Tamil civil society groups in the North-East condemned the violence against Sri Lanka’s anti-government protestors and urged them to go beyond “the narrow goal of removing Rajapaksa family members from office,” in a statement issued last week.

As protests against the Sri Lankan government continued in Colombo last week, one demonstrator defied authorities and publicly praised LTTE leader Velupillai Prabhakaran, stating he was “the person who truly fought for our country”.

Occupying Sri Lankan soldiers in Mullaitivu handed out juice and biscuits to locals, whilst hoisting lanterns and makeshift lotus flowers in Nandikadal lagoon this morning, as they celebrated Vesak during Tamil Genocide week.

Uniformed soldiers were seen stopping passers by and offering the refreshments earlier today.

The Association of Relatives of the Disappeared in the North East began a three day rally from Pottuvil in the East, towards Mullivaikkal to commemorate the tens of thousands of Tamils massacred in Mullivaikkal by the Sri Lankan state 13 years ago. 

The Tamil National People’s Front launched a float that drove across the Jaffna district today, as part of a campaign to commemorate the Tamil genocide across the North-East in the days leading up to May 18^th.

A remembrance event was held earlier today to remember the 36 Tamils that were massacred by Sri Lankan navy officers on board the Kumuthini boat on May 15, 1985. 

This morning, flowers were laid at a memorial in Neduntheevu dedicated to the victims. 

Sri Lankan state minister and paramilitary leader Sivanesathurai Chandrakanthan, also known as Pillayan, reportedly fled the country following the resignation of former Prime Minister, Mahinda Rajapaksa.

Reports indicate that he had fled to Malaysia and plans to travel to a European country from there.

Following the appointment of Ranil Wickremesinghe to the post of Sri Lanka’s President, international diplomats have responded by issuing statements welcoming his support and hoping that this signals a move toward political stability.

Jean-Christophe Lagarde, the leader of France’s Union of Democrats and Independents (UDI), joined French Tamils in commemorating 13 years since the massacres at Mullivaikkal this week.

Lagarde tweeted that he was “very touched to commemorate… the terrible genocide,” this week.

Writing in response to the appointment of Ranil Wickremesinghe as Sri Lanka's Prime Minister, Mario Arulthas, an advisor to People for Equality and Relief in Sri Lanka (PEARL), stresses that "without a fundamental restructuring of the state, Sri Lanka will simply repeat the past mistakes that got it there".

Newly appointed Sri Lankan Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe claimed he would repeal orders for Sri Lanka's security forces to shoot on sight amidst international condemnation.

Responding to the issuing of these orders, Amnesty International stated:

Mullivaikkal Kanji was served in places across the North-East today to commemorate the second day of Tamil Genocide Remembrance Week, commemorating the tens of thousands killed by the Sri Lankan state 13 years ago.

Following an explosion of violence in Sri Lanka's capital city, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the Central Bank of Sri Lanka (CBSL) have maintained that discussions over debt restructuring will continue unimpeded.