Tamil National Alliance parliamentarian M A Sumanthiran criticised a speech by Sri Lanka’s president, calling his remarks “an insult” and stating that the Tamil people have been fighting for self-determination and self-rule.

Human Rights Watch (HRW) joined a host of other international organisations in denouncing the death penalty handed to a senior prison official over his role in the killing of at least 27 inmates in a prison massacre, calling it stating it “does nothing to address the very real concerns” over the 2012 killings.

Sri Lanka’s controversial minister of public security announced that Sri Lanka’s 600th police station had been opened as the current government continues with its intense militarisation and securitisation of the island.

In a lengthy address to Sri Lanka’s parliament this morning, Gotabaya Rajapaksa doubled down on denying human rights violations had taken place under his command and instead blamed “misconceptions” in the international community.

A host of British parliamentarians and other politicians joined the British Tamil community in Westminster on Monday to celebrate Thai Pongal in London.

Lawmakers took to the stage and praised the British Tamil community, paying tribute to their contributions in several fields and pledging solidarity with their struggle for justice and accountability in the homeland.

Sri Lanka’s president Gotabaya Rajpakasa paid a “surprise visit” to the Kuragala Sinhala Buddhist site last week as a restoration project gets underway, whilst a nearby Islamic site remains under threat.

“Sri Lanka finds itself looking down the barrel of a gun,” wrote The Economist last week, as it highlighted the economic crisis on the island and the government’s opposition to intervention from the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

“The numbers are sobering,” said The Economist.

“Interest obligations on government debt in 2021 amounted to 72% of total revenues, while public-sector salaries and pensions came to 80%. Multiple downgrades have in effect locked it out of the international private-credit market.”

A Dailt man in Tamil Nadu has died after he was arrested and reportedly tortured under the custody of police in Tamil Nadu.

Prabhakar, a disabled man belonging to the Adi Dravidar (Scheduled Caste) in Salem’s Karuppur was arrested by police on January 8, over allegations that he was involved in a jewellery theft.

As Sri Lanka’s financial crisis worsens families on the island have taken to cutting down their food intake and going hungry, according to a report in the Khaleej Times this week.

“I’ve told them it’s Ramadan now and that’s why we are fasting,” said Fathima Aroos, speaking about her children to Qadijah Irshad. “Don’t tell them otherwise.”

“This way, we can manage with a plain porridge after we break our fast and rice soaked in water and onion for suhoor (the early morning meal)… It keeps the children quiet.”

People are starving in Sri Lanka. The economy is in freefall as the cash-strapped government struggles to pay off its debts. The country has been forced to sell over half of its gold reserves and the prices of basic foods have skyrocketed. The pandemic has undeniably devastated Sri Lanka, but this is a crisis of the government’s own making. Instead of pursuing a “people-centric economy”, Sri Lanka’s insular policies have been military-driven, unaccountable, and detached from the struggle of citizens.

The Sri Lankan defence ministry announced that troops have begun the ‘restoration’ of yet another Sinhala Buddhist stupa in the Eastern province this week, an area that has come under intense Sinhalisation efforts in recent years.

Today marks 29 years since the death of Sathasivam Krishnakumar alias Colonel Kittu, and nine other LTTE cadres, who committed suicide after being surrounded by Indian navy warships in 1993.

The nine other cadres who passed away with Col. Kittu were:

- Lt.Col. Kuttisiri: Rasaiah Sri Ganesan from Suthumalai, Jaffna

Sri Lanka has received a loan of €52 million from Hungary for infrastructure development, which includes the construction of a major flyover despite the country banning imports of cars in 2022.