The son of Tamil National Alliance (TNA) MP Sivagnanam Shritharan was assaulted in an unprovoked attack by unknown assailants on Friday afternoon.

The parliamentarian's son Shritharan Sarangan was pursued to his home in Jaffna by youths on several motorcycles and assaulted in front of the house. 

German authorities have conducted mass detentions of Tamil refugees across the country, but particularly in Nordrhein-Westfalen and Baden-Württemberg, and may deport as many as 100.

Authorities reportedly invited asylum seekers to renew their permits to remain but upon arrival at the building were detained by police officers who confiscated their phones and prevented them from communicating with their relatives and loved ones who do not know about their whereabouts. The German authorities are set to be deported on 30 March despite ongoing reports of torture by Sri Lanka’s security forces. This has caused shock and outrage throughout the German Tamil community and the wider Tamil diaspora.

Responding to a question posted by Britain’s Opposition Deputy Chief Whip, Minister of State for Defence, Baroness Goldie revealed that the UK was continuing its training of Sri Lankan armed forces despite having raised concerns over possible war crimes and the deteriorating human rights conditions in Sri Lanka at the UN Human Rights Council.

Following a claim of victory at the UN Human Rights Council, Sri Lanka’s Foreign Minister, Dinesh Gunawardena, has decried the passage of the resolution as “unwarranted, unjustified”, and “illegal”.

In his statement, he maintained that the majority of UN members opposed the resolution whilst only 14 states voted in opposition of the resolution and 22 voted in favour and 11 abstained. This resolution marks the lowest number of votes in favour of Sri Lanka since the end of the armed conflict.

Seeds of future violence

Responding to the passage of the UN Human Rights Council resolution on Sri Lanka, the British Tamil Conservatives welcomed the passage of the resolution but called for further legal action on Sri Lanka officials implicated in war crimes as well as trade sanctions against Sri Lanka.

TNPF leader Gajendrakumar Ponnambalam expressed his party’s concern over the new UNHRC Resolution 46/1 on Sri Lanka, which seeks to investigate the crimes committed by the Sri Lankan government, as being “very disappointing” and “contrary to natural justice” during a speech in Parliament.

“It is a resolution that deceives the affected people,” he said. “Affected Tamils are asking for an international mechanism that can fully investigate all crimes, including the genocide perpetrated against Tamils by this government.”

Human Rights Watch (HRW) has welcomed the newly passed UN Human RIghts Council resolution on Sri Lanka which establishes a new process “to collect, analyse, and preserve evidence” of war crimes “for use in future prosecutions”, with the human rights organisation urging member states to impose “targeted sanctions” on those on those allegedly responsible for grave violations and pursue justice in “national courts under the principle of universal jurisdiction”.

The Sri Lankan archaeological department has initiated an attempt to seize another 400 acres of land in the Thannimurippu area around Kurunthoormalai in the Mullaitivu district, as local Tamils continue to face threats from Sinhala Buddhist monks.

The department instructed the provincial secretary of Karaithuraipatru in a letter to cede 400 acres of land surrounding Kurunthoormalai that belongs to native Tamils. 

This move is seen as an attempt to erase the Tamil identity of the area and further the ‘Buddhisation’ of the traditional Tamil homeland. 

Devotees in Mannar celebrated the St. Soosaiyappar church festival last week. 

Responding to the UN resolution on Sri Lanka, former Finance Minister Eran Wickramaratne decried the government’s disastrous management of “foreign diplomatic relations” and raised concerns over the economic impact stating:

“We must not risk legal battles in foreign jurisdictions, travel bans, economic and trade embargoes. The economic consequences will be catastrophic”.