A plain-clothed Sri Lankan intelligence officer videoed Tamil families of the disappeared as they marked Human Rights Day in Mullaitivu yesterday. 

Tamil families of the disappeared marked Human Rights Day with protests in Jaffna, Mannar, Vavuniya and Trincomalee as they continue to demand to know the fate of their loved ones who were forcibly disappeared by the Sri Lankan state.  Tamil families have been protesting across the North-East for years in a bid to find the truth about their loved ones, many of whom were forcibly disappeared when they surrendered to the Sri Lankan military at the end of the armed conflict in May 2009.

The United States has sanctioned two Sri Lankan officials and their immediate families over corruption, rendering them unable to enter the country in a move to mark International Human Rights Day. Sri Lanka’s former Ambassador to Russia Udayanga Weeratunga and the former CEO of Sri Lanka Airlines Kapila Chandrasena have both been sanctioned for their “involvement in significant corruption”.

The Sri Lankan military has refused to dismantle an occupying base in Karkovalam, Jaffna, despite a decision by the cabinet that the camp be removed.

Jaffna District MP Dr Ramanathan Archuna claimed that he was assaulted on December 3rd within the premises of the Opposition Leader’s office in the parliament by Sinhala parliamentarian Sujith Sanjaya Perera.

Speaking in Sri Lanka’s parliament last week Ilankai Tamil Arasu Katchi (ITAK) parliamentarian S Shritharan called on the Sri Lankan president to enact a political solution that respects the identity and rights of Eelam Tamils.

Sri Lankan police interrogated two Tamil men for organising commemorative events during Maaveerar remembrance week in Kokkuvil, Jaffna. 

For too long, the United Kingdom has pursued a flawed and outdated policy on Sri Lanka. It has left Britain lagging behind its international allies, some of whom imposed targeted sanctions years ago. The UK must not just catch up. If it seeks to maintain its influence on the island and the region as a whole, it must go further and lead.

On the same day that eight Indian fishermen who were arrested by the Sri Lankan navy were flown to Chennai, the security forces announced it had detained two more Indian fishing boats and 14 Tamil Nadu fishermen, as tensions across the Palk Strait continued.

The Indian High Commission celebrated the repatriation of the eight fishermen with a tweet on Thursday.

Sri Lanka’s Public Security Minister Ananda Wijepala admitted that more than 244 Maaveerar Naal commemoration events took place across the North-East last week, as Tamils across the homeland paid tribute to those who gave their lives fighting for an independent state.

Wijepala made a special statement to Parliament on December 4 stating that out of the 244 commemorations, 10 displayed the Tamil Eelam flag or displayed images related to the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE).