Photograph Tamil Guardian People across the Northern Province protested against the rape and murder of an 18 year old Tamil school girl in Pungudutivu on Wednesday. Sivaloganathan Vithiya, a student at Pungudutivu Maha Vidyalayam, was abducted on Wednesday. She was raped and killed, and was found in an abandoned house the next day. Locals in Pungudutivu, a small island off the coast of Jaffna, blockaded roads with logs and burning tires, amidst angry scenes. Protests took place across the Jaffna peninsula and beyond, condemning the killing and the culture of impunity in the region. Students at Jaffna University, Kilinochchi, Mullaithivu and other towns also held protests.
Continuing the remembrance of the victims of mass atrocities at the hands of the Sri Lankan state during the armed conflict, TNA Northern Province councillors on Friday held an event in Jaffna. Amidst heavy rainfall, councillors MK Shivajilingam, Ananthy Sasitharan, Sukirthan, Ayngaranesan and Kajatheeban, alongside members of the public, lit a commemorative flame. Earlier this week, events were held in Mullivaikal and Point Pedro .
Peace has not yet been achieved in Sri Lanka, said the leader of the Canadian opposition, Justin Trudeau, in a statement commemorating the end of the armed conflict between the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) and Sri Lankan government in May 2009. Extending his “deepest sympathies and support” to the Tamil Canadian community on Friday, the leader of Liberal Party in Canada, Mr Trudeau, said, “Despite the end of the armed conflict six years ago, peace has not yet been achieved in Sri Lanka. Thousands of civilians continue to live in makeshift camps, families have lost their properties to the army, those who surrendered have not been accounted, and thousands of civilians are in prison without charge or conviction. Moreover, documented reports of sexual violence perpetuated by the Sri Lankan armed security forces continue to surface.” Reiterating the party’s commitment to accountability and justice for mass atrocities in Sri Lanka, the statement said, “On behalf of the Liberal Party of Canada and our Parliamentary Caucus, I reaffirm our commitment to seeking accountability and justice for the many who have suffered the terrible consequences of this protracted war, and to working with the international community to pursue true and lasting peace on the island.”
The Sri Lanka's cabinet spokesperson, Rajitha Senaratne, announced on Friday that May 19th, which was previously marked as 'Victory Day' will now be commemorated as 'Remembrance Day' in order to "recall the sacrifices of all those who had fought to maintain the unity and integrity of the country irrespective of their ethnicity". "It will be a War Heroes Commemoration Day as well as a civilian Remembrance Day," Minister Senaratne told reporters. Despite the change in name however, the Sri Lankan president, Maithripala Sirisena, will be overseeing a military parade on that day in the southern city of Matara, reports Colombo Page . The announcement comes just days after the the minister of public administration, Karu Jayasuriya, warned against any remembrance of fallen LTTE cadre.
Photograph BattiNews The massacre of tens of thousands of Tamils during the end of the armed conflict six years ago was remembered in Trincomalee on Wednesday, reports BattiNews .
Mullivaikal remembrance event in Point Pedro, Jaffna (Photos: Tamil Guardian) The commemoration of the Mullivaikal remembrance week continued today in the North-Eastern town of Point Pedro, on the Jaffna peninsula. Several members of the NPC, alongside other Tamil officials and locals attended the event at the light house in the town on Thursday morning.
Major General Jagath Dias, who is thought to be responsible for large-scale mass atrocities against Tamils, has been appointed as the chief of staff of the Sri Lankan Army. Mr Dias, who is also the commander of the security forces for Mullaithivu replaces Major General S. Samarasinghe, after his retirement on May 7, military spokesperson Jayanath Jayaweera said. The major general was in command of the 57th division during the armed conflict against the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam. He is suspected to be directly responsible and hold command responsibility for mass atrocities committed by his troops, especially during the final phase of the war.
The Sri Lankan government is “duty-bound” to celebrate the “war victory” on May 18, the National Movement for the Protection of Liberated Land (NMPLL) said, according to the Daily Mirror . The movement’s Bengamuwe Nalaka, a Buddhist monk, said the government had allowed the TNA to commemorate the memory of “LTTE terrorists”. “LTTE activities have not stopped completely even today. While the LTTE is banned internationally, the government has allowed the TNA to commemorate the memory of dead LTTE terrorists. The TNA considers LTTE leader Velupillai Prabhakaran as its hero,” he said, adding that his organisation would commemorate “war heroes” alongside some opposition parties at Independence Square in Colombo on May 18.
The United Nations Refugee Agency called on Sri Lanka to resume ferry services between India and Sri Lanka to help Tamil refugees in India return to the North-East of Sri Lanka. A representative of the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) Golam Abbas, commenting on the need for Tamil refugees in India to return to their lands in Sri Lanka, said, “We look forward to the resumption of the ferry service between India and Sri Lanka that would be of enormous support to those who wish to return.” The statement comes as 40 refugees left for Sri Lanka from Chennai with the help of the UNHCR on Wednesday, reports the Economic Times. There are an estimated 100,000 Tamil refugees who fled the North-East of Sri Lanka to seek asylum in India.
Sri Lanka’s finance ministry has been directed to apply for a US $165 million load from the World Bank for water supply, announced cabinet spokesman Rajtha Senaratne on Thursday. The funds are to contribute towards work done to improve water supply and sanitation facilities in 540 villages including Nuwara Wliya, Badulla, Kegalle, Moneragala, Tarnapura, Mullaitivu and Kilinochchi, reports EconomyNext .