The Thamizh Makkal Kootanii (TMK), has issued a statement calling out the comments regarding the UN reports released by the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) and TNA parliamentarian M. A. Sumanthiran, saying that Sumanthiran is 'misguiding Tamils' and claimed that the TNA 'wants Tamils to believe that very little can be done to achieve accountability for Sri Lanka’s crimes.' 

Eelam Tamil student, Renuga Inpakumar, travelled from Australia to Geneva on Tuesday to discuss the release of two asylum seekers who have been detained in an Australia detention centre for over 10 years. She went to the UN conferences in Geneva in hopes of portraying the brutal lives that the two refugees are enduring and relayed the message to 'free the indefinitely detained refugees.'

The mother, of a Tamil man who has been missing since the end of the civil war, passed away on Wednesday in Vavuniya after spending over 10 years searching for her son.

Mangayarkarasi Balasubramaniam, aged 72, passed away on Wednesday morning (4^th March) at 2:10am. She was originally from Vannarpannai, Jaffna but had temporarily moved to Puliyankulam, Vavuniya as she continued to actively participate in campaigns and protests with families of disappeared in Vavuniya.

The British government has said that it continues to “underline the importance of accountability, justice and reconciliation” in its engagement with the government of Sri Lanka.

FCO Minister of State Nigel Adams Provided written answers this week for questions posed by Afzal Khan, the Labour shadow minister for the home office and immigration.

Asked whether the Foreign Secretary had made an “assessment of the accuracy of allegations that war crimes were committed during the Sri Lankan civil war by (a) Lieutenant General Shavendra Silva and (b) other high-level members of the Sri Lankan Government”, the minister responded:

The Sri Lankan government rejected the claims made by the UN Special Rapporteur on freedom of religion or belief, including among other things that “significant gaps exist particularly in upholding accountability and access to justice as well as ensuring non-recurrence of human rights violations.”

^{File photograph: Sri Lankan soldiers in Jaffna.}

Human Rights Watch (HRW) warned that “a state of fear is being re-established in Sri Lanka” as it reiterated calls for an international tribunal for war crimes and urged countries around to world to place sanctions on those accused of committing human rights violations.

“Tensions among ethnic and religious communities persist” the Special Rapporteur on freedom of religion or belief said in his report.

“Significant gaps exist particularly in upholding accountability and access to justice as well as ensuring non-recurrence of human rights violations,” the report added.

Ahmed Shaheed, the Special Rapporteur, conducted his country visit to Sri Lanka 15 August to 26 August 2019.

In recent weeks, the Sri Lankan military has constructed several new checkpoints across Mullaitivu as the intensified militarisation of the Tamil homeland since Gotabaya Rajapaksa was elected president continues.

New checkpoints were reported by locals on the Mankulam-Mullaitivu main road, as well as on the Kokkilai main road, amongst others.

The latest checklpoints come as the Sri Lankan military has ramped up search operations across the Tamil homeland,

A Sri Lankan brigadier who was found guilty by a British court of threatening Tamil protestors in London, has once more been promoted in Sri Lanka, taking up the post of 15th General Officer Commanding (GOC) of the 58 Division Headquarters this week.

A Buddhist religious ceremony was held at the military base in Puttalam, as Brigadier Priyanka Fernando took up the post.

The US embassy in Sri Lanka sent its congratulations to the Sri Lankan navy this week, after the security forces claimed to have seized a record drug haul worth over $33 million, in an operation conducted 600 nautical miles away from Sri Lankan shores.

“Congrats to @srilanka_navy  on your latest success!,” tweeted the US embassy. “We remain committed to combating illegal drugs around the world & are happy to collaborate w partners who are likewise committed”.