Last week, Tamil commemorated the 33rd anniversary of the Indian Peace Keeping Force (IPKF) massacre of nine civilians in Puthoor, Vatharawathai.

The memorial comes amidst an ongoing culture of suppression of Tamil memorials. 

A former political prisoner from Vavuniya, Selvanayagam Ananthavarnan, has been summoned by Sri Lanka's Terrorism Investigation Department (TID) on June 7th.

The Officer in Charge (OIC) at Maruthankerny police station has informed TNPF leader Gajendrakumar Ponnambalam that he is “an accused person” in last week’s Maruthankerny incident and that he may need to be questioned and arrested. 

Sri Lankan police have arrested the Tamil National People's Front's (TNPF) Vadamaradchi East Organiser Ms. Arulmathy days after an incident at Maruthankerny where a police intelligence officer pointed his gun at TNPF leader Gajendrakumar Ponnambalam. 

Tamil National Alliance (TNA) MP, Sivagnanam Sritharan, condemned the intimidation of Tamil National People’s Front (TNPF) leader, Gajendrakumar Ponnambalam, after a Sri Lankan intelligence officer pointed his gun at the TNPF leader.

Sritharan slammed the incident as an illustration of “extreme repression”. He added that it shows the harm “the military and state investigators can pose to the normal lives of ordinary Tamil people”.

 

A Sri Lankan police intelligence officer pointed his gun to Tamil National People’s Front (TNPF) leader Gajendrakumar Ponnambalam after he was attacked during a meeting in Maruthankerny. 

On Monday, the Asian Development Bank (ADB) approved a US 350 million dollar loan for Sri Lanka. 

The loan comes as part of a broader financial assistance package anchored by the International Monetary Fund's (IMF) Extended Fund Facility (EFF) for the island. 

Sri Lanka’s cabinet has approved proposals to establish a South African style, “Truth and Reconciliation Commission” (TRC) despite continued demands from Tamil on the island for an international investigation into war crimes.

Tamil families of the disappeared in Vavuniya remembered the 42nd anniversary of the burning of Jaffna library. 

Flowers were laid and candles lit to commemorate the burning which was orchestrated by the Sri Lankan state. 

^{Cover art by Sagi Thilipkumar}

At midnight on May 31, 1981, the Jaffna Public Library, the crucible of Tamil literature and heritage, was set ablaze by Sri Lankan security forces and state-sponsored mobs. The burning has since been marked by Eelam Tamils as an act of genocide.

Last week Sri Lanka’s President, Ranil Wickremesinghe, met with Japan’s Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, and apologised for Sri Lanka’s unilateral withdrawal from an agreed Light Rail Transit (LRT) project and to discuss expanding bilateral projects.

^{Source: @ShehanSema on Twitter} 

India has extended its USD 1 billion credit line to Sri Lanka for an additional year.

<p>Amnesty international has urged the Sri Lankan government to immediately desist from using the Prevention Against Terrorism Act (PTA) following the arrests of four individuals who were charged in connection with the 2019 Easter Sunday bombings on 18 May 2023.</p>