The United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights issued a communique marking 15 years since the end of the armed conflict noting that Sri Lanka’s legacy of war and enforced disappearances haunt entire communities with victims and survivors "impacted psychologically, economically and socially".

“Women often became the families’ sole breadwinners, surviving on low-paying jobs such as working in paddy fields or sewing clothes," said the latest statement. "Many faced risks of sexual harassment and exploitation.”

“Although Sri Lanka’s war ended 15 years ago, families of the disappeared are still waiting for truth, justice and reparations,” the report read. “Sri Lanka has suffered from waves of enforced disappearances over decades. Used primarily by Sri Lankan security forces and paramilitary groups as a tool to intimidate and oppress perceived opponents, enforced disappearances have targeted tens of thousands from the 1970s to the end of the conflict in 2009.”

The OHCHR referred to a report from the UN Human Rights Office which said “Sri Lanka must confront the legacy of enforced disappearances by holding those responsible to account”.

The report called on Sri Lanka’s government to acknowledge the scale of disappearances and the involvement of State security forces and armed groups, and to take action to disclose the fates and whereabouts of the disappeared.

Under Human Rights Council resolutions 46/1 and 51/1, the Office of the High Commissioner says it is working to advance accountability for gross violations of human rights and international humanitarian law and related crimes in Sri Lanka.

It refers to the OHCHR Sri Lanka accountability project (OSLap) which is mandated to: collect, consolidate, preserve and analyze information and evidence of violations and abuses of human rights; develop strategies for future accountability processes for gross violations and abuses of human rights or serious violations of international humanitarian law; support relevant judicial and other proceedings, including in Member States, with competent jurisdiction; and advocate for victims and survivors.

The Tamil National People’s Front (TNPF) called on Tamils to boycott the upcoming Sri Lankan presidential election, adding that they must refrain from casting their vote until the Tamil aspirations are also fulfilled. 

“The Sri Lankan government looks to the Tamil homeland as enemies,” their statement read. “They continue with their Buddhization, militarization, and structural genocide in the homeland. As long as the majority representation is in their hands, they will not consider the Tamils as their people but enemies.”

“The only option left to the Tamil people is to reject the presidential election,” said the TNPF.

The party emphasized that boycotting the elections would send a clear message to the government the Tamils do not want to take part in this exercise.

The TNPF went on to talk about the economic crisis and its impact on the Tamils, noting that the Sri Lankan government allocates nearly 48% of its salary budget to defence personnel even in the absence of any armed conflict.

“The Security Forces are a huge burden on this economy, but they do not want to accept it,” their statement read.

“In the absence of a permanent political solution for the Tamils, whenever Tamils take to the road, they are met with stiff resistance from the security forces. At this rate, if they continue to deploy the security forces for the Tamils, they will not be able to reduce their defence spending.”

The TNPF said there were two paths left for the island’s ethnic conflict. “One of them is to silence the Tamils, make them abandon their quest for a political solution, while the other one is to be honest about the prevailing situation and to offer a permanent political solution.”

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— Selvarajah Kajendren MP (@skajendren) May 19, 2024

Tamils in the homeland and diaspora have been demanding a lasting political solution including an independence referendum for Eelam Tamils.

Last week, a landmark resolution was introduced to the US Congress calling on the United States to work towards an independence referendum for Eelam Tamils and recognise the genocide committed against them by the Sri Lankan state.

The resolution, introduced by Representative Wiley Nickel, is the first of its kind to be brought to the US Congress. It came as Tamils marked 15 years since the Mullivaikkal genocide this week, with several commemorations that took place on May 18 both in the North-East and around the world. 

Read more on the call for a referendum here. 

Senior Janatha Vimukthi Party (JVP) member K D Lalkantha said only his party and one other led by extremist Sinhala monks are responsible for defeating “separatist terrorism” as he boasted of “ending” the island’s conflict “through war,” a day after Tamil Genocide Remembrance Day

Addressing former military officers in Ratnapura during a party meeting, Lalkantha credited the JVP for mobilizing “ideological warfare” whilst the security forces took up arms.

“You waged the struggle because it was clear who the enemy was, you cannot wage war without an enemy,” he told the audience.

“There are only two political parties in Sri Lanka, which frankly said that this must be ended through war,” he continued.

“Not the SLFP, not the UNP, not the SLPP. Only the JVP and JHU said that we must finish this by war and there is no other solution.”

