During the 39^th session of Nattan’s municipal council, members paid tribute to those who lost their lives during the Mullivaikkal massacre

Led by the council’s chairman, Tiruch Selvam Paranjothi, members lit a flame and paid a silent two-minute tribute to the estimated tens of thousands killed during the final weeks of the armed struggle.

The Sri Lankan army vandalised the Mullivaikkal memorial monument located in Mullivaikkal East earlier today, just hours after the security forces blocked Tamils from erecting a memorial stone at the site where tens of thousands were massacred 12 years ago.

Ontario’s legislature has given royal assent to Bill 104, bringing into effect Tamil Genocide Education Week, which establishes May 12-18^th as a week in which Ontarians “are encouraged to educate themselves about, and to maintain their awareness of, the Tamil genocide and other genocides that have occurred in world history.”

A memorial stone was brought to Mullivaikkal this evening by the public committee organising Tamil genocide remembrance events, but the committee was blocked from erecting the stone at the intended place by Sri Lankan army and police.

Tamils across the North-East marked the first day of Mullivaikkal Remembrance Week with a series of events earlier today, as they commemorated the tens of thousands of Tamils killed by the Sri Lankan state 12 years ago.

Several bright Tamil students from Mullaitivu and Mannar districts were celebrated after A-level examination results were released last week. Despite  various challenges brought by the coronavirus pandemic, including the intensifying militarisation in the North-East regions of the island, the successes of these students became a great cause for celebration. 

Mullaitivu district

Last week, Sri Lankan MP Dilum Amunugama, who publicly called for the President to act like ‘Hitler’, was sworn in as the State Minister of Community Police Services at the Presidential Secretariat. 

Amidst a rise in the number of COVID-19 cases in Sri Lanka, the bed capacity in the isolation ward of Jaffna Teaching Hospital is reported to have been exhausted. 

All four emergency beds and 11 beds for other COVID-19 patients available in the ward were occupied by Wednesday. 

All patients currently receiving treatment at the hospital are under 50 years of age. 

Sri Lanka’s Foreign Ministry has issued a statement condemning the passage of Bill 104 in Ontario, also known as the “Tamil Genocide Education Week” bill, claiming it was based on a flawed premise, unfounded assumptions and blatant lies.

A Tamil student from Neduntheevu, Jaffna was seriously injured and hospitalised after being hit by a Sri Lankan navy tank, last month. 

15-year-old student Kavipriyan was admitted to Jaffna Teaching Hospital following the incident. 

Photo of Scarborough-Rouge Park MPP Vijay Thanigasalam

Sri Lanka’s Wildlife Conservation Department has announced that all tourist attractions that it operates, including parks, campsites, and tourist bungalows, will be closed as Sri Lanka continues to struggle with its rapidly rising COVID infection rate.

Tamil National Alliance (TNA) parliamentarian Sivagnanam Shritharan has demanded that the Sri Lankan government grant permission for the Tamils to commemorate those who perished in the Mullivaikkal genocide.