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The Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames has unveiled a plaque commemorating the twinning with Jaffna in celebrations held to mark Tamil heritage month in London.
Tamil News
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In their year-end report, Human Rights Watch detailed how the Rajapaksa regime has placed fundamental rights under “serious jeopardy” with “escalated surveillance and intimidation targeting victims’ families and human rights defenders”.
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The Central Bank of Sri Lanka has published a gazette notification, mandating that hotel services accept payments from tourists only in foreign exchange as the islands economic crisis worsens.
The gazette notification notes that hotel services registered with and licensed by the Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority are required to,
Accept payments for services rendered to persons resident outside Sri Lanka only in foreign exchange.
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The Central Bank of Sri Lanka has published a gazette notification, mandating that hotel services accept payments from tourists only in foreign exchange as the islands economic crisis worsens. The gazette notification notes that hotel services registered with and licensed by the Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority are required to,
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The Central Bank of Sri Lanka has published a gazette notification, mandating that hotel services accept payments from tourists only in foreign exchange as the islands economic crisis worsens.
The gazette notification notes that hotel services registered with and licensed by the Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority are required to,
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In an address to parliament, C.V. Wigneswaran, stressed that Sri Lanka current economic woes are driven by the government’s failure to meet the demands of the Tamil nation.
Chastising the attempt by Sri Lanka’s President to sweep over the underlying issues for Tamils, Wigneswaran states:
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Responding to the Indian government’s decision to exclude Tamil Nadu’s submission for its 75th annual Republic Day parade, Tamil Nadu’s Chief Minister, M.K. Stalin maintained that this was “unacceptable”.
“Exclusion of the tableau of Tamil Nadu will deeply hurt the sentiments and patriotic feelings of the people of Tamil Nadu. That the committee chooses to ignore and reject all of these seven designs shown to it as per the modifications suggested by its members...
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The British government may continue to train Sri Lankan police, even after Police Scotland announced it would not extend its contract after March 2022 due to ongoing human rights concerns on the island.
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As part of a three-day tour of Sri Lanka, British Minister for South Asia, Lord Tariq Ahmad, made a visit to the Buddhist Gangaramaya Temple in Colombo and tweeted that “inclusivity of people of all faiths and beliefs defines the strength of a country’s human rights”.
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Meeting with leader of the Tamil National Alliance, R. Sampanthan, and parliamentarian M.A Sumanthiran, British Minister for South Asia Tariq Ahmad spoke on the need to address long-term Tamil concerns including ensuring Sri Lanka meets commitments under UN Human Rights Councils Resolution 46/1.
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Last week several refugee supporters, including myself, were arrested after dropping a banner off the rooftop of the Park Hotel in Naarm/Melbourne in protest of the plight of approximately 30 refugees who had been imprisoned onshore.
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A Sri Lankan government minister criticised a letter that Tamil parliamentarians addressed to Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi this week, denouncing their call to New Delhi for assistance.
“They should have conveyed their concerns to our President instead of the Indian Prime Minister because we are a sovereign country and not a part of the...
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Sri Lanka’s official Presidential Media Division claimed the visiting British minister praised president Gotabaya Rajapaksa over his regime’s supposed “progress” on human rights issues, after the pair met in Colombo earlier today.
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A senior Sri Lankan military commander who once led a unit accused of war crimes has died from complications of a COVID-19 infection, having never been investigated or faced any accountability mechanism.
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Germany and Japan's navies held military exercises with Sri Lanka, just weeks after a Sri Lankan naval intelligence officer was banned from entry to the USA over his role in war crimes.
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British South Asia Minister, Lord Tariq Ahmad, has been on a whirlwind 3-day tour of Sri Lanka landing in Colombo and making trips to Jaffna and Trincomalee where he stressed the importance of human rights and accountability.
This was the first time the minister visited Jaffna.
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Following a meeting with Britain’s Minister for South Asia, Tariq Ahmad, People Uprising Movement (P2P) has released two letters detailing the ongoing plight of Tamils in Sri Lanka and their demand for self-determination.
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Responding to a diplomatic visit by British Minister for South Asia, Tariq Ahmad, Tamil families of the disappeared have released a statement slamming the minister for his silence on the “burning issues of enforced disappearances” and prioritisation of engagement with Sri Lanka.
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Experts have said the censorship of the Tamil voices by Facebook threatens press and cultural freedom worldwide after the Tamil Guardian Instagram account was twice suspended last year, writes Sam Biddle in The Intercept today.
In October 2021, Facebook twice banned Tamil Guardian’s Instagram account, claiming that content had breached their ‘Dangerous...
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Sri Lanka’s foreign ministry slammed Canada’s latest travel advisory on travel to the island, labelling the warnings “erroneous and outdated”.
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Speaking to The Morning, recently released poet and teacher Ahnaf Jazeem described the torture he faced during his imprisonment by Sri Lankan security forces over his Tamil poetry, as he called for all prisoners detained under the Prevention of Terrorism Act to be released.
