Sri Lankan President Ranil Wickremesinghe has issued a posthumous presidential pardon to Diyunuge Edward Henry Pedris, who was executed on July 7, 1915 - but not any Tamil political prisoners, dozens of whom continue to remain behind bars.

Pedris, a 27-year-old at the time of his execution, was wrongfully convicted of treason by the colonial administration, accused of participating in the 1915 riots and betraying the government. Despite numerous appeals to save his life, he was executed on July 7, 1915. The Sri Lankan cabinet approved the pardon in December 2023 after investigating the case, and this week it was formalized through an extraordinary gazette notification, acknowledging Pedris' innocence.

While Wickremesinghe has taken steps to address the case of Pedris, critics point out his failure to act on more pressing, contemporary cases of unjust imprisonment.

Many Tamil political prisoners remain in Sri Lanka’s overcrowded prisons, separated from their families and awaiting release. Recently, families of Tamil political prisoners held a media briefing, urging the government to release their loved ones, many of whom have been cleared by Sri Lankan courts but remain imprisoned.

The sister of Wigneswaran, one such Tamil political prisoner, made an emotional plea in Jaffna this week, expressing the toll of nearly three decades spent visiting her brother in prison.

"In a few weeks, it will be 30 years that he has been behind bars. What kind of life is it, having spent 30 years in a cell?" she said. "I took my child to see him, but we cannot keep doing this. We are tired of having to visit the prison for the last 29 years. We just want him home, where he belongs, with his family."

The contrast between pardoning historical figures and the ongoing plight of living Tamil political prisoners underscores the continued struggle for justice in Sri Lanka.

Turmoil in the Ilankai Tamil Arasu Kachchi (ITAK) over who to support at the Sri Lankan presidential elections has threatened to tear the party apart, as senior figures continue to contradict themselves this week.

Current chairman Mavai Senathirajah told reporters that the party's “official” stance would be revealed this weekend, after the central committee of the party met last week and seemingly endorsed Sajith Premadasa for the upcoming polls.

"Regarding how Tamils should vote in this election, our party has always supported self-determination for the Tamil homeland,” said Senathirajah.

“Our policy is that the ethnic issue needs to be resolved. All of this is outlined in the manifesto of the common Tamil candidate. These matters have been discussed and agreed upon. Nevertheless, we will formally announce our stance on the 14th or 15th of this month.”

"We will have our discussions and come to a unanimous decision," he concluded.

Yet his remarks were directly contradicted by a press release shared by lawmaker Shanakiyan Rajaputhiran Rasamanickam, in which secretary general Dr. P. Sathiyalingam said the party had officially backed Sajith Premadasa.

In a press release ITAK secretary General Dr.P Sathiyalingam has reaffirmed that there is no change in the party’s decision to support Sajith Premadasa at the upcoming Presidential election. @sajithpremadasa @TNAmediaoffice @MASumanthiran pic.twitter.com/MMjmRYX9wF

— Shanakiyan Rajaputhiran Rasamanickam (@ShanakiyanR) September 12, 2024

Meanwhile leader-elect of the ITAK S Shritharan continued to campaign for the common Tamil candidate Pakkiyaselvam Ariyanenthiran.

MP M A Sumanthiran took to Twitter to claim that both senior figures “have accepted that the future work should be discussed again with (only) Sajith Premadasa,” despite their remarks to the contrary.

“It is a decision taken by our party according to the proper method. Now both of them (Senathirajah and Shreetharan) have accepted that. Therefore, they have accepted that the future work should be discussed again with (only) Sajith Premadasa," he said. https://t.co/p0WricD4D4

— M A Sumanthiran (@MASumanthiran) September 12, 2024

The splits within the party have left its members in disarray, and the latest developments highlight the ongoing divisions, which have contributed to a steady decline in the party’s popularity.

Read more: ITAK plunges further into chaos as central committee backs Sajith Premadasa

Sri Lanka police have sought a court order to prohibit commemorations and memorials in honour of  Lt Col Thileepan, a political wing leader of the LTTE, whose 37th death anniversary falls on September 26. He fasted to death, in a protest appealing to the Indian government to honour pledges made to the Tamil people.

