To mark International Day in Support of Victims of Torture on June 26, the International Truth and Justice Project (ITJP) and Journalists for Democracy in Sri Lanka (JDS) have produced a torture map of Sri Lanka.

The map highlights 219 sites located across the island used for torture of Tamils, Sinhalese and Muslims by the army, police, navy, and paramilitaries over the last 30 years.

Sri Lankan army officers involved in “crushing the second Janatha Vimkuthi Peramuna (JVP) uprising, went on to commit war crimes and crimes against humanity against Tamils with total impunity,” Yasmin Sooka, the Executive Director of ITJP, said.

The Turkish Embassy “strongly rejects the baseless allegations” made by Galagoda Aththe Gnanasara associating Turkey with extremist activities in Sri Lanka.

In a press release, the Turkish embassy rejected the allegations made by the extremist monk in a statement published online on Lankadeep on June 15, 2020.  

An unofficial translation of Gnanasara’s statement:

Tamil Nadu’s Minister for Dairy Development said his government had rejected a proposal to sell milk to the Sri Lankan military, stating that the armed forces were responsible for killing tens of thousands of Tamils.

K T Rajenthra Bhalaji said the proposed offer “came to the government through a private agency here”.

“But Chief Minister, Edappadi K. Palaniswami has rejected it as the people of Tamil Nadu would not like milk to be supplied to the Lankan military that has killed lakhs of Tamils,” he continued.

Former British Environment Secretary Theresa Villiers praised the contribution of British Tamils during a debate in parliament that discussed inequalities and levels of deaths in Black, Asian and minority ethnic communities (BAME) due to the coronavirus outbreak in the UK.

Villiers told the House of Commons that it “has been deeply disturbing to watch and witness the impact of covid-19 on people from Black, Asian and minority ethnic communities” as she paid tribute to “all BAME workers on the frontline in the NHS, in social care, in transport, in council services, in retail and in the police, especially those in my Chipping Barnet constituency”.

Villiers concluded by quoting a British Tamil nurse, stating that “British Tamils are one of many minority communities represented in my constituency, and I have always been hugely impressed by the immense contribution they make to our national health service”.

The United States will support a sustainable economic recovery in Sri Lanka as it recovers from the COVID-19 pandemic, the US Ambassador said earlier this week.

In a roundtable discussion with journalists, Alaina Teplitz, said that the US remains a “steadfast partner” and will continue contribute to Sri Lanka to manage the pandemic, the Daily FT reported.

Teplitz commented on Sri Lanka’s efforts to contain the virus, however, did not address the increasing clampdown of expression in Sri Lanka since the outbreak.

Sri Lanka’s Terrorist Investigation Department (TID) has detained a Tamil man from Neerveli over a reported explosion near a military camp in Vallai last Friday.

The man was arrested after the Sri Lankan military carried out an investigation Putharmadathadi in Neerveli.

However there continue to be conflicting reports around the explosion, after police initially arrived at the scene last week and the soldiers at the camp reportedly refuse to co-operate with a police investigation.

On Wednesday evening, the Peel District School Board in Canada made a welcome reversal. It retracted a tweet that was sent out ‘clarifying’ their position on the Tamil genocide, following pressure from Sri Lanka’s foreign office. Peel has now acknowledged that it was wrong to do so and accepted that its actions “resulted in pain to Tamil students, their families and the Tamil staff,” whilst pledging to recognise and support efforts around Tamil genocide education going forward. The move is a promising gesture and marks a victory for activists in Canada, in the Tamil homeland and around the world in their fight for accountability and justice.

After Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa established an all Sinhala task force, which includes Buddhist monks and alleged war criminals, to “preserve the historical heritage of Sri Lanka” in the Eastern province, we take a closer look at Sinhalisation efforts that have already taken place in the region.

The Peel District School Board has apologised to the Tamil community for the “significant hurt” it caused when it issued a clarification on a statement made on May 18 to commemorate the Mullivaikkal Genocide, and has now pledged to support Tamil genocide education efforts.

Amnesty International has released a report on the continued persecution of Muslims in Sri Lanka in advance of the UN Special Rapporteur’s report on eliminating intolerance and discrimination based on religion or belief.

The report, issued on 16 June, highlights continued patterns of violence and discrimination towards Muslims; discrimination during the COVID-19 pandemic; concerns over the all-Sinhala Presidential task force for the preservation of archaeological sites; and the arrest of prominent Muslim public figures such as Hejaaz Hizbullah.