Human Rights Watch’s Asia director Elaine Pearson has come under criticism after calling for a “domestic accountability mechanism” whilst attending Tamil Genocide Remembrance Day commemorations in Mullivaikkal this week, despite repeatedly stating that the organisation stood in “solidarity” with Tamils.

Sri Lanka’s current government has moved to abolish the country’s Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) position, publishing draft legislation to repeal the Chief of Defence Staff Act No. 35 of 2009, which was introduced shortly after the end of the armed conflict.

The proposed legislation, titled the Chief of Defence Staff (Repeal) Act, 2026, was published through an extraordinary gazette notification issued on 15 May following Cabinet approval earlier this year.

An event commemorating the Tamil genocide was held outside Bern parliament in Switzerland on May 18. 

Hundreds gathered outside the parliament building to remember the victims of the genocide perpetrated by the Sri Lankan government. 

The flags of Switzerland and Tamil Eelam were hoisted before the sacrificial lamp was lit. Attendees then laid flowers in memory of the victims. 

Former Sri Lankan president and accused war criminal Mahinda Rajapaksa marked Sri Lanka’s “Victory Day” through a separate observance this week, after being snubbed from the from official government event by the currnt regime.

Sri Lankan president Anura Kumara Dissanayake praised the country’s armed forces for defeating “separatism” on Tuesday, whilst making no reference to the tens of thousands of Tamil civilians killed during the armed conflict.

Sri Lankan opposition parliamentarian Chamara Sampath Dassanayake attempted to spark controversy in parliament on Tuesday after raising allegations concerning a cabinet minister’s daughter residing in a property in the United Kingdom owned by a member of the Tamil diaspora.

Thousands of Tamils gathered at Mullivaikkal on Monday to commemorate the 17th anniversary of the Mullivaikkal genocide, where a declaration issued at the remembrance event warned that the Tamil nation continues to face systematic efforts to erase its identity and called for a renewed Tamil cultural resurgence as a form of resistance.