The Jaffna police submitting a motion to courts, said that they were aware of commemorations that would take place from the 15th to the 26th of this month, marking the beginning and end of his fast, and sought an order to ban all such events. 

The petition was filed at Jaffna Magistrate Courts on Friday, September 13, by the Jaffna Police Division. The Magistrate has ordered that a hearing be conducted and it has been fixed for the 18th of this month. Accordingly, Tamil National People's Front (TNPF) MP Selvarajah Kajendren and former Jaffna Mayor Visvalingam Manivannan have been named in the petition. They are also expected to appear before courts for the hearing. 

This is not the first time that the Sri Lankan government has attempted to clamp down on memorials of fallen LTTE leaders. Every year, the Sri Lankan police and security apparatus often thwart commemorations of Thileepan’s martyrdom. Last year, a Sinhala mob attacked and destroyed a memorial float dedicated to Lt Col Thileepan as it traveled through Trincomalee. As the vehicle passed through Kappalthurai, Trincomalee, a Sinhala mob attacked the vehicle with stones and batons despite the presence of Sri Lankan police officers.

Similarly last year, the Vavuniya police, Puthukudiyiruppu, Mullaitivu, Mulliyawalai, and Jaffna police sought separate court orders to prohibit the commemoration of the memorial. Police in Vavuniya claimed that the commemoration would disturb the public peace and cause racial harmony. The judge dismissed the submission citing that all individuals had the right to remember their dead. The judge then ordered the police to provide security to the events. When the Jaffna police made a similar submission, the court was forced to summon Kajendren, TNPF conveners Pushparaja Thushanthan, Dharmalingam Suresh, Ganesapillai Kugan, Rev. Sathiyavel and Mr. Kurukularasa to appear in court. The submission by the other police divisions was never heard as it was postponed.

Thileepan began his fast on September 15 and died 11 days later after refusing food and water. 

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has agreed to delay its next review of Sri Lanka ahead of presidential polls that are scheduled to be held this month.

Julie Kozack, Director of the IMF Communications Department, highlighted the ongoing challenges during a recent discussion, stating, "Important vulnerabilities do remain, and sustaining reform momentum is going to be essential" for Sri Lanka as it recovers from its worst economic crisis.

She further noted, "A lot of progress has been made, but the country is not out of the woods yet, and it is important to safeguard those hard-won gains."

When asked about the third review of Sri Lanka's program, Kozack said, "We will move forward with program discussions after the presidential elections take place, and a new government or the outcome based on the choice of the people. We will be ready to go with that."

She emphasized that it is up to the Sri Lankan people to decide their leadership, and the IMF is prepared to work with whichever government is in power following the elections. Kozack also noted that the IMF's provision of USD 336 million to Sri Lanka has supported strong program performance, helped reform efforts bear fruit, and contributed to the revival of economic growth.

During their last meeting, IMF representatives also engaged with opposition members, including those from the Samagi Jana Balawegaya and the National People's Power.

Earlier this year  Human Rights Watch (HRW), has called upon the IMF in a letter to stress to Sri Lanka the importance of civil society and to abandon legislation that would severely curtail their freedom. In a letter published sent to the global financial body, HRW highlighted how the Sri Lankan government sought to intimidate and silence independent voices.

“The IMF and other international partners supporting Sri Lanka’s economic recovery recognize that this crisis has its roots in misgovernance and corruption,” said Meenakshi Ganguly, deputy Asia director at Human Rights Watch. “If their efforts are to be successful, they need to stand firm against the government’s attempts to curtail fundamental civil and political rights.”

Sri Lankan presidential aspirant Namal Rajapaksa, son of accused war criminal Mahinda Rajapaksa, firmly stated that there would be no merger of the North and East, nor would land or police powers be granted under a Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) government.

During a media briefing in Jaffna, Rajapaksa reiterated his stance against merging the North-East and granting land and police powers, stating, "The Buddhist nation protects all religions, languages, and communities," and assuring that the "SLPP would never betray the country or the party for privileges or positions."

