Photograph HRW Arunachalam Camp, Menik Farm 19 Aug 2009 Next week, the Global Summit to End Sexual Violence in Conflict is due to take place in London, co-hosted by the UK's Foreign Secretary, William Hague and the Special Envoy for the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, Angelina Jolie. In the run up to the ESVC summit, we revisit the mounting evidence which documents the widespread, systematic and on-going use of sexual violence by Sri Lanka's military against Tamils , that occurs with absolute impunity. See our full feature: 'Sexual Violence in Conflict: Sri Lanka' As the armed conflict drew to an end in May 2009, an estimated 300,000 Tamils, who had faced repeated displacement, shelling and a severe lack of humanitarian aid, were forced into IDP camps run by the military and detained there for several months on end. Reports of rape, sexual assault and forced prostitution rings run by the military soon began to emerge from the camps. A Tamil medic, based in the UK who had been working as an aid worker in the Vanni during the armed conflict before being detained in the notorious Menik Farm camp, Damilvany Kumar, told The Observer : " Sexual abuse is something that was a common thing, that I personally saw. In the visitor area relatives would be the other side of the fence and we would be in the camp. Girls came to wait for their relatives and military officers would come and touch them, and that's something I saw. "The girls usually didn't talk back to them, because they knew that in the camp if they talked anything could happen to them. It was quite open, everyone could see the military officers touching the girls,"

Sri Lankan government Minister Wimal Weerawansa has warned that newly elected Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi poses a threat to Sri Lanka’s stability, according to the Colombo Gazette . The leader of the National Freedom Front said, “it is only the Sri Lankan people who can decide on the 13th Amendment and what’s best for Sri Lanka”, with reference to the Indian Prime Minister. His comments come after Prime Minister Modi told the Sri Lankan President that he must go “beyond” the 13th amendment, when they met in Delhi. Weerawansa, who has threatened to pull his party out of the ruling...

International actors who are pushing for reconciliation must respond proactively to the Sri Lankan government's denial of the Tamil people's right to mourn their dead, said exiled Tamil journalist Nirmanusan Balasundaram in a piece published on Monday. Writing for Journalists for Democracy Sri Lanka, Balasundaram states that the Sri Lankan government continues to wage war on the Tamil populace, through acts such as the banning of any memorial events and the isolation of the Tamil diaspora. Despite this, the diaspora continues to build non-violent strategies to counter government moves, noted Balasundaram, adding that international actors who push for reconciliation must respond proactively to the government's actions.

Starting lineup of Tamil Eelam (Pictures: Tamil Guardian) The Tamil Eelam football team put up an impressive display against Arameans Suryoye, despite losing their opening match at the ConIFA World Cup 2-0. The match, taking place at the Jamkraft Arena in Ostersund, Sweden, was a lively encounter between the two teams, as they played each other for the first time.