Tamil Affairs

Tamil News

Latest news from and about the homeland

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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…

Ministers need to ‘defend the rights of minorities in Sri Lanka’ - UK Shadow Minister for Foreign and Commonwealth Affair

British Shadow Minister for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, Stephen Kinnock, has called upon ministers to “defend the rights of minorities in Sri Lanka” as he laid out the Labour party’s new foreign policy agenda yesterday.

Sri Lanka claims the country is ‘economically stable’ as government pleads for debt rollover

Sri Lanka’s Ministry of Finance has praised the Rajapaksa administration for its handling of the COVID-19 pandemic and building economic stability in the country as government spokesman, Udaya Gammanpila, pleaded with international investors to roll over bonds maturing this year.

EU ‘saddened’ by destruction of Mullivaikal monument but grants Sri Lanka 8.26 billion LKR

Responding to the destruction of the Mullivaikal monument at Jaffna university, the EU has responded issuing a statement stating that they were saddened by the destruction of the monument.

On Twitter they stated:

Former UK Foreign Secretary slams Sri Lanka and warns against global democratic complacency

Writing in the Telegraph, Britain’s former Foreign Secretary, William Hague, warns against global democratic decline and highlights the authoritarian tendencies in Hungary, India, Turkey, and Sri Lanka.

In his piece he notes:

Tamil diaspora organisations denounce Mullivaikkal memorial destruction

The original monument when it was unveiled in 2019

Tamil diaspora organisations from across the globe condemned the destruction of the Mullivaikkal memorial monument and expressed their solidarity with the protesters at Jaffna University. 

In a joint statement, the Australian Tamil Congress (ATC), British Tamils Forum (BTF), Irish Tamils Forum (ITC), Solidarity Group for Peace and Justice in Sri Lankan (SGPJ) and United States Tamil Action Group (USTAG) said; 

Student poet’s continued detention under Sri Lanka's PTA slammed

The continued detention of 25-year-old Ahnaf Jazeem, a Muslim poet from Mannar, by Sri Lankan authorities under terrorism charges has drawn widespread condemnation across the island.

Sri Lanka’s Criminal Investigation Department (CID) decided his book of Tamil language poems, titled Navarasam contained extremist messaging and have held him in detention since May 2020 under the draconian Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA).

Swiss Tamils rally in solidarity with Jaffna University students over Mullivaikkal memorial destruction

Tamils in Switzerland held a rally outside the United Nations in Geneva today to condemn the demolition of the Mullivaikkal memorial in the University of Jaffna. 

Swiss Tamils demonstrates in solidarity with the students at Jaffna University as global outrage continues over the destruction of the monument dedicated to the tens of thousands of Tamils killed at the end of the armed conflict in 2009. 

A highly political choice to silence the memories of thousands' - British MP Virendra Sharma

British MP for Ealing Southall, Virendra Sharma, has condemned the destruction of the Mullivaikal memorial in Jaffna university, describing it as "a high political choice to silence the memories of thousands".

On Twitter he stated:

Tamil Canadian youth and student organisations condemn destruction of Mullivaikkal memorial monument

 

The Tamil Youth Organisation (TYO), Canadian Tamil Youth Alliance (CTYA) and a collective of Tamil Canadian student organisations across the country have released statements condemning the destruction of the Mullivaikkal memorial monument at the University of Jaffna, in an act of solidarity with the Jaffna University Students' Union.

An attempt to erase history' - Leader of Ontario Liberal Party, Steven Del Duca condemns destruction of Mullivaikkal memorial

Responding to protests in Jaffna, Steven Del Duca, Leader of the Ontario Liberal Party has condemned the destruction of the Mullaivaikkal monument as an "attempt to erase history".