Last week Sri Lanka’s President, Ranil Wickremesinghe, met with Japan’s Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, and apologised for Sri Lanka’s unilateral withdrawal from an agreed Light Rail Transit (LRT) project and to discuss expanding bilateral projects.

Speaking at a separate round table on “Sri Lanka’s Economic Revival & Opportunities for Japanese Enterprise”, Wickremesinghe maintained his focus on stabiling and liberalising the country’s economy whilst actively inviting new foreign ventures.

^{Source: @ShehanSema on Twitter} 

India has extended its USD 1 billion credit line to Sri Lanka for an additional year.

In March of last year, an agreement was signed between Sri Lanka and the State Bank of India (SBI) for a $1 billion credit. The credit was intended to aid the island after the economic crisis that left civilians without access to food, fuel, or essential medicine. 

Photograph: A Sinhalese mob beats a Tamil passenger after pulling him out of his car. 1958. (Courtesy Victor Ivan)

On 27 May 1958, the Sri Lankan state declared a state of emergency after Sinhala mobs had began attacking, raping and murdering Tamils across the island on 22 May 1958. The series of violence was to become another in a series of deadly anti-Tamil pogroms.

Tamils in Toronto gathered on May 18 to mark the 14th anniversary since the Mulivaikkal massacre, recently declared Tamil Genocide Remembrance Day in Canada. 

Hundreds of Tamils gathered at Albert Campbell Square in Scarborough, Ontario, to pay their respect to the lives lost. The commemorations were organized by the National Council of Canadian Tamils (NCCT) and Tamil Youth Organization Canada (TYO).

The nine Tamil National People's Front (TNPF) members, including lawyer Kanagaratnam Sugash, were released on bail today after the were arrested for protesting the illegal construction of a Buddhist temple in Thaiyiddy, Jaffna.

TNPF MP Selvarajah Kajendren was arrested alongside them but was released on the spot while the others were taken into police custody by Palaly police.

Tetley and Lipton among other major tea manufacturers are investigating the working conditions on tea plantations in Sri Lanka following a Guardian investigation which revealed that workers were unable to pay for food and were living in unsanitary conditions.

The investigation also revealed that estate owners provided workers with no support during the island's economic crisis. Workers reported that supervisors denied them pay.

Tea pickers have stated that they have had to skip meals and send their children to work to compensate for their inadequate earnings. 

Elliot Colburn, MP for Carshalton and Wallington and the Chair of the All Party Parliamentary Group for Tamils (APPGT) has urged the UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) to investigate the arrest of TNPF MP Selvarajah Kajendren. 

As Chair of the APPG for Tamils, I am deeply concerned about the reports of Tamil MP, Mr Kajendran, being subjected to brute force and arrest by Sri Lankan Police. I urge the FCDO to investigate and raise with Sri Lankan officials.

Photograph courtesy of Virakesari

Ten people, including Tamil National People’s Front (TNPF) MP Selvarajah Kajendren were arrested earlier today as they protested against the illegal construction of a Buddhist temple in Thaiyiddy, Jaffna.

On 18 May, Canadian politicians across all spectrums marked the newly recognized ‘Tamil Genocide Remembrance Day' and renewed calls for accountability.