Tamil Affairs

Tamil News

Latest news from and about the homeland

""
The number of skeletal remains identified at the Chemmani mass grave in Jaffna has risen to 366, as excavators uncovered further remains of children on Tuesday, at one of the largest mass graves unearthed on the island and a site long tied to the enforced disappearance and extrajudicial killing of Tamils by the Sri Lankan military. Six sets of skeletal remains, including those of children,…

Sri Lanka continues to deploy PTA against Tamil political prisoners

Tamil National People’s Front MP Selvarajah Kajendren renewed calls for the immediate release of Tamil political prisoners, noting how some continue to have new charges laid out against them under the much-criticised Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA).

“The political prisoners who are in the New Magazine Prison have been there for over 15 years. They are all undergoing mental agony, stress, and depression. They should be released immediately,” he told reporters after visiting the prisoners.

TNPF urges India to reject 13th Amendment and refer Sri Lanka to ICC

The Tamil National People's Front (TNPF) have urged India to reject the 13th Amendment and instead support a federal solution that will allow the Tamil nation their right to self-determination as well as referring Sri Lanka to the International Criminal Court for the Tamil genocide. 

In a letter to India's Minister of External Affairs, Subramanyam Jaishankar, the TNPF's General Secretary Selvarajah Kajendren stated that the amendment failed to prevent the Tamil genocide and that the political situation had become worse than it was when the amendment was first introduced.  

Outrage in Mannar as Sri Lanka looks to sell off nature reserve to private company

A tense situation arose during the Mannar District Development Committee meeting held this week when several Tamils questioned the basis upon which the government of Sri Lanka had de-gazetted the Vidattaltivu Nature Reserve, allowing private companies to set up an aquaculture industrial farm. 

US gifts 'essential equipment' to Sri Lankan military as defense ties deepen

Weeks after the US Navy and Marine Corps conducted joint maritime exercises, the United States has transferred equipment to the Sri Lankan military, as defence ties between the two governments continues to grow.

Tamil farmers in Mannar call on Sri Lankan president to issue land deeds

Hundreds of landless Tamil farmers who have been engaged in paddy cultivation in the Illupaikadavai area in Manthai West in Mannar have written to Sri Lanka’s president demanding he issue them land deeds, so that their rightful ownership of the land can be recognised.

Sri Lankan sailor dies in operation to arrest Indian fishermen

The Sri Lanka Navy confirmed that a sailor had “succumbed to his injuries,” after the security forces launched an operation that ended with the arrest of 10 Indian fishermen and the seizure of a trawler in Jaffna earlier today.

Official reports from the navy state that the 10 fishermen were apprehended Kankesanthurai in Jaffna.

12 commissions of inquiry are all a scam!' - Tamil families of the disappeared demand international justice

Tamil families of the disappeared held a rally today in Gandhi Park, Batticaloa, as they continue to search for answers and justice for their forcibly disappeared loved ones. 

Tamil mothers and fathers clutched photographs of their children who were forcibly disappeared by Sri Lanka’s security forces or government-aligned paramilitary forces. 

Tamil devotees subjected to surveillance by Sri Lankan police during worship at Kurunthurmalai

Tamil devotees were subjected to surveillance by Sri Lankan police officers during a pooja at the  Athi Aiyanar temple in Kurunthurmalai last Tuesday. 

The Athi Aiyanar temple, a native place of worship of Tamils located in the Thannimurippu area, has been targeted by intense land grab efforts by Sinhala Buddhist monks over recent years.

Firmly on the agenda

The Tamil Guardian hosted the first ever British Tamil community hustings event in London on Thursday evening. The event was historic - not only for its senior level of representation from British political parties, but also for showcasing how deeply important justice for genocide and securing Tamil rights remains for hundreds of thousands across the United Kingdom. With a new British government set to be formed in just a few short weeks, the issues of justice for mass atrocities and the quest for Tamil liberation will clearly continue to remain firmly on the agenda. Whoever looks to steer Britain on the global stage next cannot afford to ignore them.

Indian fisherfolk protest arrests of 22 fishermen off North-East

Fishermen in Rameswaram, Tamil Nadu, have initiated a day-long strike demanding the release of 22 Indian fishermen detained by the Sri Lankan Navy. The detainees are accused of trespassing in waters near Jaffna.