Tamil Affairs

Tamil News

Latest news from and about the homeland

Jaffna and Palaly protests mark 36 years since Valikamam North displacement
Displaced residents of the Valikamam North region of Jaffna held protests on Monday, in front of the Jaffna District Secretariat and near Palaly Junction, marking 36 years since their forced displacement and demanding the right to return and resettle in their lands. The people of Valikamam North were displaced from their homeland on 15 June 1990 by the Sri Lankan military. Thirty-six years on…

‘Beheaded and forced to drink blood’ – Shocking allegations of torture by Shavendra Silva

Mar 26, 2025


Sri Lankan human rights activist and chairman of Families of the Disappeared, Brito Fernando, shared harrowing allegations of torture and abuse committed by retired Sri Lankan army commander and accused war criminal Major General Shavendra Silva during his tenure at the Matale Vijaya torture camp.

Mother of disappeared Tamil youth submits appeal after spotting son in photograph

Mar 26, 2025
Activist Balendran Jeyakumary submitted a formal letter to the Public Relations Division of the Presidential Secretariat, urgently requesting information on the disappearance of her son, Balendran Mahinthan, who was forcibly disappeared in December 2008.

Tensions erupt in Ammathanaveli after youth found dead following police chase

Mar 26, 2025
A young man's death following a police chase in Ammathanaveli has sparked public protests and allegations of police brutality

Mahinda Rajapaksa demands government ‘defend’ accused war criminals

Mar 26, 2025
Former Sri Lankan president Mahinda Rajapaksa has slammed the United Kingdom's announcement of sanctions against senior Sri Lankan military commanders, rejected allegations of war crimes and called on the current government in Colombo to “stand by and defend former armed forces personnel who face persecution by foreign government”.

Sri Lanka condemns UK sanctions as ‘unilateral’ and ‘unhelpful’

Mar 26, 2025

Sri Lanka’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs has issued a statement criticising the United Kingdom’s recent decision to impose sanctions on four individuals, including three former Sri Lankan military commanders, for war crimes.

Hierarchies of Solidarity: A conversation between Sinthujan Varatharajah and Hebh Jamal

Mar 26, 2025

In a wide-ranging and reflective online discussion, Eelam Tamil writer and researcher Sinthujan Varatharajah joined Palestinian journalist Hebh Jamal to explore the politics of international solidarity, hierarchies of attention, and the contradictions faced by oppressed peoples organising for liberation. 

The event, titled “Hierarchies of Solidarity”, drew on themes from the book co-authored by Varatharajah and Moshtari Hilal.

Family performs final rites for loved ones 38 years after IPKF killing

Mar 26, 2025
The family of a woman and her child who were shot dead by Indian Peacekeeping Forces (IPKF) in 1987 returned to Jaffna to perform their funeral rites in accordance with Hindu traditions, 38 years after the killings. The rituals took place on Sunday (23rd), following a court’s approval to exhume the skeletal remains, which had been buried in the family’s home compound since the time of their deaths.

Tamil families of the disappeared protest in Jaffna 

Mar 26, 2025
The Association for Relatives of Enforced Disappearances in Jaffna District staged a protest in Nallur this week, once again drawing attention to the unresolved plight of thousands of Tamils who were forcibly disappeared by Sri Lanka’s armed forces.

Sri Lankan police chief backs illegal vihara expansion in Jaffna

Mar 26, 2025
Tensions continue to mount in Jaffna’s Thayiddy area, following the controversial inauguration of an illegally constructed pavilion within the Tissa Vihara, a Buddhist temple built on privately owned Tamil land.

Shritharan requests other member states follow UK’s sanctions on Sri Lankan war criminals

Mar 26, 2025
Ilankai Tamil Arasu Katchi (ITAK) parliamentarian Sivagnanam Shritharan commended the UK government’s decision to sanction Sri Lankan war criminals 16 years after the Mullivaikal Genocide, and called on other states to follow suit.
‘Beheaded and forced to drink blood’ – Shocking allegations of torture by Shavendra Silva
Mother of disappeared Tamil youth submits appeal after spotting son in photograph
Tensions erupt in Ammathanaveli after youth found dead following police chase
Mahinda Rajapaksa demands government ‘defend’ accused war criminals
Sri Lanka condemns UK sanctions as ‘unilateral’ and ‘unhelpful’
Hierarchies of Solidarity: A conversation between Sinthujan Varatharajah and Hebh Jamal
Family performs final rites for loved ones 38 years after IPKF killing
Tamil families of the disappeared protest in Jaffna 
Sri Lankan police chief backs illegal vihara expansion in Jaffna
Shritharan requests other member states follow UK’s sanctions on Sri Lankan war criminals
‘Beheaded and forced to drink blood’ – Shocking allegations of torture by Shavendra Silva
Mother of disappeared Tamil youth submits appeal after spotting son in photograph
Tensions erupt in Ammathanaveli after youth found dead following police chase
Mahinda Rajapaksa demands government ‘defend’ accused war criminals
Sri Lanka condemns UK sanctions as ‘unilateral’ and ‘unhelpful’
Hierarchies of Solidarity: A conversation between Sinthujan Varatharajah and Hebh Jamal
Family performs final rites for loved ones 38 years after IPKF killing
Tamil families of the disappeared protest in Jaffna 
Sri Lankan police chief backs illegal vihara expansion in Jaffna
Shritharan requests other member states follow UK’s sanctions on Sri Lankan war criminals