The Sri Lankan army has lashed out at the media in a public statement released today, claiming that the assault of a Tamil journalist by military personnel on Saturday was "unverified, exaggerated and factually incorrect", instead blaming "various social media platforms, largely with vested interests".
The military decried coverage of the assault as a “carefully orchestrated and maliciously planned plot” and urged the public not to be “misled by such planted incidents and malicious attempts”.
Tamil News
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The UK Home Office has granted asylum to Tamil scientist and torture survivor, Dr Nadarajah Muhunthan, 47, and his family, following mounting criticism against the department’s serious procedural errors which placed the family at risk of deportation to Sri Lanka.
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UK Minister of State for Asia Amanda Milling expressed the UK’s concern over worsening human rights violations in Sri Lanka last week.
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German Ambassador to Sri Lanka, Holger Seubert, has met with the Mayor of Jaffna, V. Manivannan, and Governor of the Northern Province, Jeeva Theagarajah amidst concerns over Sri Lanka's dire human rights record....
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Following the announcement that Police Scotland would not renew its controversial training contract with Sri Lanka, members of the Scottish parliament are demanding that all training contracts must be investigated and approved by Holyrood.Police Scotland's decision follows years of campaigning by human rights activists and Tamil victim communities who decried their training...
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Heavy rain in Mannar has led to devastating flooding which has affected more than 25,000 people across the district of Mannar.
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Across the Eastern Province, small scale Maaveerar Naal commemorations were held as a large Sri Lankan security presence and a flurry of court orders led to many Tamils fearing attending large scale remembrance events.
Former Tamil National Alliance Member of Parliament P. Ariyanethran and Manmunai South...
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Journalists from the Batticaloa District Tamil Journalists' Union marched through Gandhi Park on Monday, to protest against the attack of fellow Tamil journalist Viswalingham Viswachandran for taking a photo of a Mullivaikkal road sign last week.
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Maaveerar Naal commemorations commenced despite tensions in Mullaitivu, following the assault of a journalist and the arrest of another prominent Tamil activist, with a range of remembrance activities take place across the district.
Flowers were scattered at Nandikadal lagoon at sunrise by ormer Northern Provincial Councillor T. Ravikaran amidst Sri Lankan...
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Netherlands Ambassador to Sri Lanka, Tanja Gonggrijp, met with Sri Lankan Foreign Minister, G.L. Peiris to mark the annual "Orange the World: 16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence" despite ongoing concerns over the systemic use of torture and rape within the island. -
Norwegian Tamils held events in Oslo and Bergen to mark Maaveerar Naal.
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Maaveerar Naal commemorations started off early in the Jaffna District as tributes were paid at the family home of the first Maaveerar Lt. Shankar.
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Tamil Americans in several states gathered to commemorate Maaveerar Naal to remember the lives lost in the Tamil Struggle for liberation.
Maaveerar Naal, also known as the ‘Tamil National Heroes Day,’ is marked on November 27, in memory of the first death of a Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) cadre, Lt Col. Shankar, who died in combat on November 27, 1982.
Queens, New York
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Thousands of Tamils across Canada gathered today to mark Maaveerar Naal, remembering those who sacrificed their lives for the Tamil struggle for liberation. Canadians gathered in Markham, Ottawa and Montreal.
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Speaking in Scottish parliament on the 30th international day for the elimination of violence against women, Labour MP Mercedes Villalba, welcomed the decision of Police Scotland to not renew its training contract with Sri Lanka but maintained that this came about " in spite of the inaction of the Cabinet Secretary for Justice and Veterans". -
Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) member, Arun Siddharthan, has made death threats against leading Tamil politicians for paying tribute to Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) leader, V. Prabhakaran, and fallen freedom fighters, during a press conference this week.
“We stand against people, such as [Kanagaratnam] Sugash, [Gajen] Ponnambalam, Ananthy Sasitharan, Wigneswaran and Shanakiyan, who outspokenly honour Prabhakaran and LTTE fighters as ‘Maaveerar Gods’,” said Arun. “It is...
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Across Tamil Nadu, thousands of Tamils, including prominent politicians, gathered to commemorate Maaveerar Naal, as Tamils across the world remember those who lost their lives in the Tamil struggle for liberation.
Commemoration events were held in the Chennai, Kanchi, and Tiruvallur districts.
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The Canadian city of Brampton’s city hall clock tower was lit red and yellow in commemoration of Maaveerar Naal.
On Twitter, Patrick Brown, Mayor of Brampton, wrote, “Brampton Remembers” with a photo of a light installation and Karthgaipoo flower at the cities Garden Square centre.