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Tamil National Alliance parliamentarian M A Sumanthiran criticised a speech by Sri Lanka’s president, calling his remarks “an insult” and stating that the Tamil people have been fighting for self-determination and self-rule.
Speaking in Sri Lanka’s parliament earlier today, Sumanthiran said that Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s lengthy speech yesterday, where he doubled down on...
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Billionaire investor Chamath Palihapitiya said his family had to flee Sri Lanka, which he called “a country with its own set of human rights issues", following controversy after he was accused of downplaying rights violations...
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Human Rights Watch (HRW) joined a host of other international organisations in denouncing the death penalty handed to a senior prison official over his role in the killing of at least 27 inmates in a prison massacre, calling it stating it “does nothing to address the very real concerns” over the 2012 killings.
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Sri Lanka’s controversial minister of public security announced that Sri Lanka’s 600th police station had been opened as the current government continues with its intense militarisation and securitisation of the island.
Minister of Public Security Rear Admiral Sarath Weerasekara himself opened the police station in Nungamuva, in...
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In a lengthy address to Sri Lanka’s parliament this morning, Gotabaya Rajapaksa doubled down on denying human rights violations had taken place under his command and instead blamed “misconceptions” in the international community.
“We need to correct the misconceptions that have been taken to the international community in the past...
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A host of British parliamentarians and other politicians joined the British Tamil community in Westminster on Monday to celebrate Thai Pongal in London.
Lawmakers took to the stage and praised the British Tamil community, paying tribute to their contributions in several fields and pledging solidarity with their struggle for justice and accountability in the...
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Sri Lanka’s president Gotabaya Rajpakasa paid a “surprise visit” to the Kuragala Sinhala Buddhist site last week as a restoration project gets underway, whilst a nearby Islamic site remains under threat.
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“Sri Lanka finds itself looking down the barrel of a gun,” wrote The Economist last week, as it highlighted the economic crisis on the island and the government’s opposition to intervention from the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
“The numbers are sobering,” said The Economist.
“Interest obligations on government debt in 2021 amounted to 72% of total revenues, while public-sector salaries and pensions came to 80%. Multiple downgrades have in effect locked it out of the...
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A Dailt man in Tamil Nadu has died after he was arrested and reportedly tortured under the custody of police in Tamil Nadu.
Prabhakar, a disabled man belonging to the Adi Dravidar (Scheduled Caste) in Salem’s Karuppur was arrested by police on January 8, over allegations that he was involved in a jewellery theft.
His wife Amshala was also detained. Both were reportedly verbally abused and beaten within their own homes by the police officers, before being taken to a sub-jail....
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As Sri Lanka’s financial crisis worsens families on the island have taken to cutting down their food intake and going hungry, according to a report in the Khaleej Times this week.
“I’ve told them it’s Ramadan now and that’s why we are fasting,” said Fathima Aroos, speaking about her children to Qadijah Irshad. “Don’t tell them...
World News
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A former senior Spanish police officer has claimed that Spanish intelligence services knew about the plans of the terror cell responsible for the 2017 Barcelona attacks but failed to act in a bid to destabilise Catalonia before a crucial independence vote.
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Five former Guatemalan paramilitaries are currently on trial for the rape of 36 Indigenous Mayan women during the 1980s.
Indigenous people were often targeted and harassed by the military government for allegedly backing the left-wing guerrillas during the conflict that took place between 1960 and 1996. In 2018, the five former paramilitaries were arrested along with three others. However, the case was dismissed and the magistrate released them. One died before being released. After...
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Responding to Russia’s military reinforcement of Kazakhstan security forces to quell nationwide unrest, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has raised concerns over the alliance.
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In a landmark case, 19 Uighur Muslims have filed a criminal complaint with a Turkish prosecutor against 112 Chinese officials accusing them of crimes of genocide, torture, rape, and crimes against humanity.
“Turkish legislation recognises universal jurisdiction. Torture, genocid, rape [and] crimes against humanity can be prosecuted in Turkish courts and criminals can be tried”...
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President Abiy Ahmed of Ethiopia who is leading the war against TPLF.
Thousands of Tigrayan migrant workers in Saudi Arabia who were deported to Ethiopia by Riyadh have been locked up in detention camps and forcibly disappeared, a latest Human Rights Watch (HRW)...
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Sudan’s Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok has resigned following continued mass pro-democracy protests at the capital Khartoum.
His resignation grants Sudan’s military full control over the country as they continue their violent crackdown on democratic protesters.
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Former Columbian military official, Mario Antonio Palacios, has been arrested by Panama authorities under allegations of forming part of a mercenary group that assassinated Haiti’s President Jovenel Moise.
Palacios was detained during a stopover flight in Panama and asked to “voluntarily” board a flight to the US, the Hindu reports. After refusing the request, Panamanian officials told him that they would enforce an Interpol red notice issued by the US, which is addition to one Haiti...
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Photo Credit: UN Women
In a rare joint statement, the five permanent members of the UN Security council (the US, Russia, China, the UK, and France) pledged to address to “create a security environment more conducive to progress on disarmament” and avoid nuclear conflict...
