Notorious racist Sinhala Buddhist monk Ampitiye Sumanarathana has pledged his support to Sri Lankan President Anura Kumara Dissanayake following a meeting in Batticaloa earlier this month, announcing that he would distance himself from what he termed the "Rajapaksa Nikaya".

In a video statement released after the meeting, Sumanarathana said he had previously indicated that he would take further action if efforts to engage with Dissanayake proved unsuccessful.

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister C. Joseph Vijay made his maiden official visit to New Delhi on Wednesday, holding meetings with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, whilst raising issues ranging from the arrest of Tamil Nadu fishermen by the Sri Lankan Navy to disputes over the Cauvery river and the status of Tamil cultural traditions at official state functions.

Three Tamils, including singer Kokulan, the son of late musician S.G. Santhan, have been summoned to the occupying Sri Lankan police station in Kopay to provide statements, after the security forces abruptly halted a song performance midway at a musical event held in Urumpirai, Jaffna.

 

Students and activists at Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) in New Delhi observed Tamil Genocide Remembrance Day on 18 May, joining Tamils across the world in remembering the tens of thousands massacred by the Sri Lankan state.

Participants lit candles in remembrance during a vigil, as attendees gathered in tribute to the victims of the Mullivaikkal genocide.

A new report by Amnesty International has found that Malayaga Tamil workers employed on private tea estates and smallholdings in Sri Lanka’s Southern Province are subjected to widespread labour abuses that may amount to forced labour under international law.

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Vijay has urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to secure the release of Indian fishermen detained in Sri Lanka and their seized boats

 

Tamil Americans in North Carolina gathered in Cary earlier this month to commemorate Tamil Genocide Remembrance Day and honour the memory of the tens of thousands of Tamils killed during the armed conflict in the Tamil homeland.

The United States Congress’ Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission (TLHRC) has renewed calls for accountability and redress for wartime abuses in Sri Lanka, marking Tamil Genocide Remembrance Day by highlighting the continuing absence of justice for Tamil victims and survivors seventeen years after the end of the armed conflict.

Tamil Americans in the Washington, D.C. area marked the 17th anniversary of the Mullivaikkal genocide on 17 May with an interfaith memorial event and planted a memorial tree dedicated to Tamil lives lost during the armed conflict.

A senior Sinhala Buddhist monk accused of raping and sexually abusing a minor girl over a period of several years has been released on bail, despite mounting scrutiny over the handling of the investigation and allegations of delays by Sri Lankan police in taking action.