Photo of Scarborough-Rouge Park MPP Vijay Thanigasalam

Ontario has passed Bill 104, the Tamil Genocide Education Week Act, recognising the genocide against Tamils in Sri Lanka and establishing May 11 to 18 as a week in which Ontarians “are encouraged to educate themselves about, and to maintain their awareness of, the Tamil genocide and other genocides that have occurred in world history.”

Sri Lanka’s Wildlife Conservation Department has announced that all tourist attractions that it operates, including parks, campsites, and tourist bungalows, will be closed as Sri Lanka continues to struggle with its rapidly rising COVID infection rate.

Tamil National Alliance (TNA) parliamentarian Sivagnanam Shritharan has demanded that the Sri Lankan government grant permission for the Tamils to commemorate those who perished in the Mullivaikkal genocide. 

Speaking to the press last Friday, Shritharan said, “The government must grant permission to commemorate May 18, the Mullivaikal massacre day, a day in which Tamil people remember by shedding tears those who lived amongst us and died.”  

Silva at a Sri Lankan military-run quarantine centre last year.

Public Health Inspectors (PHS) have reported that Sri Lanka has a higher rate of covid-19 infections compared to India on the basis of the country population.

On this day 45 years ago, the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) was founded.

Viral footage has shown Sri Lanka police dragging Jaffna Tamils away and forcing them to quarantine. In a special operation carried out today by Jaffna police under the instruction of Chief Inspector, Prasad Fernando, at least 20 Tamils in Jaffna were arrested for allegedly not wearing masks or following social distancing measures.

Coordinating Secretary to the Prime Minister of Sri Lanka, Geethanath Kassilingham, has been appointed as the state’s "special Rehabilitation Facilitation Officer" for the North-East as a military crackdown on the North-East intensifies.

Speaking to investigative journalist, Phil Miller, former Justice Minister for Scottish Parliament, Kenny Macaskill, admits to turning a ‘blind eye’ to Police Scotland’s training of Sri Lanka’s forces, despite concern over human rights violations.

Turning a blind eye

Tamil politicians and parliamentarians belonging to the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) and the Tamil National People’s Front (TNPF) have decried the Sri Lankan government’s plan to bring a collection of Tamil villages in Mullaitivu district under the Mahaweli Development Project, a move they allege is an attempt to colonise the link between the Northern and Eastern province, the traditional Tamil homeland. 

The Jaffna Press Club marked World Press Freedom Day with a commemoration event on Monday, to remember the Tamil journalists who have been killed in Sri Lanka. 

Journalists lit candles and laid flowers in tribute to their murdered colleagues.