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Tamil remembrance activities marking Maaveerar Naal are "a bulwark against Sinhala-Buddhist supremacy" the People for Equality and Relief in Lanka (PEARL) said today.
In a statement, the US based advocacy organisation highlighted the intensifying crackdown on Tamil memorialisation "with the Sri Lankan state using judicial and extrajudicial methods to prohibit and prevent commemoration events."
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In Sydney, Australia, Australian Tamils gathered to commemorate Maaveerar Naal, as Tamils across the world remember those who lost their lives in the Tamil struggle for liberation.
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Maaveerar Naal Stuttgart, Germany
In Stuttgart and Berlin, Germany, hundreds of German Tamils gather to commemorate Maaveerar Naal, as Tamils across the world remember those who lost their lives in the Tamil struggle for liberation.
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Tamils across the homeland gathered at multiple Thuyilum Illam and places across the North-East to mark Maaveerar Naal under heavy military surveillance and harassment.
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Sri Lanka's Special Task Force (STF) troops arrested a Tamil youth in Mannar earlier today for posting a photo relating to Maaveerar Naal on his Facebook page.
The post allegedly pays tribute to fallen cadres who sacrificed their lives in the Tamil struggle for freedom.
The arrest forms part of Sri Lanka's intensifying crackdown on Tamil remembrance activities, particularly Maaveerar Naal.
Across the North-East, the state forces have ramped up their presence,...
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A heavy Sri Lankan military presence blocked mourners across the North, with security forces arresting at least one prominent activist and assaulting a journalist, as a crackdown was launched today whilst Tamils attempted to mark Maaveerar Naal.
Despite a flurry of court orders across the...
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Sri Lankan military have been telephoning traders in Mullaitivu and threatening them to open their outlets today as the Tamil nation observes Maaveerar Naal.
Armed personnel have stepped up their presence across the district to block any commemoration activites from taking place.
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A Sri Lankan navy nursing student a the Nursing Training College of the Jaffna Teaching Hospital severely attacked a Tamil nursing student for sending a photo of a cake in a Whatsapp group on Friday, coinciding with the LTTE leader’s birthday.
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In an act of commemoration, British MPs and ministers, have issued statements marking Maaveerar Naal and stressing the right of Tamils to remember their war dead and the need for justice and accountability in Sri Lanka. -
The mother of a fallen LTTE fighter and former Northern Provincial Council member MK Shivajilingam were amongst those who paid tribute to Lt. Shankar this morning, the first Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam cadre, to die in combat on November 27, 1982.
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With the lifting of pandemic restrictions in some parts of the world, today many Eelam Tamils will once again gather in their masses to commemorate Maaveerar Naal, the day of remembrance dedicated to the tens of thousands who laid down their lives in the Tamil liberation struggle. Meanwhile, a familiar cloud hangs over the Tamil homeland, as the...
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Tamils in New Zealand gathered today to commemorate Maaveerar Naal, as Tamils across the world remember those who lost their lives in the Tamil struggle for liberation.
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Four Sri Lankan military personnel viciously attacked Mullaitivu journalist Vishvalingham Vishvachandran for taking a photo of a Mullivaikkal road sign.
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World News
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The United States has sanctioned the Eritrean army and the country's ruling party for their role in the Ethiopian conflict.
In a press release, the US Department of the Treasury announced sanctions on four entities and two individuals "that have contributed to the crisis and conflict" in Ethiopia.
"The presence of Eritrean forces is an impediment to ending the ongoing fighting and...
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International Criminal Court prosecutor, Karim Khan, said on Wednesday he will open an investigation into possible crimes against humanity in Venezuela.Speaking in a conference alongside Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro, Khan said he is "determined that he will proceed to open an investigation to establish the truth" of events that occurred in Venezuela. A ...
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A coup is currently underway in Sudan, where the military has dissolved civilian rule, arrested political leaders and declared a state of emergency.
The coup leader, General Abel Fattah Burhan blamed political infighting. In response to the dissolution of civilian rule, protests have erupted in several cities including the capital Khartoum. Three...
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The Israeli government has effectively outlawed six prominent Palestinian human rights organisations by declaring them terrorist organisations, in what is considered a major escalation of its crackdown on political activism within the occupied territories.
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Welsh Labour ministers have set up a new body to examine Wales' future relationship with the rest of the United Kingdom, with Welsh independence being one of the options considered.
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Deporting asylum seekers back to Afghanistan presents "no real risk of harm", according to new Home Office guidance that could pave the way for asylum seekers to be sent back to the Taliban controlled country.
