Tamil Affairs

Tamil News

Latest news from and about the homeland

DNA test ordered for senior Buddhist monk accused in child sexual abuse case
Anuradhapura Chief Magistrate Siyapath Sasindu Wickramaratne has ordered Pallegama Hemarathana Thera, the former Chief Custodian and Head Prelate of the eight sacred Buddhist sites (Atamasthana) in Anuradhapura, to provide a blood sample for DNA testing in connection with an ongoing investigation into the alleged sexual abuse of a minor girl. The court directed the monk to appear before the…

‘The greatest humanitarian crisis of the war’ – Press coverage of the Jaffna Exodus

Oct 30, 2025
As we mark 30 years since the Jaffna exodus, which led to over half a million Tamil men, women and children fleeing their homes, we look back at press coverage from the time.

Remembering the Jaffna exodus – 500,000 displaced

Oct 30, 2025
On this day 30 years ago, over half a million Tamil men, women and children fled their homes in Jaffna as the Sri Lankan military launched a military offensive to capture the peninsula, under the leadership of then president Chandrika Kumaratunga.

Sinhala monk claims Muslim nurses’ dress policy will ‘erase Sinhala culture’

Oct 30, 2025

Sinhala Buddhist monk, Seelarathane Thero, and leader of the Sinhala- nationalist political party, Jana Setha Peramuna, has publicly criticized the National People’s Power (NPP) government, claiming that the recent announcement permitting Muslim nurses to dress in accordance with their cultural and religious identity is an attempt to “erase Sinhala culture”.

279,706 children displaced across Sri Lanka from climate disasters

Oct 28, 2025

Climate

UNICEF's report Weathering the Future: The Growing Crisis of Child Displacement in South Asia detailed that an estimated 4.6 per cent of its under-18 population was displaced between 2016 to 2022 due to climatic disaster events. Trincomalee, Batticaloa, and Mullaitivu were highlighted as 'very high-risk' areas for flooding. 

Israeli advisers shaped Sinhala settlement schemes, writes Sri Lankan professor

Oct 28, 2025
A Sri Lankan professor at a military university has analysed the Israeli influence behind Sri Lanka’s Sinhala settlement policies during the late 20th century, particularly in the Mahaweli Development Project — the island’s largest post-independence scheme. 

Clergy hold protest at Chemmani demanding justice for massacre victims

Oct 28, 2025
Members of the Methodist Church held a symbolic protest in Chemmani on Tuesday, calling for justice for the victims of the Chemmani massacre.

Trincomalee mineral workers demand pay after 15 months without wages

Oct 28, 2025
Eighty-three Pulmoddai Mineral Sands Corporation employees in Trincomalee continue protesting over unpaid wages for more than 15 months

Sri Lankan PM Amarasuriya rules out international probe into war crimes

Oct 27, 2025
The National People’s Power (NPP) government has reiterated its opposition to an international investigation into war crimes in Sri Lanka, with Sri Lankan Prime Minister Harini Amarasuriya reaffirming the state’s position in parliament last week.

Sri Lankan military fuelling drug crisis in Tamil homeland, says Ponnambalam

Oct 27, 2025
Tamil National People’s Front (TNPF) leader and Jaffna District MP Gajendrakumar Ponnambalam has accused the Sri Lankan military of playing a central role in the spread of narcotics across the Tamil homeland, warning that drug addiction has been deliberately fostered.

Sri Lanka joins UN peacekeeping talks despite war crimes

Oct 27, 2025
Sri Lanka’s participation in a United Nations peacekeeping conference has drawn renewed scrutiny, as the country’s army commander — whose regiment was implicated in war crimes — attended the United Nations Troop Contributing Countries (UNTCC) Chiefs’ Conclave 2025 in New Delhi earlier this month.
‘The greatest humanitarian crisis of the war’ – Press coverage of the Jaffna Exodus
Remembering the Jaffna exodus – 500,000 displaced
Sinhala monk claims Muslim nurses’ dress policy will ‘erase Sinhala culture’
279,706 children displaced across Sri Lanka from climate disasters
Israeli advisers shaped Sinhala settlement schemes, writes Sri Lankan professor
Clergy hold protest at Chemmani demanding justice for massacre victims
Trincomalee mineral workers demand pay after 15 months without wages
Sri Lankan PM Amarasuriya rules out international probe into war crimes
Sri Lankan military fuelling drug crisis in Tamil homeland, says Ponnambalam
Sri Lanka joins UN peacekeeping talks despite war crimes
‘The greatest humanitarian crisis of the war’ – Press coverage of the Jaffna Exodus
Remembering the Jaffna exodus – 500,000 displaced
Sinhala monk claims Muslim nurses’ dress policy will ‘erase Sinhala culture’
279,706 children displaced across Sri Lanka from climate disasters
Israeli advisers shaped Sinhala settlement schemes, writes Sri Lankan professor
Clergy hold protest at Chemmani demanding justice for massacre victims
Trincomalee mineral workers demand pay after 15 months without wages
Sri Lankan PM Amarasuriya rules out international probe into war crimes
Sri Lankan military fuelling drug crisis in Tamil homeland, says Ponnambalam
Sri Lanka joins UN peacekeeping talks despite war crimes