Events were held in Jaffna and Mullaitivu last week to commemorate Tamil National Alliance (TNA) MP Kiddinan Sivanesan on the 17th anniversary of his assassination by Sri Lankan armed forces on March 6, 2008.

Sri Lanka will launch a fresh inquiry into allegations against former president Ranil Wickremesinghe, said a government minister, including his alleged role in the Batalanda torture camp, the Central Bank bond scam, and the Easter Sunday attacks. 

This week has made one thing abundantly clear: Sri Lanka will never voluntarily deliver justice. Whether in Geneva or on an international news broadcast, its leaders lie, deflect, and evade.

Tamil families of the forcibly disappeared in Mullaitivu marked International Women’s Day this week with a protest through Mullivaikkal, the site of the 2009 genocide, as uniformed Sri Lankan police officers watched on.

Former Sri Lankan president Ranil Wickremesinghe has attempted to shift blame onto “pro-LTTE” figures after his disastrous interview on Al Jazeera English’s Head to Head, in which he floundered over questions on war crimes, enforced disappearances, and his defence of war criminals such as Shavendra Silva.

China has warned that it is ready to “fight to the end” with the US in a “tariff war, trade war, or any other war” in response to President Donald Trump’s mounting trade tariffs. 

On Tuesday, Trump doubled tariffs on Chinese goods from 10% to 20%. China retaliated, imposing a 10-15% tariff on US agricultural products. 

The Chinese Embassy in the United States wrote on X, 

The interview, aired earlier today, saw Wickremesinghe visibly uncomfortable as he was pressed on allegations of war crimes, government corruption, and his administration’s failure to credibly investigate the 2019 Easter Sunday bombings.  He threatened to walk out several times.

The Tamil National People’s Front (TNPF) has reiterated its demand for Sri Lankan to be referred to the International Criminal Court (ICC), in a letter addressed to the Heads of Missions in Geneva of the UNHRC Core Group on Sri Lanka. Written earlier this week, the TNPF criticised previous UN HRC resolutions as ineffective, stating that they have failed to deliver justice for Tamil victims.