British Tamil students gathered at City University to commemorate those that died in the final stages of the armed ethnic conflict.

Hundreds of people attended a memorial event organised by Tamil civil society marking 8 years since the slaughter of thousands at Mullivaikkaal, after a court order banning the event was varied earlier in the day.

A Mullivaikkaal remembrance event took place yesterday in front of Puliyankulam Vairavar Kovil in Trincomalee.

Kilinochchi police requested the assistance of the army and the Special Task Force (STF) in Palai, after shots were fired at a police vehicle while driving in a forested area in the Arasakeni Kachcharu area.

The Ilankai Tamil Arisai Katchi (ITAK) held Mullivaikkaal memorial services at their offices in Jaffna.

As Sri Lanka fails to build confidence amongst the Tamil population, prospects for a sustainable and stable peace remain dim, said People for Equality and Relief in Lanka (PEARL).

In a statement released to mark Tamil Genocide Day, Pearl said it remains “concerned  about Sri Lanka’s continuing repression of Tamil memorialisation activities, including the recent harassment of civil society members. Unimpeded memorialisation has been one of the fundamental demands of the Tamil people.””

See full statement below.

The Tamil victims of the massacre during the final stages of the war were remembered in Trincomalee at a human rights centre.

Dozens of people attended a genocide remembrance event organised by the Tamil National Peoples' Front to mark May 18^th at Mullivakkaal beach earlier today.

Members of the Tamil community in Mullathivu gathered at the Mullivaikkaal beach this morning to commemorate the thousands of Tamil civilians that died at the final stages of the armed conflict between the Sri Lankan armed forces and Liberation Tamil Tigers of Tamil Eelam.

The civil society activist who was harassed by the police for his involvement in the organisation of a memorial event today has now been summoned for questioning by police.