Sri Lanka’s President Maithripala Sirisena tweeted a message expressing his “deep gratitude” to Sri Lankan soldiers on “Victory Day” yesterday.

The message was soon removed and reposted without the #VictoryDaySL hashtag.

Tamils in the UK held events on Friday to mark the 9th anniversary of the genocide of tens of thousands of Tamils by Sri Lankan state forces at the end of the armed conflict in 2009. 

Jaffna University students held a memorial yesterday evening at the suspended Mullivaikkal monument on campus.

Children from two Tamil preschools were taken around the Jaffna Security Force Headquarters in the occupied high security zone of Palali, yesterday on Tamil Genocide Remembrance Day, which Tamils across the North-East observed as a day of mourning.

Tamils gathered at Mullivaikkal memorial ground today to remember the tens of thousands slaughtered during the final stages of the armed conflict. 

Holding photos of their loved ones, families, students, faith leaders and NPC members gathered at the grounds to light candles and lay flowers. 

People For Equality and Relief in Sri Lanka (PEARL) condemned Western governments for failing to act on Sri Lanka’s “empty commitments and meaningless platitudes" and reiterated the need for an international justice mechanism, expressing solidarity with Tamils across the globe commemorate Tamil Genocide Day.

The Tamil National Alliance leader R Sampanthan held a small event to remember the Mullivakkal massacre. Lighting a flame, Mr Sampanthan and fellow party members held a moment's silence in memory of those who had been killed. 

Tamils gathered in Vavuniya today, to mark 9 years since the genocide at Mullivaikkal.         

Tamils in Mannar held a commemoration ceremony this morning, marking 9 years since the massacre at Mullivaikkal.

Amnesty International called on Sri Lanka to release a comprehensive list of Tamil civilians and cadres that surrendered to Sri Lanka’s armed forces during the final phases of the ethnic conflict.

“The mass disappearance of those who surrendered at the end of the war is a clear indication of the institutionalization of the practice of enforced disappearances in Sri Lanka. The State’s concealment of the fate, whereabouts and information of the disappeared person triggers criminal responsibility,” said the rights organisation in a press release on May 18.