A day after Tamils marked 15th anniversary of genocidal crimes by SriLanka's state armed forces, KD Lal Kantha, a senior leader of JVPSriLanka/NPPSLOfficial claims credit for mobilising mass support for the war, while addressing ex-military officers in Ratnapura District. pic.twitter.com/HvWEL7O9OG

— JDS (@JDSLanka) May 19, 2024

The JHU is a party led by extremist Sinhala Buddhist monks, who have frequently made racist remarks and pushed hardline policy.

“There are only two political movements in Sri Lanka which created the idea that separatist terrorism must be finished off by war,” Lalkantha said. “We both waged wars; we waged an ideological war and you did that with weapons.”

Lalkantha’s remarks just a day after commemorations took place across the North-East to mark Tamil Genocide Remembrance Day. Tamil families are still reeling from the horrors of the genocide, with more than 169,000 people still unaccounted for.

Last year, Lalkantha told a rally that he was prepared to join an armed struggle if needed. “There have been various attempts at armed struggle,” he told a rally in November. “I too have been part of armed struggles. If needed, I’m also ready to join one anytime. But that’s a separate discussion.”

Sinhala extremist lawmaker Wimal Weerawansa claimed that the Sri Lanka refused to facilitate the surrender of LTTE leader Velupillai Prabhakaran to the United States in 2009, as Washington would have supported an independent state of Tamil Eelam.

Speaking in Sri Lanka’s parliament, Weerawansa said the US had sent a ship to the shores of Mullatiivu in 2009 to facilitate the surrender of the LTTE leadership.

“We opposed it,” he said. “Even China and India asked for us to hand him over. We refused all of that.

“Just like the US supports Israel, they would have supported Tamil Eelam,” he claimed.

“If by any chance the Sri Lanka military had not defeated the LTTE terrorist organization, in South Asia, Tamil Eelam would have become like Israel,” he told the house.

He went on to claim that Israel “is breaching all international laws and bombing Gaza relentlessly” and implied that an independent Tamil Eelam state would have done the same to Sri Lanka.

“If Tamil Eelam had materialized, we would be in the state that Gaza is in today.”

His remarks come despite Sri Lanka repeatedly bombing hospitals and no fire zones, using starvation as a weapon of war, deploying widespread sexual violence and executing surrendering Tamils in 2009. More than 169,000 people remain unaccounted for, in what us increasingly being recognised as a genocide.

^{The LTTE pictured in the 1980's.}

The Indian government has extended its ban on the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) for another five years, claiming the organisation is still active and “threatens the sovereignty and territorial integrity” of India.

The move came almost 15 years since the 2009 genocide at Mullivaikkal which saw the defeat of the LTTE and the murder of tens of thousands of Tamil civilians.

The Union Home Ministry in India re-imposed the ban earlier this month invoking the sub-sections of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967. In their notification, it said the central government believes that the “LTTE is still indulging in activities which are prejudicial to the integrity and security of the country.”

“The pro-LTTE groups/elements continue to foster a separatist tendency amongst the masses and enhance the support base for LTTE in India and particularly in Tamil Nadu, which will ultimately have a strong disintegrating influence over the territorial integrity of India,” the notification said.

According to the Home Ministry, the objective of a Tamil Eelam “amounts to the cession and secession of a part of the territory of India from the Union”. 

See the full notice below.

The extension of the ban comes after the Marumalarchi Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (MDMK) pledged to work on lifting the ban and push for a referendum on establishing Tamil Eelam. The party stated so in a manifesto released before the commencement of the Indian elections, which are currently ongoing. 

It was reported that the party general secretary Vaiko said the MDMK would urge the Union government to conduct a referendum among Tamils in the homeland and the global Tamil diaspora on establishing an Eelam.

Read more on that here. 

Tamils in Melbourne, Australia, held a protest in front of the Victoria Library demanding justice for the genocide at Mullivaikkal in 2009. 

Tamils held placards calling on the Sri Lankan government to stop the structural genocide on Tamils in their own homeland and reiterated that Tamils have the right to self-determination.

Samantha Ratnam, member of the Victorian Legislative Council, was amongst many at the protest. 

A similar rally was held in Sydney on Sunday to mark Tamil Genocide  Remembrance Day, 

In a virtual hearing held by the US Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) panelists highlighted the shrinking space for religious freedom on the island.

“In 2023 and most recently, in our 2024 annual report released last week, USCIRF recommended that the U.S. Department of State place Sri Lanka on its Special Watch List for engaging in or tolerating severe religious freedom violations,” said Frederick Davie, USCIRF Vice Chair. “In the years following the civil war's conclusion, discrimination against religious minorities–particularly Tamil Christians, Tamil Hindus, and Muslims–have exacerbated religious tensions.”

