Tamil remembrance activities marking Maaveerar Naal are "a bulwark against Sinhala-Buddhist supremacy" the People for Equality and Relief in Lanka (PEARL) said today. 

In a statement, the US based advocacy organisation highlighted the intensifying crackdown on Tamil memorialisation "with the Sri Lankan state using judicial and extrajudicial methods to prohibit and prevent commemoration events." 

"The state’s insistence on obstructing Tamil memory is intrinsically linked to the roots of the conflict in Sri Lanka," the statement noted. 

Speaking in Scottish parliament on the 30th international day for the elimination of violence against women, Labour MP Mercedes Villalba, welcomed the decision of Police Scotland to not renew its training contract with Sri Lanka but maintained that this came about " in spite of the inaction of the Cabinet Secretary for Justice and Veterans".

Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) member, Arun Siddharthan, has made death threats against leading Tamil politicians for paying tribute to Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) leader, V. Prabhakaran, and fallen freedom fighters, during a press conference this week. 

“We stand against people, such as [Kanagaratnam] Sugash, [Gajen] Ponnambalam, Ananthy Sasitharan, Wigneswaran and Shanakiyan, who outspokenly honour Prabhakaran and LTTE fighters as ‘Maaveerar Gods’,” said Arun. “It is against these people whom we will need to point our guns at,” he added aggressively. 

Across Tamil Nadu, thousands of Tamils, including prominent politicians, gathered to commemorate Maaveerar Naal, as Tamils across the world remember those who lost their lives in the Tamil struggle for liberation. 

Commemoration events were held in the Chennai, Kanchi, and Tiruvallur districts.

The Canadian city of Brampton’s city hall clock tower was lit red and yellow in commemoration of Maaveerar Naal.

On Twitter, Patrick Brown, Mayor of Brampton, wrote, “Brampton Remembers” with a photo of a light installation and Karthgaipoo flower at the cities Garden Square centre. 

Maaveerar Naal Stuttgart, Germany

In Stuttgart and Berlin, Germany, hundreds of German Tamils gather to commemorate Maaveerar Naal,  as Tamils across the world remember those who lost their lives in the Tamil struggle for liberation. 

Tamils across the homeland gathered at multiple Thuyilum Illam and places across the North-East to mark Maaveerar Naal under heavy military surveillance and harassment. 

Sri Lanka's Special Task Force (STF) troops arrested a Tamil youth in Mannar earlier today for posting a photo relating to Maaveerar Naal on his Facebook page. 

The post allegedly pays tribute to fallen cadres who sacrificed their lives in the Tamil struggle for freedom. 

The arrest forms part of Sri Lanka's intensifying crackdown on Tamil remembrance activities, particularly Maaveerar Naal. 

Across the North-East, the state forces have ramped up their presence, disrupting commemoration events. 

More to follow. 

A heavy Sri Lankan military presence blocked mourners across the North, with security forces arresting at least one prominent activist and assaulting a journalist, as a crackdown was launched today whilst Tamils attempted to mark Maaveerar Naal.

Despite a flurry of court orders across the North that rejected appeals from the Sri Lankan security forces to block remembrance events, the Sri Lankan military presence was out in full force across the North-East.

Sri Lankan military have been telephoning traders in Mullaitivu and threatening them to open their outlets today as the Tamil nation observes Maaveerar Naal. 

Armed personnel have stepped up their presence across the district to block any commemoration activites from taking place.