Tamils in Toronto gathered on May 18 to commemorate 15 years since the Mulivaikkal massacres, an event that has officially been recognised as Tamil Genocide Remembrance Day in Canada. 

The remembrance event which saw hundreds in attendance at Albert Campbell Square in Scarborough, was organised by the National Council of Canadian Tamils (NCCT) and Tamil Youth Organization Canada (TYO).

Tamil Americans in North Carolina held an event to commemorate Tamil Genocide Remembrance Day, where they reiterated the Tamil people’s right to self-determination and demands for an independence referendum.

The event saw speeches and readings from a range of community members at the Herbert C. Young Community Center in Cary.

US Houses Representatives Wiley Nickel and Deborah Ross highlighted the significance of recognizing the genocide and affirming the Tamil people's right to self-determination.

A 23-year-old Tamil woman was killed when the bicycle she was riding collided with a van belonging to the Sri Lankan army in Jaffna on Monday.

The woman, identified as Sudhakaran Saruja, was returning from buying milk at her local shop in Puttur, Jaffna, when the collision occurred.

She was seriously injured and rushed to the Achuveli Hospital where she was pronounced dead upon admission. 

She was killed on her birthday, having just turned 23-years-old.

Upon the conclusion of Agnès Callamard, Amnesty International’s Secretary General, five day visit to Sri Lanka, the organisation issued a statement noting that "it is not just the successive governments [...but] all those in positions of leadership, from elected officials, opposition leaders, religious establishments and the media has failed in its fight against impunity". 

Approximately 160 acres of land in Nadukkuda in Mannar, including Tamil residential land, has been sold to a private Indian company for sand mining, according to local reports.

Photographs of the site taken before and after show concrete columns have been erected to create a perimeter around the land, which includes parcels individually owned by residents.

Former Northern Provincial Council member Thurairasa Ravikaran denounced attempts by the Sri Lankan government to pursue the development of the Mahaweli L Zone adding that it will alter the composition of an all-Tamil region by creating Sinhalese settlements.

Speaking at a media briefing in Jaffna earlier this month, Ravikaran told reporters that Tamil residents in Mullaitivu have met with the Northern Provincial Governor P.S.M Charles and have lodged their complaint against the forcible encroachment. 

On 18 May, Tamil Genocide Remembrance Day was jointly commemorated by the Ottawa Tamil Association (OTA), the National Capital Region Tamil Association (NCRTA), the University of Ottawa Tamil Student Union (TSU), Ottawa Tamil Academy of Culture & Technology (OTACT), Canada Muththamizh Sangam,  Carleton University Tamil Student Association (CUTSA), Ottawa Tamil Seniors Association (OTSA), and Tamil Genocide Memorial (TGM). 

Dozens of Sri Lankan police officers were deployed and one man was carried away by officers as several Sinhalese individuals attempted to disrupt a Mullivaikkal commemoration in Wellawatta, Colombo on Saturday morning, May 18. 

All photographs courtesy of Kumanan Kanapathipillai

Thousands of Tamils gathered at Mullivaikkal memorial yard to mourn their loved ones who were massacred in Sri Lanka's military offensive in 2009. 

Writing on the anniversary of the Mullivaikkal genocide, Madura Rasaratnam, Interim Executive Director of PEARL & Ambikai Akilan, Advocacy Officer of PEARL, detail the need to hold Sri Lanka accountable for the war crimes committed in 2009. These crimes continue to afflict the island and Sri Lanka provides a useful lesson for the Israel-Gaza conflict, the piece maintains.