Sri Lankan police officers interrogated Tamil Guardian’s Batticaloa correspondent and Batticaloa Press Club (BPC) Secretary, Selvakumar Nilanthan at his home, for highlighting the military-assisted Sinhala settlements on Tamil cattle farmers’ land in Batticaloa.

Nilanthan, who revealed that land grabs in Mylanthanaimadu and Periya Maadhavanai, Batticaloa has resulted in Tamil cattle farmers “facing grave economic problems”, was questioned for nearly two hours by four policeman on Monday (16^th November). During the interrogation, he was asked to disclose the names of his colleagues who had been assigned to the story and the websites that publish his articles.

The Mannar Magistrates court imposed a ban on observing Maaveerar Naal across the Mannar district. Vavuniya Magistrate Court issued orders today to ban eight persons from taking part in Maaveerar Naal commemoration activities, including TNPF MP Selvarajah Kajendran. 

The court passed a judgement yesterday that effectively enforces a ban on commemorational activities in Mannar from 21^st to 27^th November 2020, after Mannar Police filed a case requesting Maaveerar Naal remembrances to be prohibited. Sri Lankan police across the Tamil homeland have appealed to local districts court in an attempt to prevent Maaveerar Naal commemorations this year.

Sinhala settlers in Batticaloa cultivating corn on grazing land have threatened Tamil livestock farmers and killed several cows that were grazing on the disputed land.

Livestock numbering around 350,000 belonging to 991 Tamil families currently use the grazing land in the Mylanthanaimadu and Periya Maadhavanai areas of the Batticaloa District. According to TNPF MP Gajendrakumar Ponnambalam, the land was allocated by the Sri Lankan government in a cabinet decision in 2011.

Sri Lankan police disrupted Tamils who were conducting volunteer services in preparation for Maaveerar Naal at the Maveerar Thuyilum Illam in Theravil, Visuvamadu on Monday. 

The Sri Lankan security forces attempted to halt a group of Tamils who were on their way to commence cleaning services in preparation for Maaveerar Naal, as initimidation continued in the run up to the remembrance day. 

A crowd of police and military officers surrounded the Tamils, including Tamil National People's Front (TNPF) general secretary and parliamentarian Selvarajah Kajendran, and started collecting their full contact details. 

The Tamil National People’s Front (TNPF) said that it will support the burial of Muslim coronavirus victims, whilst the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) has opposed such a move, as the Sri Lankan government reportedly looks to commence burials in Mannar.

“We fully support burials,” tweeted TNPF leader Gajendrakumar Ponnambalam this morning. “And we support the burials to be in places that normally they would have been buried.”

We fully support burials. And we support the burials to be in places that normally they would have been buried.

Sri Lanka’s president Gotabaya Rajapaksa pledged to allay “legitimate fears” over the “Sinhala race” and further strengthen the security apparatus in a speech laced with ethno-nationalist rhetoric aimed at his Sinhala Buddhist base on Wednesday.

“It is no secret that the majority who voted for me then were Sinhalese,” Rajapaksa told Sri Lanka’s parliament. “They rallied because they had legitimate fears that the Sinhala race, our religion, national resources and the heritage would be threatened with destruction in the face of various local and foreign forces and ideologies that support separatism, extremism and terrorism.”

“During this short period of time we have taken steps to ensure the security of the country as requested by the people,” he added. “The public should not have apprehensions on this issue any longer.”

The European Union (EU) warned Sri Lanka that trade between the two regions “is not a one-way street,” as it expressed concern over Colombo’s import restrictions and withdrawal of support for the United Nations Human Rights Council Resolution on accountability.

“As COVID-19 continues to bring a number of challenges, we, the Colombo-based Heads of Missions representing the European Union and its Member States, held a series of high-level meetings, including with Foreign Minister Gunawardena,” said a statement released this morning.

Three suspects in the assault on two Tamil journalists last month in Mullaitivu were granted bail on Tuesday.

The Mullaitivu District Magistrates Court granted bail to the three remaining suspects iremanded in connection with the attack on Tamil Guardian correspondents Shanmugam Thavaseelan and Kanapathipillai Kumanan.

Two suspects had previously been released on bail out of the five suspects arrested in connection with the case.

Sri Lanka’s High Commissioner to the United Kingdom has hit back at The Elders this week, after the group referenced Sri Lanka when they spoke on US President Donald Trump’s refusal to “adhere to the protocols and processes governing the transition of power”.

Mary Robinson, Chair of The Elders and former President of Ireland, said, “it is shocking to have to raise concerns about US democratic processes as The Elders have previously commented on volatile and undemocratic situations in states such as Kenya, Sri Lanka and Zimbabwe”.