Today marks 13 years since the passing of the chief negotiator and political strategist of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), Anton Balasingham.
Balasingham, or as he was fondly known among Tamils - Bala Anna, was widely respected and adored by the nation. His charismatic addresses in venues around the world drew tens of thousands, as he provided political analysis with sharp wit. Leading LTTE delegations through numerous negotiations, Bala Anna eloquently and forcefully articulated the rights of the nation. His intellectual prowess and political acumen earned him respect from all sides of the negotiating table.
He remains an extraordinary theoretician and a formidable figure within the Tamil struggle.
Bala anna's special relationship with the Tamil Guardian is a bond that we remain deeply proud of to this day.
Tamil News
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The European Union (EU) has launched seven new projects to support civil society organisations and human rights in Sri Lanka.
The EU will be providing EUR 4 million to seven civil society organisations "who will work jointly with their local partners to promote social rights, women's empowerment, and freedom of expression in Sri Lanka. These projects will also help build the capacities of local communities and stakeholders, including the media, lawyers, and women's rights...
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Despite having lived in the country for decades, Eelam Tamils residing in India have been denied citizenship status by the new Citizenship Amendment Bill, which was passed by parliament last week.
Hundreds of thousands of Eelam Tamils remain refugees in India despite residing in the country for over three decades. The citizenship bill’s amendment gives Indian...
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India has pledged to grant a sum of 300 million rupees for the expansion of Palaly airport in Jaffna, just weeks after the airport was ceremoniously opened by receiving a flight from Chennai.
Tranjith Singh, Indian High commissioner had made this announcement when he met with Prasanna Ratnunga, Sri Lanka’s Minister of Industrial Export...
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Journalist Maduka Fernando of Lake House Media has reported that he was assaulted by several members of the ruling Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) party’s trade union members.
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The Criminal Investigation Department (CID) has released a statement, stating that they would launch an investigation into a Muslim doctor, Dr. Mohamed Safi Sihabdeen, who is accused of illegal sterilisation, corruption and supporting terrorism.
An investigation launched earlier this July 2019, reported that there was no evidence to support the claims against Dr. Shafi Sihabdeen.
Read Colombo Page reporting...
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India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi paid tribute to Subramaniya Bharathy on his birthday, 11th December marking the 137th year of his birth.
Arguably the most prolific of Tamil poets, Bharathiar is celebrated by Tamils all over the globe for his influence on feminism, social reform...
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The Swiss embassy employee who was abducted on November 25 was ordered by the Colombo Magistrate's Court to undergo a psychiatric examination tomorrow.
The travel ban imposed on the victim has been further extended until December 17, when the psychiatric report is to be submitted.
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British Prime Minister Boris Johnson released a video thanking the British Tamil community for their contribution to life in the UK and expressed hopes for accountability in Sri Lanka.
In a video message that Johnson released on Twitter on the day of Britain’s general election, he said:
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A commemoration for another massacre carried out by the Sri Lankan army in 1984 was held in Vavuniya on Sunday.
Twenty-eight Tamil men and boys in Semamadu were woken up from their sleep and rounded up by the army, taken away in military vehicles never to be seen again, assumed to have been...
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Families of the disappeared decried the surveillance and intimidation they endure at the hands of Sri Lankan security and intelligence forces, while Sri Lankan intelligence officers came out in force to photograph and carry out surveillance of a mass rally in Mullaitivu on...
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The election of Gotabaya Rajapaksa as President of Sri Lanka “sent shockwaves across the Tamil-dominated northeast - where memories of his brother Mahinda Rajapaksa's brutal presidency, marked by mass atrocities and enforced disappearances, remain fresh,” writes Mario Arulthas, Advocacy Director at People for Equality and Relief in Lanka (PEARL), in a piece for Al Jazeera this week.
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A Sri Lankan brigadier who had been previously removed from a posting due to links with military-backed gangs causing unrest in Jaffna, has been appointed the head of State Intelligence Service (SIS) by Sri Lanka’s new president Gotabaya Rajapaksa.
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A Tamil youth was hospitalised from a shooting incident in Mullaitivu.
Mallavi police said the incident took place around 4am on Tuesday but did not identify those involved.
A 25-year-old was admitted to Kilinochchi hospital.
Police said investigations were ongoing and claimed the incident was related to 'personal' issues.
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The Swiss embassy employee who was abducted and assaulted is to appear before before the Fort Magistrate's Court tomorrow.
The victim has given statements over the course of three days to Sri Lanka's Criminal Investigations Department. She has also been produced before Colombo's Judicial Medical Officer (JMO) on two occasions.
Both the CID and JMO will submit their reports to the court tomorrow.
A travel ban was imposed on the victim, barring her from leaving the...
