Eelam People's Democratic Party (EPDP) leader and fisheries minister Douglas Devananda stated that he was “pleased to hear about the happy news” when describing the recent Sri Lankan navy attacks on Tamil Nadu fisherman.

Reporting on the continued militarization of the North-East, PEARL (People for Equality and Relief in Lanka) highlights that in Kankesanthurai (KKS) region there is “least 40 military bases, 4 police institutions, 4 army canteens and resorts, and 3 Buddhist temples” within just 90 square kilometres of land.

A Sri Lankan army officer has been accused of racially abusing and threatening medical staff at a hospital in Manalaru. Brigadier K K S Parakum reportedly abused the head and medical staff at Sampathnuwara district hospital in Manalaru, the colonised area of Mullaitivu now known as Weli Oya.

Parakum is reported to have said in Sinhala: 'Bloody Tamil', 'I will kill you', 'this is my area', 'terrorists', 'Prabhakaran'.

Consequently, the Government Medical Officers’ Association (GMOA) have been forced to withdraw the services at DH Sampathnuwara under the grounds of trade union measures and the safety of members.

A Tamil director has requested for ‘urgent’ protection for his life after claiming he received several life threatening messages for asking Vijay Sethupathi to opt out of the controversial Muttiah Muralitharan biopic ‘800’. 

Seenu Ramasamy, who worked with Vijay Sethupathi in the Tamil films ‘Dharma Durai’ and ‘Thenmerku Paruvakaatru, insisted that his life was “in danger” and took to Twitter to call for Tamil Nadu’s Chief Minister to offer him some sort of security.

Ramasamy tweeted on Wednesday, “I feel that my life is in danger. Chief Minister [ayya]’s help is needed. Urgent.”

Sri Lanka has seen a recent rise in COVID-19 cases causing authorities to increase the coronavirus-related curfew zones to 56 police divisions and increasing militarisation, which many human rights advocates have voiced concern over.  

So far, the island has reported over 8,000 COVID-19 cases with the total number of deaths rising to 16. More than half of these cases can be seen from just two clusters, a garment export factory in Minuwangoda, Western Province, and a wholesale fish market in Peliyagoda, a suburban area of Colombo.

The Sri Lankan government has also expanded its “quarantine curfew” to include several localities in and around Colombo this weekend, regardless of the fact no isolated case has been reported outside of these two key clusters, to be termed as a community spread, according to Dr. Sudath Samaraweera, Chief Epidemiologist at the Ministry of Health.

The proliferation of Sri Lankan military checkpoints, illegal fishing by Sinhala fishermen with the assistance of the navy and the army takeover of a hospital for a COVID quarantine centre are amongst some of the many measures that are impacting on the livelihood of Tamils in the North-East, said Tamil National People’s Front (TNPF) lawmaker Selvarajah Kajendren.

Sri Lankan prime minister Mahinda Rajapaksa reportedly shunned a meeting with visiting US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, with the regime “opposed” to the trip from the senior US official, claimed a government minister.

Wimal Weerawansa, an outspoken Sinhala chauvinist politician and leader of the National Freedom Front party, told reporters that both prime minister and his brother Sri Lankan president Gotabaya Rajapaksa were opposed to the Pompeo visit.

As US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo visited Sri Lanka this week, he was asked repeatedly about a travel ban imposed on the head of Sri Lanka’s army Shavendra Silva over his role in overseeing war crimes.

The Sri Lankan navy has attacked Tamil fishermen from Rameshwaram, Tamil Nadu early Tuesday this week, in yet another assault on Indian fishermen in a pattern that has been ongoing for years.

Whilst the fishermen were fishing in Dhanushkodi, the Sri Lankan navy is reported to have been patrolling in the area and have allegedly attacked the Tamil fishermen using stones, glass bottles and also destroyed the fishing material. The navy has also been accused of intimidating the fishermen at gunpoint.

Sri Lanka's government bonds fell heavily on Wednesday after US Secretary of State, Mike Pompeo, met with Sri Lankan president Gotabaya Rajapaksa and scrutinised the island's economic links with China as well as Colombo's human rights record.