Meenakshi Ganguly, South Asian Director for Human Rights Watch (HRW) has reiterated calls for the accused war criminal to be investigated and prosecuted under the principle of universal jurisdiction. 

Writing in the Washington Post, Ganguly noted that after Gotabaya Rajapaksa had fled the island and resigned his position, he no longer has sovereign immunity from prosecution. 

Following a brutal crackdown on protesters, Colombo Magistrate’s Court has issued a travel ban on five leading activists engaged in anti-government demonstrators.

Today, Colombo Magistrate‘s Court issued a travel ban on 5 activists, who were at the forefront of recent protests.
1. Joseph Stalin (Ceylon Teachers Union)
2. Fr. Jeewantha Peiris
3. Lahiru Weerasekara (Youth for Change)
4. Wasantha Mudalige (IUSF)
5. Eranga Gunasekara (SYU) pic.twitter.com/IcIYZB3kUv

Members of the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) held a commemoration event in Jaffna on Saturday, to mark 39 years since Black July.

Lawmakers including M A Sumanthiran were present at the event, held at the Vadamarachchi office of the Tamil political party.

During the anti-Tamil pogrom of 1983, thousands of Tamils were killed by Sinhala mobs backed by the then-UNP government and state forces.

Around the world, the event has been commemorated as an act of genocide.

Sri Lanka will not see a bailout from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) until it emerges from its current political chaos according to a Professor of Political Economy at Johns Hopkins University.

Professor Deborah Brautigam told CNBC that “the IMF cannot… interact with the government when things are in a continuing crisis mode.” She continues “until the government stabilizes, until they have a Minister of Finance, there’s no one for the IMF to talk with.”

In a recent statement, Human Rights Watch (HRW) condemned the use of force against peaceful protesters by the Sri Lankan security forces. The organization emphasized that “respect for human rights is critical for economic recovery.”

The statement comes in response to the forceful dispersing of peaceful protesters on 22 July that left more than 50 individuals injured, and resulted in the arrest of 9 others.

Following a crackdown on demonstrators in Colombo, Britain’s South Asia Minister, Lord Tariq Ahmad, has stated on Twitter that he has had a “constructive conversation” with Sri Lanka’s President which focused on the right to peaceful protest.

Responding to crack down on protesters by Sri Lanka’s military, JVP General Secretary Tilvin Silva claimed that the act of was an “act of revenge”.

The attack on demonstrators saw an estimated thousand soldiers confront protesters, numbering fewer than a hundred. Soldiers reportedly assaulted a soldier and destroyed camps where protesters were camping.

Marking the 39^th anniversary of Black July, an anti-Tamil pogrom that saw the slaughter of an estimated 30,000 Tamils, Canadian politicians have issued statements commemorating the tragedy.

Canada’s Prime Minister Justin Trudeau stated:

Black July was horrific and violent – and the ensuing conflict was devastating. On this anniversary, we remember the Tamils whose lives were lost, those who were displaced, and those who suffered. My full statement: https://t.co/6LPKAZtE6R

Speaking with The Sunday Morning, Tamil National Alliance (TNA) Spokesperson MA Sumanthiran spoke out against the crackdown on protesters whilst defending the party’s support for Dullas Alahapperuma on the grounds of “political stability”.

As Tamils across the world and in the homeland commemorate the 39th anniversary of the anti-Tamil Black July pogrom, the Tamil Coordinating Committee and hundreds of Tamils in the United Kingdom protested for justice and paid tribute to the thousands of Tamil lives lost during the state-sponsored atrocities of 1983.