On this day 45 years ago, the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) was founded.

Coordinating Secretary to the Prime Minister of Sri Lanka, Geethanath Kassilingham, has been appointed as the state’s "special Rehabilitation Facilitation Officer" for the North-East as a military crackdown on the North-East intensifies.

Speaking to investigative journalist, Phil Miller, former Justice Minister for Scottish Parliament, Kenny Macaskill, admits to turning a ‘blind eye’ to Police Scotland’s training of Sri Lanka’s forces, despite concern over human rights violations.

Turning a blind eye

The Jaffna Press Club marked World Press Freedom Day with a commemoration event on Monday, to remember the Tamil journalists who have been killed in Sri Lanka. 

Journalists lit candles and laid flowers in tribute to their murdered colleagues. 

A Tamil man was arrested under the notorious Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA) for allegedly 'promoting Liberation Tiger of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) ideology'.  

As India grapples with a wave of coronavirus infections, Sri Lanka’s cases continue to hit daily highs, sparking fears of deadly infections being met with an intensified authoritarian response from the state.     

Sri Lanka’s Navy has reported that it blocked 11 Indian fishing vessels from entering Sri Lankan waters and detained 86 individuals before sending them back to India.

Justice C.V. Wigneswaran, Jaffna MP and leader of the Tamil Makkal Thesiya Kootani (TMTK), congratulated M.K. Stalin on his party’s victory in the recent Tamil Nadu elections and being elected as the state’s Chief Minister for the first time.

This weekend marked the 39th birthday of Isaipriya, a famed Tamil newsreader that was executed by the Sri Lankan military in 2009.

In a message marking World Press Freedom Day, Sri Lanka’s Prime Minister, Mahinda Rajapaksa, claimed that under his government media freedom and right to information was always protected but warned journalists to be “unbiased”.

Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) and its alliance parties have trounced the coalition of incumbent All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) to win the 2021 Tamil Nadu Assembly Elections with a majority of over 150 seats.

The Independent Permanent Human Rights Commission (IPHRC) of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation's (OIC) "categorically condemns Sri Lanka's enactment of discriminatory laws under the pretext of 'deradicalization' and 'counter terrorism' prompting arbitrary arrests, torture and banning of [the] Burqa," in a statement released on 29 April 2021.