Rajapaksa is currently touring the North-East ahead of Sri Lanka’s presidential polls scheduled for later this year.

Despite refusing to devolve power to Tamils, Rajapaksa claimed he would ensure that the Jaffna peninsula would be transformed into a technology and business hub. "With its harbor, airport, and proximity to India, Jaffna is in a prime position for growth,” he said. “However, many current political discussions are bogged down in abstract issues rather than tangible solutions."

At the launch of his manifesto, Rajapaksa promised to continue the work of his father, Mahinda Rajapaksa, who oversaw the genocide of tens of thousands of Tamils in 2009.

"By integrating sustainable solutions for the challenges of the 21st century and the modern technological revolution with Mahinda Chinthana, let us start again from where the development of this country was stopped," he said, vowing to rescue the country from its current economic crisis, just as his father "liberated and united a country torn apart by war," he told a gathering in Colombo earlier this month.

However, Rajapaksa avoided addressing specific strategies for the North-East, including critical issues such as land grabs, Sinhalization, Buddhization, or the ongoing intimidation and arrests that impact the daily lives of Eelam Tamils. Instead, his manifesto mentions a plan for establishing a museum and a library for future generations to learn about the "humanitarian war against terrorism that hindered the development of this country for 30 years," but notably omits any commitment to justice and accountability for the atrocities committed by the Sri Lankan state.

Sri Lankan police have arrested Tamil National People’s Front (TNPF) MP Selvarajah Kajendren as he and his team campaigned for a boycott of the upcoming Sri Lankan presidential elections in Kilinochchi this morning.

Kajendren and other members of the TNPF have repeatedly been harassed by the Sri Lankan security forces in recent weeks.

^{Sri Lankan police surround Kajendren in Mullaitivu earlier this week.}

Sri Lankan police have arrested Tamil National People’s Front (TNPF) MP Selvarajah Kajendren as he and his team campaigned for a boycott of the upcoming Sri Lankan presidential elections in Kilinochchi this morning.

Kajendren and other members of the TNPF have repeatedly been harassed by the Sri Lankan security forces in recent weeks.

Just this week, several uniformed and plain-clothed police officers, seized leaflets from the TNPF MP in Puthukkudiyiruppu, Mullaitivu, as he and others distributed them in the area to encourage Tamils to boycott the upcoming presidential elections.

Since May of this year, the TNPF has been urging Tamils to boycott the upcoming presidential election. In a statement released earlier this year, the TNPF criticized the Sri Lankan government, stating: “The Sri Lankan government views the Tamil homeland as an enemy. They continue their policies of Buddhization, militarization, and structural genocide in the homeland. As long as the majority representation remains in their hands, they will regard Tamils not as their own people but as adversaries.”

A new report by the Oakland Institute looking at Trincomalee, a city once dubbed the capital of Tamil Eelam, has found that over the last 12 months, there has been rapidly escalating colonization of the Tamil homeland.

While Sinhalese colonization and settlements have taken place in Sri Lanka under the guise of development since independence, this new research exposes an intensification since the end of the armed conflict in 2009 and details the different methods deployed by successive governments and the military to further disempower Tamil communities.

“Sinhalese control is expanding over Trincomalee District, which remains largely under military rule 15 years after the end of the war,” said Anuradha Mittal, Executive Director of the Oakland Institute. “These land grabbing efforts strategically target the most densely Tamil and Muslim populated areas to erase their history and culture while destroying their claim to a unified homeland.”

According to field studies conducted by the institute, they found that as a result of intensive land grabbing, Sinhalese now constitute 27 percent of the district’s population and occupy 36 percent of the district's total land area. The Kuchchaveli DS Division according to researchers has undergone the worst dispossession during the past ten years as over 50 percent of the division (41,164 acres) has been expropriated. This has been in part carried out under the guise of various “development” projects – including irrigation schemes, port modernization, power generation and tourism – used to expropriate lands from Tamils and settle Sinhalese in a process known as Sinhalization. Various government agencies, including the Archaeology Department, Forest Department, and Tourism Development Authority are implicated in these schemes.

