DMK leader M K Stalin called on Indian prime minister Narendra Modi to press Sri Lankan leaders on the issue of Eelam Tamils, stating that the issue needs to be “seriously” acted on.

Sri Lanka’s newly appointed defence secretary vowed to push ahead with Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s election pledge of freeing imprisoned Sri Lankan soldiers, as he slammed efforts to prosecute those who committed human rights abuses.

"A number of war heroes were subjected to a witch hunt and prosecuted,” claimed Kamal Gunaratne, who himself stands accused of war crimes. “This government will bring justice to those who were imprisoned unfairly."

Photographs from across the North-East displaying Tamil culture and the nation’s history of resistance and remembrance were showcased at the Jaffna Photography Festival this weekend.

Marumalarchi Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (MDMK) leader Vaiko Gopalaswamy has urged for support from the Indian Government to maintain diplomacy and protect the interests of the Tamil population of Sri Lanka, as he called for protests ahead of newly appointed Sri Lankan president Gotabaya Rajapaksa's visit to India.

^{Plainclothes Sri Lankan security officers in Mullivaikaal earlier today}

The Sri Lankan security forces have threatened Tamils who have helped organise activities across the North-East ahead of Maaveerar Naal next week.

President of the Tamil National People's Front Gajen Ponnambalam said that “organisers everywhere” had been threatened by both Sri Lanka's military and police.

Tamils in the North-East have continued preparing for Maaveerar Naal on November 27, despite threats and intimidation from Sri Lankan police and security forces.

Local groups observed the tradition of honouring the parents of fallen LTTE fighters in the week preceding Maaveerar Naal with events in some districts. Tamil National Alliance (TNA) MP Sivagnanam Shritharan attended events in Kilinochchi.

In its election manifesto unveiled Sunday, Britain’s Conservative Party emphasised its continued backing for “international initiatives” for reconciliation, stability and justice “across the world” and in “former and current conflict zones”, singling out the situations of divided states in Cyprus, Sri Lanka and the Middle East.

Tamil language signboards have reportedly been vandalised by unidentified persons across Sri Lanka, just days after Gotabaya Rajapaksa was sworn in as president.

Sri Lanka’s newly elected President Gotabaya Rajapaksa inherits more than US$34.4bn worth of debt, a quarter of which are owed to China alone, reports Al Jazeera.

Colombo remains heavily burdened with foreign debt, with the Chinese, in particular, having invested billions in major infrastructure projects ranging from power stations to ports. And as Sri Lanka’s economic crisis worsened, the island was forced to hand over control of Hambantota Port in a debt-for-equity swap with Beijing in 2017.

Newly-elected Gotabaya Rajapaksa stated that he will seek a snap parliamentary election “at the earliest opportunity”, in the wake of his resounding victory at Sri Lanka’s presidential polls last week. 

Though Sri Lanka's existing parliamentary term ends next August, the constitution allows the president to dissolve the legislature and push for an election as early as March 2020.

Currently, Rajapaksa and his allies have just 96 legislators out of a 225-member Parliament, reports Al Jazeera.