“Religious freedom conditions in Sri Lanka are on a worrying trajectory,” the commission noted. “Discrimination and periodic violence against religious minorities–particularly the Tamil Christians, Tamil Hindus, and Muslims–have exacerbated religious tensions. While recent efforts to expropriate places of worship, such as temples and mosques in the North and East, have echoed and intensified tensions.”

The commission noted that the Sri Lankan government has implemented and enforced several policies that have disproportionately targeted religious minorities, including the Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA), the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) Act, and the Online Safety Bill. 

Speaking at the event, Hejaaz Hizbullah, a human rights lawyer and a former Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA) detainee, said that in the case of the Kurunthumalai Temple, the issue is not a conflict between Hindus and Buddhists, but of Sinhalese and Tamil. “The Sinhalese claims to the area does not appear to be ready to accommodate Tamil Buddhists but insists on a Sinhala Buddhist right.” he said. "I am saying this to highlight the underlying fault lines so as to help understand the issues."

Madura Rasaratnam, Executive Director of the People for Equality and Relief in Lanka (PEARL) told the commission that in the Tamil-speaking areas of the North-East, state-sponsored, and militarised efforts at ‘Sinhalization’ and ‘Buddhisization’ has intensified since the end of the war. 

“The ultimate object is to forcibly supplant the Tamil place of worship with a Sinhala one and subsequently to transform a Tamil-speaking area into a Sinhala one. It is important to note that violent state-sponsored efforts at Sinhala colonization in the North-East have been ongoing since the 1930s and were one of the causes of the civil war. These efforts have developed and intensified since the end of the war.”

Rasaratnam emphasized the many areas in the North-East exemplify instances of state-sponsored Sinhalization efforts. She added that the Sri Lankan archaeology department has intentionally blocked Tamils from accessing sites that are sacredly Hindu while Buddhist monks have blocked Tamils from cultivating adjoining paddy fields. She referred to several other places in the North-East such as Thayiddi in Jaffna, Mayilathamadu in Batticaloa, Neeraviyadi in Mullaitivu and Paralai Murugan Temple in Jaffna where similar tactics are still in use.

Mike Gabriel the Head of Religious Liberty Commission, National Christian Evangelical Alliance of Sri Lanka (NCEASL) told the commission of how it has been five years since the terror attacks on Easter Sunday, and yet no one has been held accountable. 

He added that the commission that the Ministry of Buddhasasana and Religious Affairs recently deemed that all new churches must register with the ministry, a bureaucratic hurdle that prevents the Christian community from securing legal recognition of new churches. “In March 2024, the Minister of Buddhasasana, Religious Affairs announced steps will be taken to raid unregistered religious centers involved in religious conversions," he said. "This has been a worrying development.”

Meanwhile, Shreen Abdul Saroor, Co-Founder of the Women’s Action Network focused on how Muslims have become targets of the draconian Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA), with many still to secure the release of family members detained under this law. “Out of nearly 2000 Muslims who have been arrested after the Easter attack about 300 men, women, and children were held in detention, under the PTA, for a long period. It was the women who were at the forefront to get them released and are continuing to struggle for the release of remaining 25 men in prolonged detention.”

Alan Keenan, Senior Consultant at the International Crisis Group (ICG) spoke of the process of claiming land in the North-East as ‘belonging’ to Sinhala Buddhists, even when it involves destroying or displaying long-standing sites of Hindu worship. He said it is “allowed to continue in part because of the lack of clear or consistent reaction from the president, and the many central government officials who take their lead from him. This reticence to intervene strongly is likely due to the president’s perceived short-term political need to maintain the support of the Buddhist clergy and military as well as his and others’ awareness of the power of the ideological deep structures of Sinhala Buddhist.”

See more here.

The Chief Prelates of the four Buddhist sects in Sri Lanka have written to Ranil Wickremesinghe seeking his pardon for convicted racist monk Galagoda Aththe Gnanasara, a notorious figure who  was imprisoned over hate speech.

The four prelates of Malwathu, Asgiri, Amarapura, and Ramanya claimed that Gnanasara’s actions were “commended” by many and he had advocated for “the prevention of conflicts between ethnicities”. 

They have also stated in their letter that it was Gnanasara who was instrumental in making necessary arrangements for the establishment of the Presidential Task Force for One Country, One Law. They called on Wickremesinghe to pardon the monk on Vesak, a Buddhist festival which falls later this week. 

