Udaya Gammanpila, a hardline Sinhala nationalist and former Sri Lankan minister, publicly celebrated the departure of outgoing United States Ambassador Julie Chung this week, describing her tenure as a “curse” on the country and staging a media spectacle to mark her exit.

Sri Lankan president Anura Kumara Dissanayake seemed to launch a critique Sinhala Buddhist expansionism in Jaffna this week, even as monks continued colonise various parts of the Tamil homeland under his tenure. 

Tamil parliamentarian Sivagnanam Shritharan has once again drawn attention to what he described as entrenched discrimination in the Sri Lankan state’s handling of land disputes and places of worship in the North-East, highlighting the destruction of Saiva temples and Christian churches under military occupation.

Sri Lankan President Anura Kumara Dissanayake laid the foundation stone for a controversial 50-megawatt wind power project in Mannar, despite sustained opposition from Tamils who say the initiative threatens their lands, livelihoods, and environment.

Outgoing United States Ambassador to Sri Lanka Julie Chung has held farewell meetings with former Sri Lankan presidents, including Mahinda Rajapaksa and Chandrika Kumaratunga, two political figures widely accused of presiding over grave human rights violations against the Tamil people.

This week, the charge that Myanmar committed genocide against the Rohingya went before the International Court of Justice for three weeks of testimony. 

Today marks 33 years since the death of Sathasivam Krishnakumar alias Colonel Kittu, and nine other LTTE cadres, who committed suicide after being surrounded by Indian navy warships in 1993.

The nine other cadres who passed away with Col. Kittu were:

- Lt.Col. Kuttisiri: Rasaiah Sri Ganesan from Suthumalai, Jaffna

- Sea Tiger Captain Jeeva: Nadarajah Mark Jeyarajah from Pashaiyoor, Jaffna

The Ilankai Tamil Arasu Katchi (ITAK) boycotted events attended by Sri Lankan President Anura Kumara Dissanayake during his visit to Jaffna, citing serious concerns over the establishment of political structures operating parallel to state institutions.