Tamil journalist Shanmugam Thavaseelan was on his way to cover commemoration events when he was stopped and harassed by Sri Lankan police and military officers yesterday.

This incident took place on Monday, May 16, ahead of Tamil Genocide Day commemorations.

Tamils across the North-East held remembrance events and distributed kanji yesterday to mark the fifth day of Mullivaikkal Remembrance Week. 

Batticaloa 

A rally organised by the Association of Relatives of the Disappeared in the North East left Kallady in the East and headed towards Trincomalee. 

Tamil Canadian students held a bike rally over the weekend to commemorate victims of the Tamil genocide. 

Tamil Nadu health minister MA Subramanian has reportedly confirmed that Tamil Nadu will be sending Rs 8.87 crore worth of medicines to Sri Lanka to aid with the island’s ongoing economic crisis.

As dollar reserves tumble Sri Lanka could be forced to endure 15-hour power cuts.

Newly appointed Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe noted that Sri Lanka could be forced to endure power cuts of up to 15 hours.

A new report, by the International Truth and Justice Project (ITJP) and Journalists for Democracy in Sri Lanka (JDS), reveals that Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa was named in a government inquiry as a suspect in an enforced disappearance case in 1989.

Tamil families of the disappeared are under “increasing verbal, physical, and serious psychological harassment” from the Sri Lankan security forces, said the Jaffna-based Adayaalam Centre for Policy and Research (ACPR) in a new briefing released today.

Five Ontario school boards have marked the beginning of Tamil Genocide Education Week. This is the first year since the Tamil Genocide Education Week Act was passed into law. 

The war crimes-accused head of the Sri Lankan army was the chief guest at a grand Sinhala Buddhist ceremony at the controversial Kuragala site this week, where a giant lion statue and restored stupa were unveiled.

The newly appointed Sri Lankan prime minister warned that the upcoming months “will be the most difficult ones of our lives” as he called for Sri Lanka to make “sacrifices” in the face of an economic crisis.

Ranil Wickremesinghe claimed “foreign allies will assist us” and that states had “already pledged their support”.

Sri Lankan soliders and police officers ramped up their presence at the Mullivaikkal memorial this afternoon as Tamils gathered to make preparations for May 18th, also known as 'Tamil Genocide Day'. 

In recent weeks, the Sri Lankan army has held several events across the Tamil homeland, particularly with Tamil schoolchildren, as it continues its process of normalising militarization of the North-East.

Tamils began their rally from Valvettithurai towards Mullivaikkal this morning as the Tamil nation remembers the genocide that took place 13 years ago.

Tamils in the North-East continued to serve kanji across the homeland as part of commemoration events taking place during Mullivaikkal remembrance week.