Tamil Affairs

Tamil News

Latest news from and about the homeland

This week, the number of skeletal remains uncovered at Chemmani reached a stark record of 387. With that figure, a patch of earth on the edge of Jaffna town became the largest mass grave ever uncovered on the island, surpassing the 376 remains recovered at Mannar. Recent days alone have seen the bodies of several children exhumed, alongside beads and bangles. These are the contents of the…

Government notice announces acquisition in Vavuniya

A notice was put up in Vavuniya last month, announcing the acquisition of 20 acres for “public use”, reported The Social Architects.

The notice, printed in Tamil and Sinhala, inaccurately states that the owners of the land cannot be identified, although the original inhabitants of the area are officially recognised as Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) and have consistently requested resettlement.

Tamil Nadu groups condemn arrests of Tamil refugees

The arrest of 10 Tamil refugees from Sri Lanka has sparked outrage from human rights groups and Tamil activists in India, reported The New Indian Express.

The refugees, including 5 children, were arrested under the Foreigners Act and sent to Puzhal Prison in Chennai on May 5. India stopped admitting Tamil refugees after 2011 as it deemed that peace had returned to Sri Lanka.

P Nedumaran, head of the World Tamil Confederation, told the paper that the former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi and former Chief Minister M G Ramachandran had accepted Tamils as refugees and made all arrangements for them. Nedumaran alleged that the Indian government is taking action against Tamil refugees due to pressure from Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapakse.

SL military recruitment drive for young Tamil women

Photographs have emerged of Sri Lankan military banners calling for unmarried Tamil women to join the army.

The banners, thought to have been photographed earlier this year, ask for Tamil women, aged between 18 and 24, with a height of at 5 ft 3 inches and offer a monthly salary of Rs 30,000.

The women would be joining nine brigades in the Mullaitivu district.

May 18 IPL cricket matches moved out of Chennai

The two Indian Premier League matches that were due to be played on the 18th and 22nd of May have been moved out of Chennai, The New Indian Express reported.

Controversy around Sri Lanka’s treatment of Palestinian refugees

Four Palestinians, who were detained at Katunayaka Airport, face being deported to a Syria refugee camp, reported Al Jazeera.

The men, who fled refugee camps in Syria, have been in detention in a military prison for the past four weeks and were treated inhumanely according to a Palestinian rights organisation.

"They were directly taken to the military prison, where they described the treatment as inhuman," spokesman for the Palestinian League for Human Rights – Syria, Salim Salamah, told Al Jazeera.

Jaffna Uni lecturers protest against closure and govt interference

Lecturers at the University of Jaffna protested yesterday, condemning the order to close the university during the time of May 18th and posters that accused students and staff of reviving terrorism, Uthayan reported.


Photographs Uthayan

The lecturers, part of the University of Jaffna Teachers' Association, demonstrated outside the university grounds holding banners reading: "Aren't death threats and harassment, terrorism?", "Ensure the independence of the university", "Is university an educational institution or a killing field?", "Jaffna university's greatest weapon is the tip of pen not a gun point", "Is closing the university whenever you wish the student centric education?", and "Asia's wonder - killing university teachers?".


MoD denies ordering Jaffna Uni closure or May 18 remembrance ban

The spokesperson for the Ministry of Defence, Brigadier Ruwan Wanigasooriya, yesterday rejected reports of the Ministry's involvement in the closure of the university.

"This claim is false. We did not produce such orders, we do not get involved in education affairs," the Uthayan quoting him as saying.

"The education ministry may have decided after discussing with the University administration," he added.

UK Shadow Foreign Sec questions Rajapaksa's role at Commonwealth Games

The UK's Shadow Foreign Secretary, Douglas Alexander has raised concerns over the presence of the Sri Lankan president Mahinda Rajapaksa at the Commonwealth Games set to take place later this year in Glasgow.

In a letter addressed to Foreign Secretary William Hague on Thursday, Mr. Alexander warned the "world-class sporting celebration risks being overshadowed by questions raised by the possible attendance of Sri Lanka's president in his capacity as Chairperson-in-office of the Commonwealth."

President Rajapaksa was appointed Chairperson of the Commonwealth following Sri Lanka's hosting of the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting at the end of last year.

Reiterating Sri Lanka's failure to meet the demands of the British government to investigate allegations of human rights abuses and its subsequent rejection of the international investigation mandated by the UN Human Rights Council, Mr. Alexander called on the British Foreign Secretary to clarify President Rajapaksa's possible attendance and role in the games.

Mr. Alexander wrote:

"I would like to ask what steps you are able to take to work constructively with the Games organisers to help ensure that this world-class sporting celebration is not overshadowed by questions raised by the possible attendance of Sri Lanka's President.

In addition I would ask you what formal advice you have given to the Commonwealth Secretariat, Glasgow 2014 Ltd and the Commonwealth Games Federation, regarding any possible role that President Rajapaksa may play at the Gamers in his capacity as Chairperson-in-office of the Commonwealth?"

See full letter here.