A Sri Lankan police intelligence officer pointed his gun to Tamil National People’s Front (TNPF) leader Gajendrakumar Ponnambalam after he was attacked during a meeting in Maruthankerny. 

Ponnambalam was at a meeting with a sports club in Maruthankerny earlier today where two unknown men were in the crowd.

On Monday, the Asian Development Bank (ADB) approved a US 350 million dollar loan for Sri Lanka. 

The loan comes as part of a broader financial assistance package anchored by the International Monetary Fund's (IMF) Extended Fund Facility (EFF) for the island. 

Sri Lanka’s cabinet has approved proposals to establish a South African style, “Truth and Reconciliation Commission” (TRC) despite continued demands from Tamil on the island for an international investigation into war crimes.

Tamil families of the disappeared in Vavuniya remembered the 42nd anniversary of the burning of Jaffna library. 

Flowers were laid and candles lit to commemorate the burning which was orchestrated by the Sri Lankan state. 

^{Cover art by Sagi Thilipkumar}

At midnight on May 31, 1981, the Jaffna Public Library, the crucible of Tamil literature and heritage, was set ablaze by Sri Lankan security forces and state-sponsored mobs. The burning has since been marked by Eelam Tamils as an act of genocide.

Last week Sri Lanka’s President, Ranil Wickremesinghe, met with Japan’s Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, and apologised for Sri Lanka’s unilateral withdrawal from an agreed Light Rail Transit (LRT) project and to discuss expanding bilateral projects.

Speaking at a separate round table on “Sri Lanka’s Economic Revival & Opportunities for Japanese Enterprise”, Wickremesinghe maintained his focus on stabiling and liberalising the country’s economy whilst actively inviting new foreign ventures.

^{Source: @ShehanSema on Twitter} 

India has extended its USD 1 billion credit line to Sri Lanka for an additional year.

In March of last year, an agreement was signed between Sri Lanka and the State Bank of India (SBI) for a $1 billion credit. The credit was intended to aid the island after the economic crisis that left civilians without access to food, fuel, or essential medicine. 

Photograph: A Sinhalese mob beats a Tamil passenger after pulling him out of his car. 1958. (Courtesy Victor Ivan)

On 27 May 1958, the Sri Lankan state declared a state of emergency after Sinhala mobs had began attacking, raping and murdering Tamils across the island on 22 May 1958. The series of violence was to become another in a series of deadly anti-Tamil pogroms.

Tamils in Toronto gathered on May 18 to mark the 14th anniversary since the Mulivaikkal massacre, recently declared Tamil Genocide Remembrance Day in Canada. 

Hundreds of Tamils gathered at Albert Campbell Square in Scarborough, Ontario, to pay their respect to the lives lost. The commemorations were organized by the National Council of Canadian Tamils (NCCT) and Tamil Youth Organization Canada (TYO).