguish the memory of the victims, and deny the ongoing genocide that is apparent today".
Standing in solidarity with Tamil youth in the North-East, the global coalition of youth organisations, pledged,
"We will never forget the victims of Mu'l'livaaykkaal, and must work tirelessly to bring justice to our brothers and sisters who have suffered, and continue to fall prey to violence at the hands of the Sri-Lankan Government."
The Global Tamil Youth League's member organisations include: Canadian Tamil Youth Alliance, Canada (CTYA); Tamil Youth Network, Germany; Giovani Tamil, Italy; Tamil Youth Organisation, Norway (TYO-Norge); Tamil Youth Organisation, Switzerland (TYO-Swiss) and Tamil Youth Organisation, UK (TYO-UK); Voice of Tamils, Australia; Tamil Youth Organisation New Zealand (TYO-NZ), Tamil Youth Organisation Sweden (TYO-Sweden) and Tamil Youth Organization USA (TYO-USA).
The Sri Lankan government has declared that the assets of those linked to “terrorist” activity will be frozen and seized, both inside and outside of the country, as part of new regulations put in place by the External Affairs Ministry.
The US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton spoke to Sri Lanka’s GL Peiris on issues of accountability, free media, human rights and demilitarising the North, according the spokesperson Victoria Nuland, a move that was rejected just hours later by the President Mahinda Rajapaksa.
Sri Lanka has announced that a new subsidy for fertilisers would be granted to farmers with supplementary crop cultivations, expanding a scheme currently only available for paddy farmers.
Thousands of people gathered on Marina Beach in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, to remember those that perished in Mullivaikal, shouting slogans of grievance and calling in international independent investigation into war crimes.
Organised by the Periyar Dravidar Kazhagam and the May 17th Movement, the crowd also called for a referendum in establishing a separate state and were heard to shout slogans such as, “We will never forget India’s betrayal” and “We will never condone”.
An organisation called Youth Against War Crimes and Genocide also took part in the event, collecting signatures for their campaign.
A total of 234 Tamil detainees are now on hunger strike at prisons across the country, which has stretched into its fifth day, with more detainees joining the protest.
The detainees, some who have been held without charge for several years, have asked to be either charged or released.
India’s plans to lend ancient fragments of the Buddha’s bones to Sri Lanka have been slammed by Tamil Nadu activists.
Sri Lanka signed an agreement with India on Friday, permitting the transfer of the relics for the celebrations marking the 2,600th anniversary of Buddha’s enlightenment.
The Committee to Protect Journalists has slammed the Sri Lankan Supreme Court’s decision to rejection a petition on the government’s website censorship earlier this week, filed by members of the Free Media Movement.
Bob Dietz, coordinator of CPJ’s Asia Program stated,
President Mahinda Rajapaksa has used a presidential pardon to grant the former army General Sarath Fonseka release from prison, after he was jailed in 2010.
Around 2,000 supporters greeted Fonseka at his release, waving the Sri Lankan flag and chanting,
Addressing the Mullivaikkal remembrance event in Trafalgar Square, London on Saturday, Jan Jananayagam of Tamils Against Genocide (TAG) paid tribute to the thousands of Tamil lives lost, calling them “symbols of strength and courage”.
Taking the opportunity to remember life in the Vanni before the assault by the Sri Lankan Army, she stated,
Addressing the Mullaivaikkal remembrance event in London, on Saturday, the Tamil Youth Organisation UK (TYO UK), condemned the ongoing abuses, colonisation and oppression taking place in the North-East and asserted, "history makes two things very clear.
British Tamil students from across the United Kingdom have released a joint statement, denouncing the attack on the secretary of the Jaffna University Student Union.
In a statement released on Saturday, student organisations deplored the “brutal act of violence that seeks to terrorise Tamil youth”, after Paramalingam Tharsananth was assaulted by a gang, alleged to have been linked with Sri Lankan army intelligence.
The student was due to speak at a remembrance event in Jaffna University, marking three years since the massacre at Mullaivaikkal.
Signed by 12 British university Tamil societies and the Tamil Youth Organisation UK, the statement goes on to say,
"The attack marks yet another attempt by the Sri Lankan state, through intimidation, aggression and sheer violence, to deny Tamils the very basic of rights – the right to mourn our dead.
Justice is paramount. However, reflecting on over sixty years of genocide faced by the Tamil nation, we view this attack as another in that continuum. We note with dismay and abhorrence that it will no doubt be met with injustice and impunity.
Our thoughts are with our brothers and sisters in the North-East who continue to face this genocide today."
See the full statement and list of signatories below.
Around 100 jailed Tamil prisoners have joined a hunger strike launched on Thursday, demanding either immediate court action or to be released.
The detainees include 50 being held in Vavuniya prison, 20 held in Kalutara prison and 30 in Colombo Remand Prison.
They joined another group of 80 prisoners who started their hunger strike earlier this week, with many of the detainees having been held without charge for several years.
