Writing in Jacobin this week, Eelam Tamil filmmaker and member of the Tamil Refugee Council, Baranthan Vidhyapathy, said the Australian government has whitewashed the atrocities committed by Sri Lanka against Tamils and "helped equip Sri Lanka’s state security forces."

Tamil diaspora organisations condemned the "destruction and desecration" of the Mullivaikkal memorial by the Sri Lankan army earlier this week. 

The second day of Mullivaikkal remembrance week was marked on Thursday to remember those who were massacred in the final days of the armed conflict. 

File photograph

Today marks 36 years since 36 Tamils were massacred by Sri Lankan navy officers on board the Kumuthini boat on May 15, 1985. 

Sri Lankan police have arrested 50 people on Wednesday for allegedly violating coronavirus regulations.

Tamil parliamentarians and politicians have expressed their strong condemnation of the damage caused to the Mullivaikkal memorial monument and the stealing of a memorial stone by the army earlier this week. 

The Mullaitivu Magistrate Court issued an order on Thursday, prohibiting all types of commemorative activities in the Mullivaikkal area due to concerns related to the rise in COVID-19 cases in Sri Lanka.

Seven police stations in the Mullaitivu district have obtained court injunctions against 27 individuals, including two MPs, preventing them from carrying out Mullivaikkal commemorations.

The applications were put in by the Mullaitivu, Puthukudiyiruppu, Mankulam, Oddusuddan, Mallavi, Iyankankulam and Mulliyawalai police stations.

The Sri Lankan army and police patrolled the streets of the Northern Province as districts went into lockdown on Friday, with Sri Lanka's stay at home order lasting through the weekend.

The International Commission of Jurists and the Executive Committee of the Bar Association of Sri Lanka have strongly condemned the murder of two suspects in police custody which has occurred on two consecutive days.

Dr Hugh McDermott, a member of New South Wales Legislative Assembly, has called on both the Premier and Opposition leader in New South Wales, Australia, to follow the lead of Ontario in recognising Sri Lanka’s genocide against Tamils and to refer the perpetrators of the genocide to the International Criminal Court.

A flame was lit at the banks of Nandikadal lagoon on Wednesday to mark the first day of Mullivaikkal remembrance week. 

Ilankai Tamil Arasu Katchi (ITAK) youth wing leader Peter IIlancheliyan lit the flame amidst heightened Sri Lankan security force presence. 

The North-East Bishops' Council has called on the Tamil community to mark May 18th, also known as Tamil Genocide Day, as a "day of remembrance and prayer." 

More than 30 Tamils in Vavuniya were arrested for allegedly not wearing masks with court cases already filed by Vavuniya police against them.