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Sri Lanka’s Navy has uncovered the dead bodies of three fishermen from Kinniya in Eastern Sri Lanka who were reported missing.
The boat that these men were on had capsized and only two members on board were able to survive and swim to the shore. The boat had capsized near Upparu Bridge in Kinniya. The bodies of the two men are still to be found.
Kinniya Police has agreed to further pursue the matter. for onward investigation.
Read the Colombo Page's reporting...
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The lower house of the Indian parliament, Lok Sabha, passed the Citizenship Amendment Bill (CAB) on Monday which lets India grant citizenship to non-Muslim minorities fleeing persecution in neighbouring Muslim countries.
After 12 hours of deliberations, the bill was approved 311 to 80 votes by the Lok Sabha and moves onto the upper house, the Rajya Sabha, where a favourable vote will ratify the CAB to be recognised as law.
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Tens of thousands of people have been affected by heavy floods that have struck this North-east this month, leaving homes devastated, and several dead or missing.
Official Sri Lankan government figures state that 42,782 have been affected by the floods in the Northern Province, and 88,011 in the Eastern Province, making it the...
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The Swiss embassy employee arrived at Sri Lanka's Criminal Investigations Department (CID) for the third time to record her statement regarding her abduction and assault on November 25.
The victim was also produced before the Colombo Judicial Medical Officer (JMO) for the second time.
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Sri Lanka’s new defence secretary warned that “LTTE ideology” remained active, as he pledged that Sri Lanka’s military would have a “bigger role to play” in years to come.
Kamal Gunaratne, who stands accused of overseeing war crimes himself,...
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Sri Lanka’s United National Party (UNP) joined other senior Sri Lankan politicians in condemning the Conservative Party manifesto in Britain, calling for it to be amended just days before the UK’s general election.
UNP National Organiser and Member of Parliament Navin Dissanayake claimed that the “Conservative party should understand that Sri Lanka was one of the few...
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An infamous Sri Lankan brigadier has been rewarded with a new post in the military, just days after a British court ruling found him guilty of threatening Tamil protestors in London.
Brigadier Priyanka Fernando was...
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Families of the disappeared rallied across the North-East today to mark International Human Rights Day. Families demonstrated in districts across the Tamil homeland, supported by Tamil politicians and members of the public.
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Sri Lanka’s Secretary of Defence, Kamal Gunaratne, commanded an important military division in the Vanni which "the United Nations says there are reasonable grounds to say war crimes were committed by the men under his command" said the International Truth and Justice Project in a 100-page dossier outlining Gunaratne’s involvement as a...
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Switzerland’s government has released a statement criticising Sri Lanka’s media, warning that the “current media coverage in Colombo might harm the relationship between the two countries”.
A spokesperson from the Swiss foreign affairs department added that media coverage around the case may also hamper progress in investigations, after an embassy employee was abducted, molested and threatened at gunpoint in the southern capital last month.
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Singapore’s Minister for communications and information launched a new book describing how there has been a thriving Tamil community within Singapore dating back more than 2000 years, at an event celebrating Tamil history on Saturday.
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The Sri Lankan government announced a controversial new law prohibiting women from wearing a ‘pottu’ - a coloured dot worn by many Tamil women on the centre of the forehead - from all official passport photographs.
According to the Department of Immigration and Emigration, the ban has been implemented to abide by the international practices of the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) where photos must match an individual’s natural look.
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Sri Lanka’s defence secretary has accused the Tamil diaspora of forcing the Swiss embassy into acting after one if its embassy staff was abducted, and claimed the diaspora influenced British politicians into ensuring a Sri Lankan soldier was found guilty by a British court of violating the Public Order Act last week.
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Sri Lanka’s judiciary has ordered the embassy employee to undergo a medical examination as part of their investigation into the employee’s abduction and assault on November 25.
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Sri Lanka’s Supreme Court has decided to postpone a decision on the use of the death penalty to execute four drug offenders until 20 March 2020.
This decision was reached today after the court heard a petition from NGOs, human rights groups, and Sri Lanka’s Human Rights Commission who are challenging the demands of the former President Maithripala Sirisena.
Sirisena has previously vowed to implement the death penalty to excuse a drug offender before he left the office and has...
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Illegal sand miners have fled from sites in Vadamarachchi, Jaffna, after three days of unauthorised sand mining operations, due to deep concern and protests from local residents.
World News
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Protests have erupted throughout India in response to a controversial citizenship bill which would grant persecuted religious minorities from Bangladesh, Pakistan and Afghanistan, a pathway to citizenship.
In the east of India, dozens of buses were set on fire and vandalised in at least six railway stations on Saturday. In West Bengal, 15 buses were burned. Peaceful protests were also held at Utter Pradesh by the students of the Aligarh Muslim University.
