Last week Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa had a phone conversation with Chinese President Xi Jinping during which he lavished praise for the Communist Party of China (CPC) on its 100th anniversary since its founding and the “strong leadership” of President Xi Jinping.

During the call, he further expressed interest in expanding “expand cooperation in fields like infrastructure and tourism, and smoothly advance major projects such as the Colombo Port City”.

Denial of Human Rights

A newly published book from the Swiss-based Puradsi Media and ‘Phoenix - the Next Generation’, provides a historical look back through the early years of the armed struggle.

‘Rise of the Tigers’, the second publication from the organisations, compiles rare photographs, newspaper clippings and in-depth biographies to provide unprecedented details about the founding members of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) and the formation of the leading Tamil armed movement.

Yet another Tamil father has died after spending over a decade demanding information about the whereabous of his missing son. 

Santhanam Raghavan, 65, from Talikulam, Vavuniya, joined other Tamil families of the disappeared for over 1,400 days in roadside protests in the district, demanding justice for his son Rajkumar who went missing in 2008.  

Pakistan hosted the head of Sri Lanka’s army, and accused war criminal, Shavendra Silva, during their national military parade despite increasing discrimination against Muslims in Sri Lanka.

Elections for the Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly took place on April 6 with 71.79% of eligible voters casting their ballot in an electorate of over 62 million people. 

In a multi-pronged contest, the ruling All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) with support from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), opposition Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) and its allied parties, the Tamil Nationalist Naam Tamilar Katchi (NTK) and Makkal Needhi Maiam (MNM) led by actor-turned-politician Kamal Haasan are the major contenders. 

Following the sudden and wide-reaching proscription of hundreds of individuals and several Tamil diaspora organisations, Sri Lanka’s Attorney General, Dappula de Livera,  has banned 11 Islamic organisations under accusations that they are linked to “extremist activities”.

Deputy Representative of UNICEF in Sri Lanka, Emma Brigham, issued a statement with the Sri Lanka Ministry of Health praising the current regime’s handling of the COVID-19 pandemic despite grave human rights concerns and the imposition of discriminatory legislation.

Minister of Public Security, Sarath Weerasekara attended the inauguration of a police station in Mullaitivu where he announced that 190 new police stations will be built in Sri Lanka, adding to the existing 494 police stations.

Maradankeni and Iyankkankulam located in the North were selected to build the first two police stations under the government programme, with the construction of Iyankankulam police station in Mullaitivu being completed on the 2 April. Weerasekara noted that the construction of the police stations was a measure taken to “create a society free of fear and suspicion for the people of this country”.

Following the deportation of over 30 Tamil asylum seekers by Germany on 30 March, the People’s Council of Eelam Tamils has written to express their deep shock and disappointment at the government’s “incomprehensible decision”.

Tamil families of the disappeared protested in front of the old bus stand in Vavuniya last week, continuing their calls to the international community to implement an accountability mechanism that would get justice for their family members who have been forcibly disappeared by the Sri Lankan state.