The British Tamil Forum (BTF) has issued a crucial call for Tamils living in the North-East of Sri Lanka to forge a strategic alliance and face future democratic processes as a unified force. This appeal comes in the wake of Anura Kumara Dissanayake's election as President of Sri Lanka, raising concerns about the implications for Tamil rights and autonomy.

Anura Kumara Dissanayake vowed to expedite investigations into the 2019 Easter Sunday bombings this week, as he visited the site of the attacks and was confronted by relatives of the victims.

Dissanayake’s pledge to serve justice for the bombings however stands in stark contrast to his stance on atrocities committed against the Tamil people, where he was vowed not to punish perpetrators of rights abuses and this week met with accused war criminals.

Tamil political parties across the island have begun filing their nomination papers for candidates ahead of Sri Lanka’s parliamentary election next month.

Tamil political parties across the island have begun filing their nomination papers for candidates ahead of Sri Lanka’s parliamentary election next month.

Tamil National People’s Front (TNPF) Honors Thileepan

Human Rights Watch (HRW) has called on the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) to extend its ‘crucial’ mandate to ensure its continued reporting and evidence collection of Sri Lanka’s human rights abuses for future prosecutions. 

In a statement, the rights group also called on newly elected Sri Lankan president Anura Kumara Dissanayake to “reverse the policies of his predecessors”. 

As Sri Lanka’s new president concluded talks with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) last week, the global body warned Colombo that “vulnerabilities and uncertainties do remain” and that it still needed to maintain "hard-won gains".

During his presidential campaign, Dissanayake pledged to “renegotiate” a much-needed IMF bailout program, with fears his pledge could potentially plunging the country back into the economic crisis it experienced in 2022.

Tamil families of the disappeared said that more than 280 people had died in recent years, without never knowing the fate of their loved ones who were forcibly disappeared by the Sri Lankan state.

The families condemned the ongoing suppression of their 15-year struggle for justice for over 1,000 missing children, including more than 39 infants who were handed over to the Sri Lankan army during the final phase of the 2009 Mullivaikkal genocide.

Fishermen from Thangachimadam, along with families of those imprisoned by the Sri Lankan Navy, have embarked on a hunger strike, demanding the immediate release of their relatives who were arrested for allegedly crossing into Sri Lankan waters while fishing.

The Indian Consulate in Jaffna organized a tree-planting campaign and a cycle parade in Jaffna town to mark Mahatma Gandhi's 155th birthday last week.

This is not the first time the Consulate has engaged in such activities. Previously, the Consulate had initiated similar cycle parades through Jaffna town to promote "awareness of Gandhian ideals of sustainability and environmental consciousness."

Writing in the aftermath of the election of Sri Lanka’s President Anura Kumara Dissanayake, the British Tamils Forum (BTF) urged for Tamils in Sri Lanka to form a “strategic alliance” and continue their demand for self-determination.

In their statement, the BTF detail the long history of the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP), the party of Sri Lanka’s president, of Sinhala chauvinism and deep opposition towards devolution for Tamils. 

Following his appointment to office, Sri Lanka’s new President Anura Kumara Dissanayake met with Sri Lanka’s Chiefs of Defence Forces, including the alleged war criminal, and Chief of Defence Staff, General Shavendra Silva.