Vigils and memorials to the tens of thousands massacred by the Sri Lankan state at Mullivaikkal have taken place across the Tamil homeland, despite an onslaught by the Sri Lankan state in recent days to prevent commemorations.

Civil society leader Velan Swamigal led a vigil on Mullivaikkal beach to mark Tamil Genocide Day, in defiance of crackdowns by the Sri Lankan state, including the lockdown of the areas surrounding Mullivaikkal in Mullaitivu.

Commemorating 12 years since the genocidal massacre at Mullivaikkal, People for Equality and Relief in Lanka (PEARL) has issued a statement remembering the approximately 40,000 to 169,796 Tamils slaughtered and noting that despite the passage of time, Sri Lanka has failed to take “any genuine steps towards accountability and justice”.

Marking 12 years since the Sri Lankan military onslaught that massacred tens of thousands of Tamils, we revisit the final days leading up to the 18th of May 2009 – a date remembered around the world as ‘Tamil Genocide Day’. The total number of Tamil civilians killed during the final months is widely contested.

Parliamentarian and leader of Tamil Makkal Thesiya Kootani (TMTK) C.V. Wigneswaran commemorated the twelfth anniversary of the Mullivaikkal massacre at his party office earlier today. 

Despite bans imposed by the Sri Lankan government to commemorate the victims of the Mullivaikkal massacre on May 18, Tamil National Alliance (TNA) politicians including M.K. Shivajilingam and Peter Ilancheliyan defied those restrictions and remembered those who perished in the genocide. 

Special prayers were conducted this morning in the Vavuniya Karumari Amman temple in memory of those killed in the Mullivaikkal massacres, with devotees praying for their souls to rest in peace. 

The Tamil Youth Organisation in Germany served Mullivaikkal kanji to the homeless yesterday in Berlin, as Tamils across the world mark the 12th anniversary of the massacre at Mullivaikkal.

A series of Sri Lankan government websites have been hacked today, with messages commemorating the Mullivaikkal genocide that was carried out by the state in May 2009. 

Tamils in Australia rallied in Melbourne and Sydney on Sunday to commemorate the 12th anniversary of Mullivaikkal genocide which saw the massacre of tens of thousands of Tamils in May 2009. 

The protests, which were organised by the Tamil Refugee Council, had four key demands: 

Former Northern Provincial Council member, M.K Shivajilingham marked the sixth day of Mullivaikkal remembrance week despite facing intimidation by Sri Lanka's security forces.

Rights groups and activists have long complained that social media platforms are taking down content that is integral for human rights activism around the world. This has ranged from deleting evidence of chemical weapons attacks in Syria, to suspending some accounts linked to the farmer’s protest in India, and, just this week, removing content highlighting the violence in Sheikh Jarrah. Some of these removals seem to be happening by accident and are reinstated shortly after, while others are driven by mass reporting by digital activists working for various authoritarian governments. 

^{File photograph: Abbas meets Rajapaksa in 2014}

Sri Lanka’s war crimes accused prime minister Mahinda Rajapaksa released a statement in support of Palestine’s “legitimate right to statehood” and called for a ceasefire this morning, as Israel’s assault on Gaza continued.

13 rights groups have called on Sri Lanka to immediately release Ahnaf Jazeem, who has been in detention for a year without charge "or promptly charge him with internationally recognisable criminal offences and try him in accordance with international fair trial standards."