India’s police...
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The United States will implement visa restrictions against South Sudan leaders who “undermine or impede the peace process” in the country, the Secretary of State has said.
The restrictions would apply to individuals and family members of individuals deemed to be: violating a ceasefire or cessation of hostilities agreement; violating the UN arms embargo; engaging in corruption that fuels the conflict; suppressing freedoms of expression, association, peaceful assembly, or other abuses...
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Boris Johnson has pledged to repay the trust of all those that voted for him after he was re-elected Prime Minister of Britain, with the Conservative Party winning a heavy majority in the UK’s General Election.
“I, and we, will never take your support for granted,” said Johnson in his victory speech. “I will make it my mission to work night and day, to work flat-out to prove you right in voting for me this time, and to earn your support in the future.”
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The performance of the Scottish National Party (SNP) in Britain’s General Election has sent a "clear message" on a second independence referendum, said leader Nicola Sturgeon, after the party made wide gains across Scotland.
The SNP won 48 seats with 45% of the vote, thirteen seats more than it did in 2017. Amongst the key victories was the unseating of Liberal Democrat leader Jo Swinson in East Dunbartonshire.
Sturgeon said the results were a "clear endorsement Scotland should...
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A joint statement by a group of human rights organisations, including Human Rights Watch, International Centre for Transitional Justice, and the Kenya Human Rights Commission, condemns the Kenyan National Assembly for blocking justice and reparations for victims of human rights abuses.
In 2007 Kenya’s transitional justice project began after presidential violence claimed the lives of at least 1,133 people. During this violence there were reported acts of sexual violence, destruction...
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As voting closed in the United Kingdom today, exit polls predict a Conservative Party majority in the 2019 General Election.
Votes are currently being counted across Britain with results being declared throughout the night.
All of the country’s major parties have campaigned for British Tamil votes this election, with Prime Minister and Conservative Party leader Boris Johnson releasing a video message praising the Tamil community in the early hours of the morning. “I want to...
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The Upper House of the Indian Parliament (Rajya Sabha) approved the Citizenship Amendment Bill on Wednesday with 125 votes in favour and 105 against.
This contentious bill, which had already cleared the lower house on Monday, will grant citizenship to persecuted immigrants of six non-Muslim communities from Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh. The bill amends the Citizenship Act, 1955, and will allow non-Muslims from the three countries, who entered India before December 31, 2014, to...
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Two alleged leaders of a mostly Christian militia operating in the Central African Republic will face trial at the International Criminal Court (ICC) for war crimes and crimes against humanity against the nation’s Muslim community.
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The United States has agreed to impose sanctions on senior commanders of the Myanmar military who are accused of overseeing mass human rights abuses against the Rohingya Muslims in Rakhine State.
This decision to impose sanctions follows Aung San Suu Kyi appearance at the International Criminal Court tribunal where she contested charges of genocide against the Rohingya people.
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Following an agreement between European foreign ministers, the EU has agreed to freeze assets and issue travel bans to those who have violated human rights as part of a new sanctions model.
This measure was pushed by the Netherlands which has consistently campaigned for a European-wide 'Magnitsky Act’. Speaking on the matter, British hedge fund manager, Bill Browder, stated;
"It took us 10 years to get here, but it's a decisive victory in the global Magnitsky...
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Myanmar’s civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi has travelled to the Hague to defend her regime over the charges of alleged genocide against its Rohingya Muslim population.
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A Swiss proposal has been unanimously approved by the ICC’s 122 member states which will broaden the definition of war crimes to include the deliberate starvation of civilians.
The proposal maintains that;
“Intentionally using starvation of civilians as a method of warfare by depriving them of objects indispensable to their survival, including wilfully impeding relief supplies”.
Speaking on the introduction of this measure, the Swiss Foreign...
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Campaigners have criticised a much anticipated boxing match set to take place in Saudi Arabia’s newly built Diriyah stadium on Saturday, accusing it of “sportswashing” the country’s human rights record.
On Saturday, Anthony Joshua will take on Andy Ruiz Jr, in what the BBC Sports Editor Dan Roan termed “one of the most controversial sporting contests in recent times”.
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Human Rights Watch has accused Russia of conducting airstrikes in Syria in August of this year which constituted a war crime and has called for accountability for any and all war crimes.
The attack occurred on 16 August as a Russian aircraft dropped a bomb by a shelter for displaced civilians run by a Syrian aid organisation. The attack occurred in Hass and killed approximately 20 people, predominately women and children, as well as injuring around 52 people.
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At least 208 people have been killed in Iran, as security forces have cracked down on protests that have swept across the country.
