The head of the Tamil Eelam Liberation Movement (TELO) Selvam Adaikalanathan lashed out at his colleagues within the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) last week, as he called for “unity” despite signs of deepening fissures.

Speaking in Jaffna, Adaikalanathan claimed that the TNA was “strong” but that “its influence is diminishing from the minds of the people due to the activities of two or three black sheep”.

Following a recent spate of bodies being washed up on the Colombo shoreline, Tamil families of the disappeared raised concerns that their loved ones may be amongst the dead as they continue to demand answers for enforced disappearances.

Writing in Foreign Policy, Viruben Nandakumar highlights that despite a change in figureheads, Sri Lanka’s military maintains an inflated role in the running of the state.

“Not only must Sri Lanka’s protesters heed that call and refocus their efforts toward dismantling the militarization of the state, but so too must the international community”, he writes.

Sri Lanka’s Tourism Ministry has announced that it plans to issue longer visas for tourists in an attempt to revive it's tourism industry.

The tourism industry in Sri Lanka has been struggling greatly due to the Covid-19 pandemic and the ongoing economic crisis.

The Tourism Ministry will soon extend visas for those who apply via Electronic Travel Authorization from 30 days to 180 days.

Single entry visa travelers will be able to stay up to 270 days. Further, multiple entry visas could be extended from 90 days to a year.

Despite protests from Washington and Delhi, Sri Lankan officials have u-turned on their decision to defer the docking of a Chinese military ship, Yuan Wang 5, and have instead welcomed the vessel.

Whilst the ship was initially scheduled to arrive at the Chinese-owned port on 11 August, following pressure from India, Sri Lanka officials had agreed to indefinitely defer the vessel, which Indian officials accused of being a “spy ship”.

Ahead of the 51^st UN Human Rights Council session, several Tamil political leaders have written to UN Human Rights Michelle Bachelet to take decisive action to deliver justice for Tamils and stop the continued atrocities.

On 12 August the Association for Relatives of Enforced Disappearances (ARED) released a statement calling for the United Nations Human Rights Commission (UNHRC) to acknowledge their demands ahead of the UNHRC session scheduled for September.

The statement which was addressed to the High Commissioner for Human Rights, Michelle Bachelet, emphasized that accountability for enforced disappearances would not be secured with the Sri Lankan government.

The massacre of 53 school girls by the Sri Lankan air force was commemorated today across the Tamil homeland on the 16th anniversary of the attack.

On August 14 2006, four Sri Lankan air force jets flew over the Vanni and dropped sixteen bombs over the Sencholai children's home for orphans, killing 53 school girls and 3 teachers. 

Today marks the 16th anniversary of the massacre of 53 school girls by the Sri Lankan Air Force. 

Tamil families of the disappeared rallied in Kilinochchi and Vavuniya yesterday to mark 2,000 days of continuous roadside protest as the search for their forcibly disappeared loved ones continues.