Former Sri Lankan minister and Pivithuru Hela Urumaya leader Udaya Gammanpila has dismissed the ongoing forensic excavation of mass graves in Chemmani, Jaffna, as “pointless and a waste of money,” drawing outrage from families of the disappeared and Tamil rights advocates across the North-East.

“The North is war-ravaged so mass graves will appear anywhere,” Gammanpila, a Sinhala extremist leader, told the media. “Digging them up and commenting [on them] is pointless and a waste of money.”

On August 4, 2006, Sri Lankan security forces summarily executed 17 aid workers from the French NGO, Action la Contre Faim (ACF), in Muttur, Trincomalee. 

The killings, which have since been dubbed the 'Muttur massacre', took place at the organisation's compound where the ACF team was based as they provided humanitarian assistance to the survivors of the catastrophic tsunami in 2004. 

UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk has responded to letters sent by Tamil political parties and civil society organisations following his recent visit to Sri Lanka, claiming he would “continue to advocate for complementary strategies to provide pathways to advance justice for victims at the international level.”

36 years ago, up to 64 Tamil civilians were killed by the Indian Peace Keeping Force (IPKF) in Valvettithurai in a massacre that was termed “India’s My Lai”.

Tamil actor Sasikumar has addressed the criticism surrounding his recent film 'Tourist Family', in an interview with film critic Sudhir Srinivasan, in which he defends speaking up for Eelam Tamils and slammed film censorship in India.

The discussion covered criticisms focusing on the film’s portrayal of Eelam Tamil refugees in India. Sasikumar responds to concerns about whitewashing, censorship, and representation, while also speaking about his upcoming film, 'Freedom', which features Eelam Tamil characters but in a different light.

Over 200 people, including families of the disappeared, gathered to view dozens of items of evidence that were unearthed from the Chemmani mass graves earlier today, as more bodies continue to be identified at the site.

The recent arrest of former Sri Lankan Navy Commander Admiral Nishantha Ulugetenne has intensified calls for accountability, with the International Truth and Justice Project (ITJP) releasing a new dossier, details his links to one of the island’s most notorious torture sites.

A coalition of Tamil political parties, over 100 civil society groups, religious leaders, and academic institutions from across the North-East have called on member states of the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) to take decisive action against Sri Lanka by initiating a referral to the International Criminal Court (ICC) for the crime of genocide.

Australian Senators have issued calls for an international investigation into the mass graves in Chemmani, Jaffna, where forensic teams have exhumed more than 130 skeletal remains so far.

Anger is mounting across Tamil Nadu over the release of the Telugu-language film Kingdom, which has been accused of portraying Eelam Tamils in a deeply derogatory and historically inaccurate manner. In Ramanathapuram, protesters were seen tearing down banners of the film outside Jagan Theatre, with calls growing louder for the movie to be banned from further screenings across the South India state.