Events were held by Tamils across the globe to mark the 33rd anniversary of the death of Lt Col Thileepan, a political wing leader of the LTTE who fasted to death in 198

Students at Jaffna University took a knee to commemorate the death of Lt Col Thileepan this morning, despite intimidation from the Sri Lankan security forces a day earlier.

Dozens of students gathered at a memorial at the Jaffna University campus, where they took to their knees and bowed their heads to pay respect to Thileepan’s sacrifice.

Indian Prime minister Narendra Modi told Sri Lanka’s Prime Minister that implementation of the 13th Amendment - which devolves power to a merged North-East - was “essential”, as the two leaders met in a virtual summit today.

Modi told Mahinda Rajapaksa that Sri Lanka must “work towards realizing the expectations of Tamils for equality, justice, peace and dignity within a united Sri Lanka by achieving reconciliation nurtured by implementation of the Constitutional provisions”. 

We were at home mostly during that time, especially the girls. The Indian Army were present, so it was not safe to wander outside. In order to sabotage the hunger strike, the Indian Army would disperse the crowd gathered around him. There was a lot of talk in the community about rumours to stage a ‘kidnapping’ to ruin his hunger strike. The Indian Army were set on disrupting the non-violent campaign somehow.

A series of protests are currently underway across the North-East today as Tamils across the homeland commemorated the death of LTTE’s Lt Col Thileepan, despite a Sri Lankan court ban and intimidation from the security forces.

Politicians, including from the Tamil National People’s Front (TNPF) and the Tamil National Alliance (TNA), joined civil society members and others to commence a fast at the Chavakachcheri Shiva Temple this morning at 10.48 am - the exact time that Thileepan passed away in 1987.

Today marks 33 years since the death of Lt Col Thileepan, a political wing leader of the LTTE who fasted to death, in a protest appealing to the Indian government to honour pledges made to the Tamil people.

Thileepan began his fast on the September 15, 1987, with 100,000 people gathered around the historic Nallur Kandwaswamy Temple in Jaffna.

On September 13, 1987, Thileepan put forward five demands  to the Indian government following the signing of the Indo-Lanka accord in July 1987: 

S P Balasubrahmanyam jots down lyrics while practising for Ulaga Manitham Thalaikal - 21st June 2007. Photograph: Oviar Pugazhenthi

Among the late, great S P Balasubrahmanyam's body of work, which spans over five decades and over 40,000 songs, were several enthusiastic contributions to the Tamil Eelam liberation struggle. Encompassing a variety of styles and speeds, Balasubrahmanyam frequently voiced the lyrics of Eelam revolutionary poets Puthuvai Ratnathurai, who was forcibly disappeared in May 2009, Kasi Ananthan and Joe Puradchi. We look back at a selection of SPB's Eelam liberation songs.

One day after a controversial draft of the 20^th amendment was tabled, a total of twelve petitions were filed in Sri Lanka’s Supreme Court challenging it, including by the Tamil National Alliance, (TNA) and Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB).

The contentious bill is set to replace the 19^th amendment passed in 2015, which strengthened the role of the parliament and curtailed the powers of the country’s president.

^{SPB looks across Eelam as he flies to Jaffna for the first time in 2016.}

As Tamils and music lovers around the world mourn the death of legendary South Indian musician S P Balasubrahmanyam, we look back at his support for Eelam Tamils and his famous 2016 concert in Jaffna.

Before he had visited the island, Balasubrahmanyam was already a household name. The renowned playback singer had already smashed records around the world and recorded dozens of songs praising the Tamil Eelam liberation movement. Given his long history of support for the Eelam struggle, there was a buzz when it was announced that he was to visit Jaffna in 2016 – the first time Balasubrahmanyam would come to the historic city. He was due to perform with another Kollywood celebrity Gangai Amaran, composer and brother of music director Ilayaraaja.

Following the banning of memorials for Lt. Col. Thileepan, who died whilst conducting a hunger strike for Tamil rights in 1987, PEARL () has voiced support for Tamil political parties who have vocally opposed the ban and the planned protests; whilst also condemning the repression that said ban entails.