The chief minister of the northern province, C V Wigneswaran and his team visited the Mullivaikkal memorial ground on Wednesday afternoon to check on preparations ahead of the Tamil genocide remembrance event planned for May 18. 

Former LTTE cadres, students from North-East universities, Northern Provincial Council members and local residents have spent recent days helping to clear and prepare the site ahead of tomorrow. 

Schools across the Northern Province have decided to fly the Northern Provincial Council flag at half mast on May 18 in respect of those the Tamils who were killed in the final stages of the armed conflict. 

The move was requested by the NPC's education minister, Kandiah Sareswaran in a circular sent to school principals on Wednesday. 

He also requested all staff and students to hold a moment's silence at 11am on May 18. 

^{Photograph: In this image released by the military, a Tamil man waves a white cloth in the air as he is surrounded by Sri Lankan soldiers in Mullivaikkal on May 17th 2009.}

Marking 9 years since the Sri Lankan military onslaught that massacred tens of thousands of Tamils, we revisit the final days leading up to the 18^th of May 2009 – a date remembered around the world as ‘Tamil Genocide Day’.  The total number of Tamil civilians killed during the final months is widely contested. After providing an initial death toll of 40,000, the UN found evidence suggesting that 70,000 were killed. Local census records indicate that at least 146,679 people are unaccounted for and presumed to have been killed during the Sri Lankan military offensive.

Stories of Mullivaikkal, a collection of stories showcasing the individual strength and resilience of survivors of the final phases of the war, was released by the Adayaalam Centre for Policy Research on Tuesday.

The book launch which took place at the Jaffna Public Library began with the lighting of lamps, to commemorate the victims of Mullivaikkal.

Adayaalam’s Research Director, Dharsha Jegatheeswaran, and Senior Researcher, Anushani Alagarajah, introduced the stories, part of the organisation’s wider ‘Stories of Resilience’ project.

Organisers have begun preparing for a remembrance ceremony at Mullivaikkal to be held later this week, as Tamils around the world prepare to mark May 18.

Families protested on Saturday against micro-finance loans provided by private companies that are causing people to become more in debt. 

Protesters in Vanthaaramoolai, Batticaloa highlighted rising rates of depression and family disputes over spiralling personal debts, as well as suicides. 

Members of Valikaamam West Pradeshiya Sabha on Tuesday remembered the tens of thousands of Tamils killed during the final stages of the armed conflict. 

Pradeshiya Sabha members lit candles and held a moment's silence during their 3rd session since the recent election.

A mobile tribute to the victims of the May 2009 reached Nallur today, after setting off from Valvettithurai yesterday. 

The remembrance vehicle, which is to do a tour of the Northern province, is expected to reach Mullivaikkal on May 18. 

Crusaders for Democracy this week called on the Sri Lankan president to release all the Tamil political prisoners who continued to be held in detention ahead of May 18. 

Speaking to journalists at their Jaffna office on Tuesday the party's media spokesperson, Thulasi said that it would be appropriate to release the prisoners at this time as Tamils remember the genocide that took place in the final stages of the armed conflict in 2009. 

"All Tamils participated in the struggle. It is not reasonable to hold some Tamils in prisons for it," he added. 

US-based advocacy group PEARL has documented Sri Lanka’s failure to fulfil its transitional justice commitments and the international community’s complacency towards it, in the organisation’s new report “Delayed or Denied? Sri Lanka’s Failing Transitional Justice Process.”