^{Sarath Weerasekara} 

Sri Lanka's public security minister Sarath Weerasekara claimed that his regime is about to file cases against the tens of thousand of Tamil protestors who marched through the North-East in recent days, adding that Tamil politicians who attended needed to have been tear gassed and arrested.

Weerasekara, a former Sri Lankan Navy admiral, was speaking on a Hiru TV, when asked how he will deal with the Tamils and Muslims who took part in the peaceful protest he responded.

Britain’s High Commission in Sri Lanka announced that the English cricket team would be taking questions from the public as they embarked on a controversial tour of the island. Despite hundreds of questions flooding in through Twitter and Instagram, none were answered.

Swiss Tamils organised a socially distanced car rally in three cities this weekend, to highlight their solidarity with the Pottuvil to Polikandi (P2P) protestors who marched across the Tamil homeland.

Hundreds of cars took part in multiple car rallies across Switzerland, with cars being seen in Geneva, Bern and Zurich.

This week Tamils and Muslims across the homeland united in a march for justice, calling on the international community act to protect their rights. The protests which have been extended due to disturbances caused by Sri Lanka’s security forces took place from Pottuvil in Amparai to Polikandy in Jaffna.

Despite intimidation from Sri Lankan security forces and bans imposed by Sri Lankan courts, the rally lasted for five days and passed through each district in the Tamil homeland.

Sri Lankan Co-cabinet Spokesman and Minister of Energy, Udaya Gammanpila, has attacked the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) as a “biased” institution and slammed the previous administration for co-sponsorship of UNHRC’s 30/1 resolution.

Sri Lanka’s Media Minister, Keheliya Rambukwella, has rejected the findings of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights latest report on Sri Lanka and threatened the Tamil National Alliance which has signed a joint statement calling for Sri Lanka to be referred to the ICC.

“The TNA is displaying its true colours in an age where the pandemic has hit every corner of the country and strict legal action must be taken in this regard,” said Rambukwella.

On 3 February 2021, Tamils and Muslims in the North-East mobilised en-masse to begin a peaceful march from Pottuvil in Amparai to Polikandy in Jaffna, two points delineating the furthest ends of the traditional Tamil homeland, in defiance of numerous court orders.

Their aim was to raise awareness of the plight of Tamils and Muslims on the island and to call upon the UN and the international community to heed Tamil calls for justice and accountability. Throughout this march, Sri Lanka’s security forces attempted to break up the rally at various points by threatening and intimidating demonstrators as well obtaining injunctions against the protest but at each step protesters have defied Sri Lanka’s security forces. Whilst the march was initially set to end on 6 February, it was extended to the 7 February due to these disruptions.

Tamil Canadians organized a socially distanced car rally in solidarity with the Pottuvil to Polikandi (P2P) protests in the Tamil homeland. 

Over 2000 cars were seen in Brampton, Ajax, Mississauga and Markham, all with a final destination of Queenspark, Toronto. 

Tamils and Muslim in the North-East carried out a massive protest march, mobilising around demands for the United Nations and international community to heed Tamil calls for justice and accountability.

The walk for justice was named after its route from ‘Pottuvil to Polikandy’, delineating the two furthest ends of the traditional Tamil homeland, from Pottuvil in Amparai in the south, to Polikandy in Point Pedro at the northern tip. Despite court bans, encountering violent mob attacks and police intimidation and harassment, demonstrators came together to defy any resistance they encountered on their five-day rally.

See a selection of photos from the protests below.

The Federation of Saiva (Hindu) Temples UK released a statement speaking against the Sri Lankan government’s seizure of Hindu Temples to build Buddhist Viharas.

The statement was released on 27 January and encouraged Tamils and Hindus all over the world to unite and fight against Sri Lanka's “religious war against Tamil Hindus.”