“More than 500 families fishing in this sea area have been affected by the acquisition of 1,800 acres of land by the Raigam Salt Company. There are plans to give 450 acres of land to another salt company at Siriyakaraichi. If this land is given, the livelihood of at least another 400 fishing families will be affected," Pushpakanthan, a former member of the Kuchchaveli Divisional Council, said. 

The expansion of Buddhist viharas (temples) figures predominantly in the report which states that in Hindu and Muslim areas, Buddhization is being facilitated to change the demographics and erase the cultural landmarks of Tamils and Muslims. According to their findings, since 2009, at least 26 viharas have been constructed on 3,887 acres of expropriated land in Kuchchaveli DS Division alone. In 2020, the government commissioned an 11-member Presidential Task Force for Archaeological Heritage Management in the Eastern Province, led by the military and monks, intending to seize land in the area.

As well documented in this and past Oakland Institute reports, the Sri Lankan state uses military occupation to assert its ethnocratic dominance over the Tamil and Muslim populations in the Northern and Eastern Provinces. These provinces remain highly militarized, hosting five of the seven Regional Headquarters of the Sri Lankan military. The heavy military presence is enabling land grabs to establish Buddhist viharas and bring in Sinhalese settlers.

“Kuchchaveli DS Division is the heart of the predominantly Tamil-speaking regions in the contiguous Northern and Eastern Provinces. The purpose of the settlement of Sinhalese in Kuchchaveli is to dismember the contiguous land mass of the North and East. By taking over Kuchchaveli, the government plans to cut off the land connection and weaken the Tamils’ claim of the North and East as their historical homeland," Sri Gnaneswaran, Community Activist in Trincomalee told the researchers. 

“The intensification of Sri Lanka ethnocratic practices documented in this report compounds the already existing misery, injustice, resentment, and jeopardizes any possibility of accountability and redressal for crimes committed by the Sri Lankan state during the civil war to now. Unless the government starts demilitarizing the Northern and Eastern Provinces and respecting the basic rights to land and life of the Tamil and Muslim communities, peace and reconciliation will not be possible,” said Mittal. 

"The infiltration of people from Sinhalese Divisions is being done to establish Sinhalese Buddhist supremacy in Kuchchaveli. We will soon be unable to stay in these areas, just as the Tamils who lived in Negombo and Habarana lost their identity and became Tamil-Sinhalese. Similarly, in Trincomalee, the Tamil people will eventually lose their identity and become Tamil-Sinhalese. Eventually, Saivism would be absorbed into Buddhism, and history would be rewritten to say that there was no Saivism in Sri Lanka.” Tavathiru Agathiyar Adikalar, Trincomalee Thenkailai Atheena Swamigal had said. 

The Oakland Institute believes it is imperative that Resolution 51/1 is fully implemented and evidence of atrocities committed in Sri Lanka be used in future trials abroad, including at the ICC. "Towards these goals, the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights should establish its field offices in the North and East to monitor the ongoing land grabbing, Sinhalization, Buddhization, and militarization. Given the ongoing land grabs and repression faced by Tamils and Muslims, the UN Human Rights Council should renew its mandate on Sri Lanka."

The full report can be found here.

Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) MP Tissa Kuttiarachchi claimed there is a conspiracy to assassinate former president Mahinda Rajapaksa and that threats form the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) were still present despite their defeat in 2009, as this months polls draw closer.

The lawmaker, speaking at a rally in Hiriyale, claimed that although the LTTE was militarily defeated, the threat is not completely over.

Kuttiarachchi warned the crowd that withdrawing Rajapaksa’s security or forcing him out of his official residence after the election could expose him to a genuine assassination threat.

He claimed there had been an earlier plan to kill Rajapaksa during an attack on the Prime Minister's Office during the 2022 Aragalaya protests, stating that Rajapaksa's life was spared only because he was taken to the Trincomalee Naval Base.

