Former Northern Provincial Council member Shivajilingam has been released on bail by the Jaffna Magistrate Court after he was arrested by the police for paying tribute to thiyaga theepam Lt Col Thileepan defying a ban imposed by Sri Lankan authorities on his commemoration.

Reporting on the developments towards transitional justice since his first visit in March 2015, the UN Special Rapporteur on the promotion of truth, justice, reparation and guarantees of non-recurrence, Pablo de Greiff, noted that Sri Lanka appears to have missed a “historic opportunity” for sustainable peace due to the government’s “lack of commitment”

Sri Lankan police have summoned the Batticaloa Organiser of the Tamil National People’s Front (TNPF) over attempts to commemorate the anniversary of Lt Col Thileepan’s fast unto death, as the security forces continue their crackdown across the Tamil homeland.

The TNPF said that Dharmaratanam Suresh has been summoned by police for questioning, in a tweet released earlier today.

British Tamils protested outside the prime minister’s office at Downing Street last week, calling on the UK to arrested and investigate Sri Lanka’s Defence Attaché Brigadier BDSN Bothota for genocide.

Local Tamils in a Vavuniya village took to the streets early this week protesting against a statement made by Dileepan, an Eelam People’s Democratic Party (EPDP) parliamentarian, who they claimed insulted the village at a recent meeting of the provincial coordination group.

7 Canadian Tamils have concluded their “Walk for Justice” this Monday, after walking over 400 km within 14 days to the Capital on Parliament Hill, demanding justice for enforced disappearances of Tamils in Sri Lanka.

The Sri Lankan foreign ministry has slammed the United Nations over reports that senior military officials oversaw crimes against humanity and labelled the reports as “unacceptable”, as Colombo defended its pardon of a Sri Lankan soldier who was convicted for war crimes.

<p>Sri Lankan police have banned activities commemorating Lt Col Thileepan’s fast unto death in Vavuniya, as part of a crackdown on remembrance across the North-East.</p> <p>Prabhakaran Janujan, a Tamil National People’s Front (TNPF) member of the Vavuniya Municipal Council said that Vavuniya Police have denied permission for an event that was to be held in Vavuniya today, Wednesday 16 September.</p>

Sri Lanka’s military took a delegation of foreign military student officers and their families on a tour of the North-East last month, as it continued to foster its military relations around the world.

The delegation, consisted of officers from Bangladesh, China, India, Indonesia, Maldives, Nepal, Oman, Pakistan, Rwanda, Saudi Arabia and Sudan. Another delegation of 46 Officer Cadets from the Sri Lanka Military Academy (SLMA) also toured the region, which continues to be occupied by the military. 

Speaking on behalf of the Core Group, which includes the UK, Canada, Germany, North Macedonia, and Montenegro; Rita French, the UK International Ambassador, reiterate the group’s ‘profound disappointment’ over Sri Lanka’s withdraw from UN Resolution 30/1 and expressed scepticism over the ‘new domestic process’ for addressing issues of reconciliation.

^{A Sri Lankan policeman walks past the Thileepan memorial in Nallur after security forces removed decorations that had been set up to commemorate Thileepan's hunger strike.}

Sri Lankan police in Jaffna have arrested at least one Tamil politician and removed decorations that had been set up in Nallur to mark the 33rd commemoration of Lt Col Thileepan’s hunger strike this morning. 

M K  Shivajilingam, a former northern provincial council member, was arrested this morning as he attempted pay tribute to Thileepan in Nallur. The arrest comes after security forces reportedly destroyed arrangements made for the remembrance in the early hours of Tuesday, September 15, which marks the beginning of the week-long commemoration. 

Today marks 33  years since Lt Col. Thileepan began his hunger strike at Nallur Kandaswamy Temple in protest against the failure of the Indian government to honour the pledges made to the Tamil people. 

Thileepan began his fast on 15^th September 1987, surrounded by over 100,000 supporters, and died 11 days later, on the 26^th September 1987. 

Speaking to Sputnik News, Professor Jude Lal Fernando, from Trinity College Dublin, illustrates that Britain’s complicity in Sri Lankan war crimes was not incidental, nor the actions of a few rogue actors, but rather part of a broader mission which was seen as safeguarding its “imperial interests”.

The United National Party (UNP) has announced that Ranil Wickramasinghe will remain leader until January 2021 following a dismal performance at Sri Lanka’s parliamentary elections.