Photograph: IBC Tamil 

Tamils gathered in Trincomalee yesterday to remember the victims of the Kumarapuram massacre where Sri Lankan army corporals went on a rampage killing Tamils in the village 25 years ago.

Photograph: IBC Tamil 

 Muthukumar, a Tamil Nadu activist, who self-immolated in protest against the Indian government's failure to stop the massacre of tens of thousands of Tamils by the Sri Lankan army during the final months of the armed conflict, was commemorated in Jaffna on January 29. 

The Indian government has released its latest records documenting more than 90,000  Eelam Tamil refuges who are currently in India, following data collected by the Commissionerate of Rehabilitation and Welfare of Non-residents Tamils in Tamil Nadu.

In a recent statement, Human Rights Watch (HRW) urged Canada to “lead efforts” in pushing for justice and accountability, as they did in 2015, at the upcoming UNHRC session. 

Speaking in parliament today, Justice minister Ali Sabry claimed that ‘there are no political prisoners in Sri Lanka’.

Responding to questions raised by TNA MP Shanankiyan regarding the governments failure to release Tamil political prisoners, Ali Sabry said that "There are no political prisoners in Sri Lanka...however, there are people in prison who charges have not been filed or cases are pending”.

Following intense international and domestic backlash over Sri Lanka’s Prime Minister, Mahinda Rajapaksa, has claimed in parliament that the burial of bodies suspected of COVID infection will be permitted.

The UK revealed today that it intends to present a new resolution "promoting reconciliation, accountability and human rights in Sri Lanka" at the 46^th session of the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) later this month.

Responding to the thousands of Tamils marching from Puttvil to Polikandy, Human Rights Watch has called on UNHRC council members to heed victim demands and “pass a strong resolution to advance accountability and deter the government from committing further abuses”.

HRW highlights that amongst the demonstrators are Families of the Disappeared, who in defiance of court bans, have launched protests and hunger strikes demanding to know what happened to their loved ones. 

Sri Lanka's prime minister and accused war criminal Mahinda Rajapaksa slammed the five day long protest rally that took place across the Tamil homeland this week, claiming it was "trying to divide the country”.

"Those who are now agitating against the government remained mum during the Yahapalanaya regime, which heaped unbearable burdens on the masses,” said Rajapaksa in comments reported by The Island.

^{Sarath Weerasekara} 

Sri Lanka's public security minister Sarath Weerasekara claimed that his regime is about to file cases against the tens of thousand of Tamil protestors who marched through the North-East in recent days, adding that Tamil politicians who attended needed to have been tear gassed and arrested.

Weerasekara, a former Sri Lankan Navy admiral, was speaking on a Hiru TV, when asked how he will deal with the Tamils and Muslims who took part in the peaceful protest he responded.