A December 2024 Boiler Room music event held at the former Rio Cinema, a site set alight during the 1983 anti-Tamil pogroms, has drawn scrutiny over its corporate backing, promotional narrative, and ethical implications. The event, a collaboration between the global music platform Boiler Room, South Asian collective DialledIn, and Colombo based creative agency Fold Media, was publicly promoted as a post-war reconciliation initiative when content was released during July 2025’s Black July memorial period.

As Israel faces global outrage for imposing its siege on Gaza by cutting off food, water, and supplies to 2.3 million Palestinians, observers of Sri Lanka’s ethnic conflict hear chilling echoes. 

Minister Anandasangaree showed courage in advocating for the safety and dignity of his community. That is not a scandal. That is leadership.

The CONIFA Asia Cup concluded last week in London with Tamil Eelam’s team defending their title in a dominant display of footballing skill. In a thrilling final, Tamil Eelam faced off against East Turkistan and secured a resounding 5–0 victory to retain the championship.

More than a decade after Sri Lanka’s civil war ended in 2009, the country still maintains one of the world’s largest standing armies. This enduring militarisation cannot be explained by conventional security needs or fiscal prudence. Sri Lanka is an island with no land borders and faces no significant external military threat, yet its Army remains bloated. Why?

Amid the many protests that have taken place in Colombo denouncing Israel’s genocide in Gaza, one placard stood out this month. It read “From Chemmani to Gaza – the earth remembers what states bury.” 

In a more than 40-minute interview with Ada Derana, during which the issues of accountability and justice in Sri Lanka were repeatedly raised, how many times did the United Nations Resident Coordinator in Sri Lanka, Marc-André Franche, say the word “Tamil”?

AI generated images of the Chemmani mass graves dilute the case for justice and compromise the dignity of the victims.

Readers who are not familiar with the historical events, or who are distant from them, may approach this book solely from a literary perspective—appreciating its narrative structure, prose. But Tamils who lived through these events may read it differently.

While Sri Lanka’s support for Palestine is noteworthy amidst Israel’s ongoing genocide of Palestinians in Gaza, the hypocrisy of this stance reveals itself.