Rajapaksa oversaw the 2009 Tamil genocide which defeated the LTTE and saw tens of thousands of Tamils massacred.

Kuttiarachchi’s remarks come as part of a repeated pattern by Sinhala nationalist politicians in raising the spectre of Tamil nationalism to whip up Sinhala votes.

Meanwhile, the Director of Military Intelligence, Brigadier Chandika Mahathanthila, has filed a complaint with the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) against a YouTuber who made alarming claims about a plot to incite unrest before the presidential polls on September 21. Mahathanthila informed the CID that the YouTuber in question claimed to possess evidence of either an assassination attempt or widespread unrest before or after the election.

The YouTuber, Ajith Dharmapala, a former police officer now living abroad, runs a channel where he has repeatedly discussed this topic. Dharmapala alleges that, beginning on September 12, at least 200 officers from Sri Lanka’s military intelligence corps would be involved in instigating unrest.

Mahathanthila has accused him of spreading false information intended to undermine the morale and effectiveness of the military for political reasons.

This week monitors from the People's Action for Free and Fair Elections (PAFFREL) said Sri Lanka has seen a spike in election related violence ahead of the presidential polls.

International journalists attempting to travel to Sri Lanka and cover the upcoming presidential elections have faced visa delays or even outright refusals in recent weeks, as tension continues to build on the island ahead of the polls.

The Tamil Guardian is aware of several cases where foreign journalists have not received their visas, despite following all due process. This week, the Foreign Correspondents’ Association of Sri Lanka sought clarification from the Ministry of Public Security on the visa process for journalists covering the 2024 Presidential Elections, writing directly to Sri Lanka's Minister of Public Security Tiran Alles.

^{File photograph: Tamils protest against media supression in 2014.}

International journalists attempting to travel to Sri Lanka and cover the upcoming presidential elections have faced visa delays or even outright refusals in recent weeks, as tension continues to build on the island ahead of the polls.

The Tamil Guardian is aware of several cases where foreign journalists have not received their visas, despite following all due process. This week, the Foreign Correspondents’ Association of Sri Lanka sought clarification from the Ministry of Public Security on the visa process for journalists covering the 2024 Presidential Elections, writing directly to Sri Lanka's Minister of Public Security Tiran Alles.

“Several of our colleagues who have applied for visas through Sri Lankan missions in their home countries have been informed that, following the Supreme Court’s decision in early August, these missions are no longer able to issue "journalist" visas,” said the letter.

“In the past, these visas allowed journalists to obtain media accreditation from the Director-General of Information.”

“Foreign media organisations will not deploy staff without proper accreditation. Therefore, it is crucial that the updated system for obtaining visas and media accreditation is clearly communicated to avoid any hindrance to journalistic duties during this important election period.”

The web portal which was used to obtain the visas (https://www.srilankaevisa.lk/) is currently also down. 

Sri Lanka has a long history of press suppression, and was at one point one of the most dangerous countries in the world for journalists. Tamil journalists in particular bore the brunt of Sri Lankan repression with dozens of media workers killed or disappeared throughout the decades of armed conflict and genocide. International media organisations, such as Channel 4 News, would also face visa difficulties or expulsion from the island.

The letter to Alles comes at a time that the minister himself is embroiled in a visa scam investigation, accused of bypassing tender procedures to award a contract for on-arrival visas to VFS Global, a private firm tasked with issuing visas at the Bandaranaike International Airport. 

Anti-Indian sentiment flared in the wake of a viral video which alleged the Indian company had taken over the processing of visas at Colombo’s international airport. The Indian High Commission in Colombo was forced to deny any Indian involvement with issuing visas in Sri Lanka.

The case is before Sri Lanka’s Supreme Court, awaiting a verdict. Opposition MP Harsha de Silva had previously informed parliament that a committee investigation found irregularities in the selection of VFS, citing a lack of transparency in the fee structure, potential data breaches, conflicts with other service providers, and an unaccounted $200 million.

