Features

Features

Latest news from and about the homeland

File photograph: Karaitivu Beach (Gowshan Nandakumar) It was a quiet morning on 12 April 1985 when Karaitivu, a small coastal Tamil village in the Amparai district of Sri Lanka’s Eastern Province, was plunged into terror. As villagers prepared to celebrate the Tamil New Year, armed mobs - composed largely of Muslim men and backed by Sri Lankan security forces - descended upon the village and…

British mercenary’s £4M fortune

The leader of the Tamil National People’s Front (TNPF), Gajendrakumar Ponnambalam, has called on the Sri Lankan state to reveal the amount they had paid to the British mercenary organisation known as Keenie Meenie Services (KMS) to support their suppression of the Tamil armed resistance.

“The Sri Lankan state needs to come clean and tell parliament how much they paid Keenie Meenie Services to help repress Tamils in the 1980s”.

Sri Lankan police arrest Leader of the Association of the Disappeared in Vavuniya

Sri Lankan police have arrested the head of the Association of Relatives of the Disappeared, Kasipillai Jayavanitha, for allegedly illegally obtaining electricity for the shed which has served as the base for their six-year-long protest.

Eric Cantona’s kung fu kick and the Tamil connection

Eric Cantona will forever be a Manchester United legend. But it’s not the 82 goals or the four league titles that leave the fiery forward endeared in the hearts of many United fans. Instead, it is a single moment on 25 January, 1995, when Cantona launched his infamous ‘kung-fu’ kick on a football hooligan at Selhurst Park. Twenty-eight years later, it remains one of the most extraordinary moments in the history of British sport.

Tamil parties circles as Tamil National Alliance in crisis

With the announcement of local elections across the island, the Tamil National Alliance, the largest alliance representing Tamils in the North-East, is in flux over divisions between and within the constituent parties.

Tamil nation marks Maaveerar Naal 2022

Thousands of Tamils gathered across the Tamil homeland to mark Maaveerar Naal - or Great Heroes Day - and remember those who sacrificed their lives in the Tamil struggle for liberation. 

UN passes resolution on collecting evidence for Sri Lankan war crimes trials

The UN Human Rights Council has adopted resolution 51/L1 on Sri Lanka, which will “extend and reinforce the capacity of the Office of the High Commissioner to collect, consolidate, analyse and preserve” evidence that may be used in future war crimes trials.

The resolution was passed with 20 votes in favour, 7 against and 20 abstentions.

 

Thileepan commemorated across the North-East

Numerous commemoration events were held across the North-East marking the 35th anniversary since the death of Lt Col Thileepan, a political wing leader of the LTTE who fasted to death, in a protest appealing to the Indian government to honour pledges made to the Tamil people.

Thileepan began his fast on 15th September 1987, surrounded by over 100,000 supporters, and died 11 days later, on the 26th September 1987. 

‘Eela not Sinhala’ - Ponniyin Selvan mired in controversy

Ahead of the debut release of Ponniyin Selvan, the film has garnered controversy over its description of the island of Lanka, with the Hindi translation referring to the land as a Sinhala country.

RECAP – Week 1 of 51st UNHRC session

With the release of the revised draft resolution, Tamil Guardian looks back at the proceedings of the 51st UN Human Rights Council session.

Rishi Sunak speaks on curbing Sri Lanka's military and justice for 'pain of 2009'

British Prime Ministerial candidate Rishi Sunak reaffirmed his commitment to justice for mass atrocities committed in Sri Lanka and discussed the possibility of applying targeted sanctions on Sri Lankan officials just as the UK has on Russians, in a meeting with British Tamil conservatives earlier today.