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Canada has commemorated its first National Day for Truth and Reconciliation federally, recognising the painful history caused by residential schools and the ongoing impact it has had on indigenous families and communities.
In a statement the Canadian government recognized that the public commemorations of the country's dark history is a...
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Democratic Republic of Congo authorities have made "no apparent progress" in their investigations into the September 2020 prison riot at Kasapa Central Prison in Lubumbashi, Human Rights Watch said.
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Indian authorities cracked down on public movement and imposed a near-total communications blackout in Kashmir following the death of Syed Ali Geelani, a prominent leader of Kashmir's movement for the right to self-determination.
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Following a series of military victories in which the Taliban seized one provincial capital after another in little over a week, the Islamist group entered Afghanistan’s capital Kabul earlier today forcing the country’s Western-backed President Ashraf Ghani to flee.
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Writing in Foreign Policy magazine, Kaisar Andrabi and Zubair Amin warn against India’s attempts to manipulate the demographics and electoral strength of Kashmir, the only Muslim majority region in India.
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British security sources are reported to be concerned that Pakistan is preparing to target exiled dissents living in the UK.
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A German court has set a trial date for a 100-year-old man who is charged with 3,518 counts of accessory to murder on allegations he served as a Nazi SS guard at a concentration camp on the outskirts of Berlin during the second world war.
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Dominic Raab - British Foreign Secretary
A British citizen has claimed he was tortured in Somalia and questioned by US intelligence officers, raising concerns about the continuation of controversial practices of the post-9/11 “war on terror” are still being used, the Guardian...
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During an Axios interview, Pakistan’s Prime Minister, Imran Khan, fell silent on the Uyghur genocide, claiming that any issues Pakistan had with China would “always be behind closed doors”.
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Marking the 100th anniversary of the Chinese Communist Party, President Xi Jinping warned foreign powers that China “will never allow any foreign force to bully, oppress, or subjugate us”.
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751 unmarked graves were discovered at the site of a former residential school in Saskatchewan, just weeks after the remains of 215 children were found in British Columbia.
The bodies were...
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Alieu Kosiah, became the first Liberian to be convicted for war crimes committed during the country’s civil war, in a court hearing in Switzerland earlier this month.
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Concluding the first-day summit, NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg called for a unified response to the challenges posed by China.
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Photograph: UN News
An appeal by Ratko Mladic, the commander of Bosnian Serb forces in the country’s 1992-95 war, against the 2017 verdict that convicted him of genocide has been turned down by the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia (ICTY).
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Switzerland will be holding a referendum on a controversial terrorism bill, which has been widely panned by international human rights organisations, on 13 June.
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Photo credit (Twitter: @TVRVNTO)
A mass grave was found at a residential school in British Colombia, Canada, containing the remains of 215 indigenous children on Friday.
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French President, Emmanuel Macron, asked for Rwandan’s forgiveness its silence over the Rwandan genocide, in which 800,000 Tutsi and Hutu dissidents were killed, however, Macron fell short of apologising for the role France played.
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Myanmar’s ousted democratic leader Aung San Suu Kyi made her first public appearance since the military deposed her government and seized power on 1 February 2021, at a court hearing on Monday.
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Palestinian casualties have sharply increased as Israel stepped up its bombardment of Gaza early on Friday as tanks and artillery massed at the border and joined aerial attacks.
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The Irob minority group in Ethiopia are facing an existential crisis in addition to the mass atrocities inflicted by ongoing conflict in the Tigray state.
Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed launched military forces in response to “traitorous” attacks on military camps that has since escalated to thousands of civilian casualties, hundreds of thousands of people who have been internally displaced within Tigray, and 63,000 refugees who have fled to Sudan since fighting broke out on...
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The Taliban has announced a three-day ceasefire to mark Eid al-Fitr following the bombing of a girls’ school in Dasht-e-Barchi, in which over 50 people, mostly young girls, were killed and over 100 were injured.
Afghanistan’s President, Ashraf Ghani, accused the Taliban of conducting the attack and declared Tuesday a day of national...
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Human Rights Watch (HRW) has reported that Israel’s policies constitute apartheid; with the intention to “maintain the domination by Jewish Israelis over Palestinians and grave abuses committed against Palestinians living in the occupied...
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Over 100 Palestinians and 20 Israeli police were injured in a far-right Israeli protest in occupied East Jerusalem.
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A group of UK charities and Human Rights Watch joined Palestine in condemning British Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s letter to the Conservative Friends of Israel, in which he expressed the UK’s opposition to the ICC decision to investigate alleged war crimes in Palestine since June 2014.