Earlier this year, the High Courts in Colombo found Gnanasara guilty of stoking racial tension and guilty on the two charges of causing harm and provoking religious animosity by insulting Islamic religious beliefs.

The judge concluded that his remarks were not accidental but intentional and malicious expressions of religious animosity. She also emphasized the duty of the monk to promote harmony and such statements would escalate ethnic and religious tensions in the country.

Gnanasara has vehemently opposed Tamil’s rights to self-determination, threatening a “river of blood” in 2020.

“We will not allow the Tamils to find a solution through devolution. If they demand a separate state again, a river of blood will flow in the North and East.”

In 2014, prior to the anti-Muslim riots, Gnanasara told a cheering Sinhala nationalist crowd in Aluthgama that “if one marakkalaya ( Muslim) lays a hand on a Sinhalese that will be the end of all of them”. The resulting violence killed four people and left 80 injured, with hundreds left homeless. Amongst the sites attacked were mosques, Muslim homes, businesses, and even a nursery.

Tamils in Toronto gathered on May 18 to commemorate 15 years since the Mulivaikkal massacres, an event that has officially been recognised as Tamil Genocide Remembrance Day in Canada. 

The remembrance event which saw hundreds in attendance at Albert Campbell Square in Scarborough, was organised by the National Council of Canadian Tamils (NCCT) and Tamil Youth Organization Canada (TYO).

Amongst those in the audience to pay their respects were several local politicians including Members of Parliament and Members of Provincial Parliament.

Canada’s parliament has officially recognised may 18 as Tamil Genocide Remembrance Day, with messages released by a host of senior officials to mark the occasion

Tamil Americans in North Carolina held an event to commemorate Tamil Genocide Remembrance Day, where they reiterated the Tamil people’s right to self-determination and demands for an independence referendum.

The event saw speeches and readings from a range of community members at the Herbert C. Young Community Center in Cary.

US Houses Representatives Wiley Nickel and Deborah Ross highlighted the significance of recognizing the genocide and affirming the Tamil people's right to self-determination.

The event follows a historic resolution calling for an independence referendum for Eelam Tamils. 

The resolution calls on the US to strengthen diplomatic channels with Eelam Tamils, to work with the international community to work towards a permanent political solution based on the Tamil's right to self-determination through an independence referendum and to recognize the genocide committed by the Sri Lankan government.

A 23-year-old Tamil woman was killed when the bicycle she was riding collided with a van belonging to the Sri Lankan army in Jaffna on Monday.

The woman, identified as Sudhakaran Saruja, was returning from buying milk at her local shop in Puttur, Jaffna, when the collision occurred.

She was seriously injured and rushed to the Achuveli Hospital where she was pronounced dead upon admission. 

She was killed on her birthday, having just turned 23-years-old.

The Sri Lankan military has tens of thousands of troops stationed across the Tamil homeland with military vehicles frequently patrolling the streets of the North-East.

Checkpoints and roadblocks are embedded across Tamil Eelam, and fatal collisions involving military vehicles have occurred in the past.

Tamils have frequently complained of the dangers of the military occupation and demanded demilitarisation of the North-East.

Upon the conclusion of Agnès Callamard, Amnesty International’s Secretary General, five day visit to Sri Lanka, the organisation issued a statement noting that "it is not just the successive governments [...but] all those in positions of leadership, from elected officials, opposition leaders, religious establishments and the media has failed in its fight against impunity". 

The statement follows the 15th anniversary of the Mullivaikkal genocide that saw the end of the armed conflict and "left tens of thousands of people injured, dead, displaced, or forcibly disappeared". Amnesty International further noted, “a seeming lack of political will, along with complacency in delivering justice, prevents reconciliation, feeds grievances, and promotes instability. There should be no room for complacency".

Callamard urged the international community to work with Sri Lankan authorities to secure truth and justice for the victims of war as well as on-going human rights violations. 

Vattuvagal bridge.

15 years ago, Thousands of Tamil men, women and children crossed over Vattuvagal bridge in the north-east of Sri Lanka from rebel-held land to government-controlled territory. Witnesses say the waters were teeming with dead bodies and blood.

It is… pic.twitter.com/fOkAwEHmKE

— Agnes Callamard (@AgnesCallamard) May 21, 2024

The Amnesty statement further noted that the upcoming elections would have a “major impact on the future of Sri Lanka and human rights” considerations for years to come. She urged the political leadership to implement trust-building measures that will address divisions, encourage inter-ethnic solidarity, and provide avenues for meaningful healing. 

