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

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. 

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.

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. 

Amidst Sri Lanka’s ongoing economic collapse, Britain’s High Commissioner, Sarah Hulton, met with Sri Lanka’s newly appointed Prime Minister, Dinesh Gunawardene and discussed a range of topics, including constitutional reform, trade, and the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC).

India’s External Affairs Minister, S Jaishankar, and US Secretary of State, Anthony Blinken, met with Sri Lanka’s recently appointed Foreign Minister, Ali Sabry, during the annual ASEAN regional forum in Phnom Penh, Cambodia.

On Twitter, the Indian minister tweeted:

Sri Lanka’s newly appointed president Ranil Wickremesinghe told Tamil National Alliance (TNA) lawmakers yesterday that he knew some of the parliamentarians had voted for him, despite the coalition announcing it was backing another candidate the night before the ballot.

Delivering his first speech in parliament as president of Sri Lanka, Ranil Wickremesinghe laid out a roadmap for Sri Lanka which vowed to upload Buddhism; authorised the police to “maintain law and order”; eliminate state enterprises; support controversial investments; tackle corruption; strength Sri Lanka’s export economy; and provide a “political solution” for Tamils.

Protestors in Vavuniya staged demonstrations calling for the release of Joseph Stalin, the General Secretary of the Ceylon Teachers Union, after he was arrested by Sri Lankan security forces yesterday.