Tamil Affairs

Tamil News

Latest news from and about the homeland

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Chemmani toll rises to 412, but the work of identifying the dead has not begun
Thirteen more skeletal remains were exhumed from the Chemmani mass grave on Monday and a further seven newly identified, bringing the total identified at the site to 412, of which 390 have now been exhumed, as the excavation, the largest at any mass grave on the island, entered its 31st day. Monday, the 31st day of the third phase of the court-supervised process, saw three sets of remains…

Tamils celebrate Christmas in Batticaloa despite heavy rains and flooding

Dec 24, 2014
Photographs BattiNews


Tamils on the island of Puliyentheevu in Batticaloa gathered today to celebrate Midnight Mass despite heavy rains and flooding causing mass displacement across the East.

OIC postpones visit to Sri Lanka due to election

Dec 24, 2014
A visit by the head of the Organization for Islamic Cooperation has been postponed due to the presidential election on January 8, reported Arab News, citing sources within the Sri Lanka embassy in Saudi Arabia.

The Secretary General of the OIC, Iyad Ameen Madani was due to visit in early January, as part of a four member delegation, on an invitation extended by President Rajapaksa.

Assassinated TNA MP Joseph Pararajasingham remembered in Batticaloa 9 years on

Dec 24, 2014
Photograph Tamilwin


The late Tamil politician Joseph Pararajasingham, who was shot dead on Christmas Eve by armed government paramilitary men in 2005, was remembered today in a memorial service held at the Ilangai Thamil Arasu Katchi (ITAK) office in Batticaloa to mark the 9th anniversary of this death.

Sri Lanka's electoral dysfunction

Dec 24, 2014
J. S. Tissainayagam
All contesting parties in the presidential polls “have effectively shut Sri Lanka’s Tamil and Muslim minorities out of the upcoming election” said JS Tissainayagam on Wednesday.

Writing in Foreign Policy, award winning journalist, JS Tissainayagam warned that the international community should demand that a dialogue with the Tamils and Muslims be pursued by whoever wins the Sri Lankan presidential elections.

Highlighting that both the ruling party and common opposition had rejected  international justice mechanisms, Tissainayagam added,
“International justice aside, Sirisena and the joint opposition naively believe that Sri Lanka can achieve peace and political stability without satisfying the political aspirations of the Tamils and the Muslims.”

Tamils should freely exercise their franchise' at presidential election says GTF

Dec 23, 2014
Stating that the Tamil people had "continuously lost their rights under a flawed majoritarian electoral system", the Global Tamil Forum (GTF) nevertheless urged the Tamil people "to use every vote carefully during the January 8 presidential election", in a statement released on Wednesday.

"Tamil people have a long history of voting based on principled considerations. The upcoming Presidential election is no different," the GTF said.

Adding that the organisation was "fully aware that in the post-independent Sri Lanka, Tamil people have continuously lost their rights under a flawed majoritarian electoral system," the GTF said that the Tamil people's "desire to have a degree of control in the Tamil majority areas was never granted, despite repeated democratic expressions of their wishes through all available electoral means."

UN Sec Gen reiterates call for cooperation with inquiry

Dec 23, 2014
The UN Secretary General, Ban Ki Moon, reiterated his call for Sri Lanka to cooperate with the UN inquiry into mass atrocities committed against the Tamil people.

"The Secretary-General has always encouraged the Government of Sri Lanka to comprehensively address the post-war agenda and the Secretary-General has also echoed the calls made by the High Commissioner for Human Rights, for the Government to cooperate with the ongoing human rights investigation," the spokesperson for Ban Ki Moon, Stephane Dujarric, was quoted by PTI as saying on Tuesday at a daily press briefing.

Election violence leaves 30 injured in Sirikotha

Dec 23, 2014
Clashes between pro-opposition and pro-government supporters left 30 injured in Sirikotha, by the UNP headquarters on Wednesday.

Both sides have blamed each other for instigating the violence.

According to the Colombo Page the violence started after government supporters attempted to stone the UNP building.

Sri Lanka welcomes US-Cuba rapprochement

Dec 23, 2014

Sri Lanka has welcomed the announcement made by the US and Cuba, stating the countries' intention to move towards normalising their relationship.

In a statement, the Ministry of External Affairs said this "courageous path" chosen by the leaders will enable the countries to overcome differences and called for an end to sanctions on Cuba.

Only Maithripala can defeat foreign intervention - UNP

Dec 22, 2014

Sri Lanka's main opposition UNP stated that only Maithripala Sirisena can settle the 'crisis' faced by Sri Lanka in Geneva, where the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights is currently conducting an investigation into allegations of mass atrocities, reported The Island.

UNP MP Wijeyadasa Rajapakshe said on Saturday that people should vote for Maithripala as re-election of President Mahinda Rajapaksa would be inimical to Sri Lanka's interests, adding that the country may face international sanctions if the president was re-elected.

Criticism over human rights will 'get weaker' claims Rajapaksa

Dec 22, 2014
Sri Lanka's incumbent president Mahinda Rajapaksa has defiantly reiterated claims that Sri Lanka has not violated international humanitarian law or committed any human rights abuses, in an interview with the Financial Times.

In response to questions from the Financial Times about the upcoming presidential polls, Rajapaksa remained confident of victory, saying, “first of all, I won’t lose...  I am confident we will come out victorious”.

The Sri Lankan President also rejected reports of human rights violations, saying,
“I can also decisively say that Sri Lanka has not violated any international humanitarian laws or abused human rights as claimed by some.”
He went on to add,
“I think, over time, that the criticisms in relation to human rights would get weaker and would lose traction altogether.”
OIC postpones visit to Sri Lanka due to election
Assassinated TNA MP Joseph Pararajasingham remembered in Batticaloa 9 years on
Sri Lanka's electoral dysfunction
Tamils should freely exercise their franchise' at presidential election says GTF
UN Sec Gen reiterates call for cooperation with inquiry
Election violence leaves 30 injured in Sirikotha
Sri Lanka welcomes US-Cuba rapprochement
Only Maithripala can defeat foreign intervention - UNP
Criticism over human rights will 'get weaker' claims Rajapaksa
Defections cause slip in Sri Lanka's stocks
OIC postpones visit to Sri Lanka due to election
Assassinated TNA MP Joseph Pararajasingham remembered in Batticaloa 9 years on
Sri Lanka's electoral dysfunction
Tamils should freely exercise their franchise' at presidential election says GTF
UN Sec Gen reiterates call for cooperation with inquiry
Election violence leaves 30 injured in Sirikotha
Sri Lanka welcomes US-Cuba rapprochement
Only Maithripala can defeat foreign intervention - UNP
Criticism over human rights will 'get weaker' claims Rajapaksa
Defections cause slip in Sri Lanka's stocks