Recently Alles claimed that he holds a “10-year visa” allowing him to live in any country in the world, as he rejected claims that he may flee the island following the presidential polls on September 21.

Alles was responding to questions regarding claims by opposition MP Mujibur Rahuman, who alleged that at least 80 government ministers were planning to leave the country after the elections.

The People for Equality and Relief in Lanka (PEARL) released a new legal briefing paper this week that states out and proves that the Sri Lankan government and military committed genocide against the Tamil people in 2009.

The repor, released to coincide with UN Human Rights Council’s 57th session, comes to the legal conclusion that there was sufficient evidence to prove genocidal intent by the Government of Sri Lanka against the Tamil people from January through May 18, 2009.

“The Sri Lankan government cloaked its horrific atrocities in the language of ‘counter-terrorism’ and paved the way for similar genocidal acts to occur, including in Gaza,” said Madura Rasaratnam, Executive Director of PEARL. “This report urges members of the international community to listen to Tamils, who’ve rightly said ‘genocide’ for over 15 years, and to formally recognize Sri Lanka’s genocide against the Tamil people in 2009.”

The report, “Justice for Genocide: Sri Lanka’s Responsibility for Genocide against the Tamil People in 2009,” undertakes a comprehensive evidentiary and legal analysis of the Sri Lankan government and military’s conduct as genocidal acts that were committed with genocidal intent.

PEARL uses factual evidence gathered from UN investigations, international NGOs, and the media, and then applies genocide jurisprudence, including appropriate circumstantial evidence. Based on these findings, PEARL ascertained that the Sri Lankan government and its forces’ conducted what constitutes at least one of the following three genocidal acts: killing, causing serious bodily or mental harm, and/or deliberately inflicting conditions of life calculated to bring about their partial physical destruction.

According to the investigations, the genocidal acts were committed with the intent to destroy Eelam Tamils in the Vanni region, the last area under the control of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE). PEARL determined Sri Lanka’s intent to destroy based on the deployment of at least 14 times as many soldiers and special forces as LTTE “core fighters” in the Vanni; consistent, methodical conduct against Tamils in the Vanni; and deliberately disproportionate attacks in the Vanni, knowing the vast majority of Tamils were civilians who did not pose a serious military threat.

PEARL also analyzed Sri Lankan officials’ statements conflating and explicitly reframing the civilian population as LTTE combatants in an attempt to conceal the genocide under the guise of the escalating internal armed conflict, counterinsurgency, and the global “war on terror.” Of the alleged perpetrators most responsible, then-Defense Secretary Gotabaya Rajapaksa said that “only LTTE sympathizers” were present in the “No Fire Zone”; “to crush the terrorists, there is nothing called unproportionate”; and the UN should refer to the dead as “people,” not “civilians,” all of which indicate an intent to destroy the Tamils in the Vanni.

Read more: 15 years today - A massacre in Mullivaikkal

As an example, PEARL cited the incidents that transpired during the final months of the war, where the Sri Lankan military deliberately shelled government-designated “No Fire Zones,” killing at least 40,000 Tamil civilians, severely injuring another 25,000 to 30,000 Tamils, and attacking hospitals, food distribution lines, and other humanitarian objects. Soldiers raped and sexually mutilated many Tamil women and girls, and security forces physically and sexually tortured countless Tamil men and women detainees. The government deliberately restricted access to necessary food and medical supplies in the war zone and created inhumane conditions for internally displaced Tamils in de facto internment camps. 

The Sri Lankan government has consistently denied the numbers and allegations of war crimes. Reports of over 40,000 Tamil civilians having been killed during the final stages of Sri Lanka’s armed conflict have been labeled as a “myth” the former chairman of Sri Lanka’s presidential commission into disappearances once said. 

“Tamils in the Vanni today face not only human rights violations and persecution, but also surveillance, harassment, and intimidation, particularly those bravely demanding justice and accountability for 2009, like the Tamil Families of the Disappeared,” Rasaratnam said. “As long as impunity reigns, facilitating militarization and abuses, Tamils in the Vanni will not have sustainable peace. The state of Sri Lanka and Sri Lankan war criminals and genocidaires must be brought to justice.”