Iranian state television admitted that deaths had occurred during the unrest, but claimed those killed were "armed thugs and rioters” or security personnel. Video footage of the protests, however, show uniformed members of Iran’s security forces, firing at unarmed protestors.
The New York Times dubbed the events Iran’s “deadliest...
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A court case against a former British, known as Soldier F, who has been accused of murder and attempted murder during Bloody Sunday has been delayed until New Year, as courts request to hear from 25 witnesses.
Soldier F is charged with the murder of 22-year old James Wray and 27-year old William McKinney on Bloody Sunday, 30 January 1972.
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The family of Daphne Caruana Galizia have urged Malta’s prime minister, Joseph Muscat to be investigated over a possible role in the journalist’s death in 2017.
Muscat announced on Sunday that he will resign in January, after investigators had allegedly found connections between his administration and those who...
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Just a weeks after the United States declared that Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank would not be an infringement of international law, Israel’s defence minister, Naftali Bennett, announced a plan to “double the number of Jewish residents” in Hebron.
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Thousands of people have staged protests and called for capital punishment to be deployed against those responsible for the murder of a 27-year-old woman in Hyderabad last week.
Priyanka Reddy’s body was found scorched under a bridge in the streets of Hyderabad, some 15 miles from where she had been abducted. Hundreds have taken to social media to express their outrage , with the hashtag ‘HangRapists’trending in India for the past week. Protests have also taken place in Delhi and...
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At least 14 people were killed during a church service in Hantoukoura, in the east of Burkina Fasco.
The death counts included the pastor as well as children attending the church.
The death follows ethnic and religious tension in the region. Last October, an attack on a mosque killed 15 people and two were seriously injured.
So far the identity of the attack and motivations are unclear however, it is suspected to have been organised by Islamist militants have groups.
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Desi Bouterse, Suriname’s President has been sentenced to 20 years for ordering the exception of 15 political prisoners in 1982.
Those executed included lawyers, union leaders and journalists who fleeing from imprisonment in Paramaribo, the capital of Suriname.
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Two Kashmiri separatist militants were killed by Indian soldiers and a further two people have been killed in a grenade attack.
The attacks follow a security clampdown with India’s government shutting down internet and phone lines as well as increasing its military presence in the Muslim-majority region of Kashmir.
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The UK has urged China to allow the United Nations ‘immediate and unfettered’ access to its detention camps in Xianjing where at least one million Uighur Muslims are being held involuntarily.
The UK Foreign Office made this call in response to ‘The China Cables,’ a data leak of classified documents which found that the camps were envisioned from the start to be brainwashing detention centres.
A Foreign Office spokesperson said:
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India’s federal government has extended its ban on the separatist group known as the National Democratic Front of Bodoland (NDFB) which has been operating in Assam, in India's northeast for the past five years.
The NDFB is a militant organisation that has been fighting for an independent Bodoland for the Bodo people, an ethnolinguistic group in the Indian state of Assam.
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Over 200,000 registered Bougainvilleans began casting their vote in a long-awaited independence from Papua New Guinea, as they gear up in hope of creating the world’s newest country.
The people of the island of Bougainville, situated 1,000 miles northeast of Australia are now voting for a separate nation, breaking away from economically strained Papua...
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The African Union has urged the UK to bring an end to its “continued colonial administration” of the Chagos Islands following a ruling at the International Criminal Court against UK’s rule over the Chagos islands.
The Chagos islands are in a territorial dispute between Mauritius and the UK, as the former argues that the archipelago was unlawfully taken into the territory of the UK in 1965, shortly before Mauritius gained independence three years later.
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US President Donald J Trump has tweeted in defence of alleged war criminal and former Navy Seal Edward Gallagher.
This statement follows senior defence officials statements that they would resign or be willingly fired if they were forced to keep Gallagher in his position.
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Aung Suu Kyi, State Counsellor of Myanmar, will lead a delegation to the International Court of Justice (ICJ) to contest charges of genocide.
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The Palestinian Authority has welcomed a resolution adopted by the UN General Assembly reaffirming Palestinian’s right to self-determination.
This resolution was adopted during a session of the third committee of the UN General Assembly and is considered a rebuke of the US’s decision to accept the legitimacy of Israeli settlements in the West Bank.
In total, 165 states voted in favour of the resolution, five against, and nine abstained.
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Britain has urged Israel to cease the expansion of settlements on the West Bank, stating that it was opposed to international law and “counterproductive”.
This statement from the Foreign Office follows the defence of Israeli settlements by the United States on Monday.
In their statement the Home Office stated;
“The position of the UK on settlements is clear […] They are illegal under international law, present an obstacle to peace, and threaten the viability...