Sri Lanka’s former president who oversaw a military invasion of the North-East in the 1990’s was the recipient of the 2019 Common Ground Award in London last month, just weeks before Tamils gathered to mourn the death of those killed in an offensive she ordered.

A Tamil National Alliance (TNA) MP has slammed the Sri Lankan president for denigrating the LTTE leader V Prabhakaran, whom the MP described as the ‘leader of the Tamil people’.

TNA MP Shanthi Sriskandarajah had taken exception to Sri Lankan president Maithripala Sirisena’s comments claiming that the LTTE leader was connected to drug cartels. Ms Sriskandarajah also raised concerns about the timing of Sirisena’s remarks: with the president attempting to press on with executions for drug convictions, the MP accused Sirisena of laying the groundwork to further scapegoat former LTTE cadres as responsible for the drug problem in the North-East.

Twenty-nine years ago, Vellupillai Viyazhamma’s son, V. Ranjan, was forcibly disappeared. Viyazhamma appeared before multiple commissions and inquiries over the years, refreshing her trauma each time in a desperate attempt to find answers to her endless question — what happened to my son? Last week, Viyazhamma passed away in Keppapilavu. At least twenty-one mothers, including Viyazhamma, have died in their pursuit to learn the truth about their disappeared loved ones.

The United Kingdom said that it holds “regular discussions” with Sri Lankan officials regarding implementing a United Nations Human Rights Council resolution on accountability for mass atrocities, and that “more needs to be done” to ensure progress.

Responding to a question from parliamentarian Theresa Villiers on discussions regarding the aftermath of the armed conflict, the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs said the British government wanted to see Sri Lankan implement the UN resolutions on accountability.

A small commemoration ceremony was held in Sampur, in the Trincomalee district, earlier this month, to mark 29 years Tamils were killed by advancing Sri Lankan soldiers.

More than 150 Tamils are thought to have been killed in the offensives which started on 7 July 1990.

General Jagath Jayasuriya, Sri Lanka’s former army chief, has called for military rule in Sri Lanka to resolve the “situation after April 21”, the Easter Sunday Bombing. 

Hundreds of Tamils from across the North-East travelled to Kanniya in Trincomalee to protest the destruction of a Hindu temple to make way for a Buddhist vihara. Several protesters were obstructed and blocked en route by Sri Lankan army and police, while some were assaulted by Sinhalese as security forces watched on.

A protest was held in Batticaloa last week demanding the release of all Tamil political prisoners, and calling for justice over the recent death of one such prisoner in a Sri Lankan jail.