Sri Lankan police in Puthukkudiyiruppu, Mullaitivu, blocked Tamil National People’s Front (TNPF) MP Selvarajah Kajendren as he and his team campaigned for a boycott of the upcoming Sri Lankan presidential elections. 

This marks the third time in less than three weeks that the Sri Lankan police have made a concentrated effort to block the TNPF from campaigning in the North-East.

In this latest incident, several uniformed and plain-clothed police officers, seized leaflets from the TNPF MP as he and others distributed them in the area to encourage Tamils to boycott the upcoming presidential elections.

The police officers telephoned the Election Commission in Mullaitivu to inquire about the costs involved in printing the leaflets. The police told the TNPF that the name of the printing press must be mentioned on the leaflets to determine how much had been spent on their printing.

Despite the police's insistence on including the name of the printing press, this is neither a mandatory requirement by the Sri Lankan Elections Commission nor do other political parties include such information on their pamphlets. This is not the first time TNPF members have been prevented from campaigning.

On the 10th of this month, Kajendren and other TNPF members were stopped by Sri Lankan police in Maruthankerny, Jaffna, as they campaigned for a boycott of the presidential elections. Police officers confiscated pamphlets and blocked the TNPF members' path while questioning them about their campaign.

Since May of this year, the TNPF has been urging Tamils to boycott the upcoming presidential election. In a statement released earlier this year, the TNPF criticized the Sri Lankan government, stating: “The Sri Lankan government views the Tamil homeland as an enemy. They continue their policies of Buddhization, militarization, and structural genocide in the homeland. As long as the majority representation remains in their hands, they will regard Tamils not as their own people but as adversaries.”

Relatives and civil society activists have called on the Sri Lankan government to release Tamil political prisoners, some of whom have been held long after completing their sentences. They claim that the continued detention in squalid conditions is a deliberate act by Sri Lankan authorities to suppress Tamils and deny them the right to live in dignity.

Murliyar Komagan, a representative of a community organization advocating for prisoners, noted that Sri Lanka marked 'Prisoners' Day' by releasing nearly 350 inmates today, but continues to detain Tamil political prisoners who have already been cleared for release by the courts.

"In a facility designed for 13,000 prisoners, there are 24,000, sharing meagre resources, including food and space, and living in squalor, far from their families and loved ones," he said at a media briefing held at the Jaffna Press Club. "This country claims to be compassionate, to stand for solidarity and virtues, yet it fails to pardon or show humanity to prisoners who have already served their time."

Komagan added that Sinhalese politicians repeatedly mislead the Tamil people, promising better living conditions only to retain the weakest and most vulnerable prisoners. "We wonder if this has been done intentionally for the past 30 years, as we can find no other explanation for why these individuals are not being released to their families and society."

Meanwhile, the sister of Wigneswaran, another Tamil political prisoners, made an emotional plea, expressing her family’s exhaustion after nearly three decades of visiting her brother. "In a few weeks, it will be 30 years that he has been behind bars. What kind of life is it, having spent 30 years in a cell?" she said. "I took my child to see him, but we cannot keep doing this. We are tired of having to visit the prison for the last 29 years. We just want him home, where he belongs, with his family."

She recounted visiting him on Saturday, hoping he would be among those released, but to no avail. Clasping her hands together, she pleaded for his return, noting that he had already completed his full sentence.

According to the prisons spokesperson, 350 prisoners who were serving sentences for minor offenses were released on state pardon by Sri Lanka's President to mark 'Prisoners' Day' today.

Earlier this year, another Tamil political prisoner, Parthiban, was attacked by a former Sri Lankan army officer in Welikada Prison. "During the assault, the officer lamented the soldiers who had died in the war, to which Parthiban had been a witness. This was an act of vengeance that should never have occurred. Parthiban has already served 28 years in prison, and the least the government can do is ensure he is treated humanely."