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Save the Children has confirmed that two of its staffers have been killed in a Christmas Eve massacre conducted by Myanmar’s military and killed at least 35 people, including women and children.
The massacre occurred on a highway in Kayah state, in eastern Myanmar, where prodemocracy rebels have been confronting the military.
“The military forced people from their...
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Egypt's State Security Emergency Misdemeanor court has issued jail sentences to three prominent human rights activists who engaged in anti-government protests in 2019.
The activists detained were Alaa Abd El Fattah, rights lawyer Mohamed el-Baqer, and the blogger Mohamed Ibrahim (also known as Mohamed Oxygen). El Fattah was sentenced to five years whilst the others were sentenced to four years each.
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In meetings with Lebanon's religious leaders, President, Prime Minister, and Parliamentary Speaker, UN Secretary-General, Antonio Guterres, urged the country's leaders to address the dire economic situation Lebanon finds itself in and to resume negotiations with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for a bailout programme. -
A BBC investigation has revealed that Myanmar's military carried a mass killing of at least 40 civilians in four separate incidents in Kani Township - an opposition stronghold in Sagaing District in Central Myanmar.
Eyewitness accounts detail that boys as young as 17 were tortured first before being buried in shallow graves. The BBC reports that these kills appear "to be a collective punishment for attacks on the military by civilian militia groups in the area, who are demanding that...
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With historic turnouts, left-wing candidate Gabriel Boric has won the presidency in Chile securing 56% of the votes compared to the 44% secured by his rival Pinochet-admirer, Jose Antonio Kast.
In accepting the speech he pledged to be “the president of all Chileans” and was immediately recognised as the victor by Last who phoned him to...
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On Friday the UN Human Rights Council voted to establish an international probe to investigate atrocities committed by both sides of the conflict in Ethiopia and prosecute those responsible. -
Human rights campaigners have welcomed the announcements of US sanctions on Bangladesh's notorious paramilitary unit, the Rapid Action Battalion, as well as the country's national police chief, but have called for further action. -
Faced with the threat of further US sanctions over the aggressive posturing of China and Russia, Chinese President Xi Jingping and Russian President Vladimir Putin held a virtual conference in which they sought to “more effectively safeguard the security interests of both parties”.
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Writing in the Guardian, Tamil human rights lawyer at MTC Solicitors, Naga Kandiah, slammed the British government’s proposed Clause 9 to the nationality and borders bill which could see dual nationals stripped of their citizenship without notice.
The New Statement’s research, based on the 2011 census, reveals that as many as 5.6 million people living in England and...
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Last week Hindu-nationalist Chief Minister of Haryana offered support to Hindu vigilantes who have been harassing Muslim worship in the city of Gurgaon by claiming that namaz, Muslim prayer, "would not be tolerated" in the open. -
Responding to sweeping US sanctions imposed on dozens of people and entities tied to China, Myanmar, North Korea and Bangladesh; China's Foreign Minister, Wang Wenbin, urged America to "immediately withdraw the relevant wrong decision and stop interfering in China’s internal affairs".“If the US acts recklessly,...
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Gen Bipin Rawat, the Indian Chief of Defence Staff, died in a helicopter crash that took place in Coonoor, Tamil Nadu, along with his wife and eleven others who were travelling in the chopper.
The Indian Air Force (IAF) confirmed the deaths and said it was a “tragic accident” in a Twitter...
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On Wednesday Australian Prime Minister, Scott Morrison, announced that Australia would join the US in its diplomatic boycott of the Beijing Winter Olympics in February 2022, over concerns of the genocidal treatment of Uighur Muslims. -
French police announced on Monday that they had arrested a suspect in the murder and dismemberment of Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi and former member of the Saudi royal guard, Khalid Alotaibi. -
Photo Credit: Stop Killer Robots
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On Monday India Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Russian President Vladimir Putin announced a $5.4 billion dollar missile defence system sale to India despite warnings from the United States of sanctions. -
Speaking at the White House press briefing, US Press Secretary, Jen Psaki, announced that “the Biden administration would not send any diplomatic or official representation to the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympic and Paralympic games given...
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The north district court in San Francisco has received a class action complaint, on behalf of estimated 10,000 Rohingya Muslims, against the social media giant Facebook for enabling and fomenting genocidal violence in Myanmar. -
Myanmar’s military-ruled court has halved their sentence of deposed leader Aung San Suu Kyi, from four to two years, as international criticism continues to mount.
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Responding to the reported executions of over 100 former Afghan security officials by the Taliban, the US, EU and 20 other countries have released a joint statement condemning the killings.
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Following a meeting with Ukraine's Foreign Minister, Dmytro Kuleba, US Secretary of State, Anthony Blinken reaffirmed American support for the "territorial integrity of Ukraine" and warned Russia that it...
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On Tuesday US Secretary of State, Anthony Blinken, revoked the designation of the now-defunct Revolutionary Armed Forces of Columbia (FARC) rebel group as a "foreign terrorist organisation" but proscribed two splinter organisations of FARC, "FARC-EP and Segunda Marquetalia".