“It is imperative to address past wrongs; and make a conscious effort to create an enabling environment for redress while the government considers the establishment of a new Truth and Reconciliation Commission" Callamard said.

The Truth and Reconciliation Commission has been widely slammed by Tamil civil society as yet another hollow domestic mechanism aimed at diverting critism from Sri Lanka. Tamil National People’s Front (TNPF) leader Gajendrakumar Ponnambalam told the Tamil Guardian the CTUR is "a joke". 

Callamard was in Mullivaikkal over the weekend to attend the commemorations at the memorial yard. Before the event, she also met families of the disappeared and spoke with them at length about their struggles in finding their loved ones. 

“This visit has provided insights into the many challenges that Sri Lanka is confronting 15 years after the end of the war that has fractured and polarized Sri Lankan society.  I am deeply grateful to all those who engaged with us, recounting their pain and grief, sharing their views and concerns, and voicing their hopes, fears, and demands for the present and the future. Amnesty International stands ready to support all genuine efforts and commitments to confront long-standing impunity, address the violations and grievances of the past and present, and put an end to discrimination and the repression of fundamental freedoms.”

She also emphasised that a slew of legislations such as the Online Safety Bill and proposed NGO laws “are worrying evidence of the dangers that are confronting Sri Lankans’s vibrant civil society.” She said that they were also concerned about the freedom of expression and assembly particularly when ICCPR Act is used to make arbitrary arrests. “These are often carried out under multiple accusations without formal charge or evidence and have led to lives being lived in limbo. This must end.”

Read the full Amnesty statement here.

Approximately 160 acres of land in Nadukkuda in Mannar, including Tamil residential land, has been sold to a private Indian company for sand mining, according to local reports.

Photographs of the site taken before and after show concrete columns have been erected to create a perimeter around the land, which includes parcels individually owned by residents.

Barbed wire fences have been erected and trees have been felled, reported for the sand mining in the area. Tamils say at least 10 families have been affected by the illegal encroachment. 

Sri Lankan police have reportedly been providing protection for the construction with, with residents who have made enquiries threatened with arrest. 

Nadukkuda primarily is a fishing village with several fisherfolk Tamil communities bordering the coastline.

Though there has been no official confirmation, India has been steadily increasing its footprint in the North-East by funding several projects such as the Palali International Airport, in KKS and initiating ferry services to Tamil Nadu.

Recently the Sri Lankan government approved the Adani Green Energy firm to construct a wind farm that has been marred in controversy.

Former Northern Provincial Council member Thurairasa Ravikaran denounced attempts by the Sri Lankan government to pursue the development of the Mahaweli L Zone adding that it will alter the composition of an all-Tamil region by creating Sinhalese settlements.

Speaking at a media briefing in Jaffna earlier this month, Ravikaran told reporters that Tamil residents in Mullaitivu have met with the Northern Provincial Governor P.S.M Charles and have lodged their complaint against the forcible encroachment. 

“Over 200 Tamil families are already living in these areas, they have been for more than 50 years,” he said. “I’ve come to know that a portion of the land which was privately owned has been sold. The new owners are now trying to evict the Tamil villagers.”

“The livelihoods should be protected, and their land rights secured. The district and divisional secretariat must intervene.”

He said that the governor of the Northern Province has been briefed in length on the impact of ceding part of Mullaitivu to the Mahaweli Authority as part of System L will have. “Nearly 25 acres within this zone have been lost to the Sinhalese people, while Tamils do not even have the land rights to farm.”

In a research paper for the Cambridge University Press, researchers Thiruni Kelegama and Benedikt Korf found the Mahaweli Authority brought over nearly 3000 Sinhalese families to settle in this heavily militarized zone. 

‘We have a long-term plan here (System L). With the war finished, we have to make the Sinhala man the most present in all parts of the country,” confided a military official to Kelegama (military official, 3 April 2017). 

The research paper found here cites that colonization schemes such as Mahaweli L have been central to the Sri Lankan government’s pursuit and development of Sinhala-Buddhist nationalism for decades. They add that Sinhalese settlements were brought to the area clandestinely including landless Sinhalese from the fiefdom of Mahinda Rajapaksa. 

Several Tamil politicians including member of parliament Charles Nirmalanathan, Mavai Senathirajah, and Gajendrakumar Ponnambalam have spoken both in parliament and outside to call on the Sri Lankan government to halt the colonization activities.