Image courtesy of Action Contre la Faim (ACF)

On August 4 2006, Sri Lankan security forces summarily executed 17 aid workers from the French NGO, Action la Contre Faim (ACF), in Muttur, Trincomalee. 

The killings, which have since been dubbed as the 'Muttur massacre', took place at the organisation's compund where the ACF team were based as they provided humanitarian assistance to the survivors of the catastrophic tsunami in 2004. 

Australian authorities have finally granted permanent residency to the Nadesalingams, an Eelam Tamil family of asylum seekers who have faced years of legal battles to avoid deportation to Sri Lanka.

The family – Priya, Nades, Tharni and Kopi – were removed by Australian authorities from their home in Biloela almost four years ago. This week, Australia’s Immigration Minister Andrew Giles announced they had been granted permanent residency.

Gotabaya Rajapaksa won the 2019 presidential election. It is no secret that it has succeeded in instilling Islamophobia among the Sinhalese population. 6.9 million voters – mostly Sinhalese Buddhists – elected him. They celebrated the victory with loud cheers and by serving milk rice, saying that they have got a solid leader for the country.

Demonstrations took place in Jaffna and Batticaloa today demanding the release of the General Secretary of the Ceylon Teachers’ Union Joseph Stalin and other protestors who have been arrested by Sri Lankan authorities in a crackdown that has taken place in the South in recent weeks.

Protests have been put up across Jaffna this week demanding that former Sri Lankan president Gotabaya Rajapaksa be arrested for genocide.

The posters, spotted at several points across the peninsula, were put up by the National Forum of Tamil Culture.

Hundreds of trade union members led by Coalition of Trade Unions & Mass Organisations protested in Colombo on August 4, demanding the release of General Secretary of Ceylon Teachers Union Joseph Stalin and all anti-government activists arrested by Sri Lankan police. 

Amidst Sri Lanka’s ongoing economic collapse, Britain’s High Commissioner, Sarah Hulton, met with Sri Lanka’s newly appointed Prime Minister, Dinesh Gunawardene and discussed a range of topics, including constitutional reform, trade, and the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC).

India’s External Affairs Minister, S Jaishankar, and US Secretary of State, Anthony Blinken, met with Sri Lanka’s recently appointed Foreign Minister, Ali Sabry, during the annual ASEAN regional forum in Phnom Penh, Cambodia.

On Twitter, the Indian minister tweeted:

A warm first meeting with FM Ali Sabry of Sri Lanka. Congratulated him on his new responsibility.

Reaffirmed India’s commitment, as a dependable friend and reliable partner, to the economic recovery and well being of Sri Lanka.

Neighbourhood First. pic.twitter.com/qTCtmFm89h

Sri Lanka’s newly appointed president Ranil Wickremesinghe told Tamil National Alliance (TNA) lawmakers yesterday that he knew some of the parliamentarians had voted for him, despite the coalition announcing it was backing another candidate the night before the ballot.

In his first meeting with Tamil MPs, Wickremesinghe reportedly raised the issue of the vote which took place last month and was a secret ballot.

Delivering his first speech in parliament as president of Sri Lanka, Ranil Wickremesinghe laid out a roadmap for Sri Lanka which vowed to upload Buddhism; authorised the police to “maintain law and order”; eliminate state enterprises; support controversial investments; tackle corruption; strength Sri Lanka’s export economy; and provide a “political solution” for Tamils.