Parthiban was detained in connection with the 1996 Colombo Central Bank bombing. According to a report by People's Dispatch, Counter-Currents estimates that over 200 Tamil political prisoners are currently incarcerated in various prisons and detention centers across Sri Lanka. The true figure remains unknown.

The British government continues to deem Sri Lanka a “human rights priority country” said Catherine West, the UK’s Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for the Indo-Pacific, as she was questioned on the need to impose Magnitsky-style sanctions on Sri Lankan officials accused of war crimes.

Newly elected parliamentarian Uma Kumaran asked West about the assessment the foreign office has made on the “potential merits” of imposing sanctions on Sri Lankan individuals. To date, both the United States and Canada have imposed travel bans and individual sanctions on those accused of war crimes, including the execution of civilians and the genocide of Tamils. Britain has not.

The British government continues to deem Sri Lanka a “human rights priority country” said Catherine West, the UK’s Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for the Indo-Pacific, as she was questioned on the need to impose Magnitsky-style sanctions on Sri Lankan officials accused of war crimes.

Newly elected parliamentarian Uma Kumaran asked West about the assessment the foreign office has made on the “potential merits” of imposing sanctions on Sri Lankan individuals. To date, both the United States and Canada have imposed travel bans and individual sanctions on those accused of war crimes, including the execution of civilians and the genocide of Tamils. Britain has not.

In response, West said that Sri Lanka “is a human rights priority country for the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office”.

“We regularly engage with the Government of Sri Lanka on the need for truth, justice, and accountability,” she continued. “The Global Human Rights sanctions regime is one tool in our foreign policy toolkit.”

However, she refrained from speculating about future sanctions, stating that it “could reduce their impact”.

Earlier this year, West took part in the first ever British Tamil hustings and pledged to work towards justice and accountability for mass atrocities in Sri Lanka.

Questioned on why Sri Lankan war criminals were yet to face sanctions from the British government, West admitted that “it is curious”.

“If I do become the minister in two weeks I would like to understand from officials within the foreign office what their assessment is of the Magnitsky style sanctions and whether they could be effective or not.”

“Unlike the current government, in the most ordered way we can, we will be putting the international law at the heart of our foreign policy,” added West in July. “Keir Starmer, as you are aware, has previously called on the British government to take a leading role in referring Sri Lanka to the International Criminal Court.”

West maintained that the “assessment and mechanism exists within Britain’s Foreign and Commonwealth Development Office, but we believe there has a lack of political will to put into motion that mechanism”. 

“That is a clear line between ourselves and the current government. We support all measures to hold those responsible for human rights abuses to justice.”

More than 2,500 plantation workers in Nuwara Eliya held a demonstration last Thursday, calling on Sri Lanka's presidential candidates to establish rural development societies, improve hill country schools, upgrade government estate hospitals and resolve ongoing labour issues.

The Kandy Community Development Organisation held this protest calling for equal rights of predominantly Tamil workers; descendants of indentured labourers brought over from South India by the British to work on plantations.

Despite the Sri Lankan government’s promises to increase the daily wages of plantation workers to Rs 1,700, they have yet to receive their promised salary with estate companies claiming that they will not pay. Palani Digambaram, the Nuwara-Eliya District MP, said that the government has instructed plantation companies not to raise wages and they are false promises intended to deceive voters.

The protesters demanded the Sri Lankan government also honour their pledges to establish rural development societies and upgrade government hospitals to provide adequate healthcare, relocating 37 schools from disaster-prone areas, and to provide government provisions in Tamil. The rural location means that the workers have no other choice but to rely on provisions provided by their employers, whose cost is deducted from their wages.

Education streams offered in small towns and these rural areas are extremely limited, thus significantly reducing the opportunities offered to children to access science, mathematics and foreign languages. There is also an acute shortage of teachers in the hill country, with promotion based simply on length of service. A publication presented at Peradeniya International Economics Research Symposium in 2023 on the Nuwara-Eliya district states that it has the highest rate of malnutrition of school children. It concluded that lack of access to food, proper healthcare and knowledge were key factors in contributing to the malnutrition of the predominantly Tamil-speaking students.