Tamil Affairs

Tamil News

Latest news from and about the homeland

Sri Lankan President Anura Kumara Dissanayake addressed a campaign rally in Vavuniya this week, making a series of pledges ranging from land restitution to “national reconciliation”, ahead of local government elections next month. Dissanayake announced that all lands marked by the Sri Lankan Forest Department using Google Maps—including farmlands and reservoirs—would be re-evaluated and…

Eelam Tamil receives prestigious Danish National Award in Education

Vashanth Selvadurai, an Eelam Tamil who fled to Denmark during the armed conflict was honored with the Danish National Award in Education, marking the first time a Tamil individual has received this prestigious recognition.

New governors appointed for Northern and Eastern provinces

Sri Lanka's President Anura Kumara Dissanayake has appointed new governors for the island's nine provinces, according to a communique from the Presidential Media Division. Nagalingam Vethanayagam has been named as the Governor of the Northern Province, while Professor Jayantha Lal Ratnasekera has been appointed as the Governor of the Eastern Province.

Postcard protests: Tamils throughout Mannar call for suspension of Adani Power Plant

Thousands of postcards addressed to Sri Lanka's President Anura Kumara Dissanayake and Prime Minister Dr. Harini Amarasuriya were sent today from Mannar, with Tamil residents urging the Sri Lankan government to immediately suspend the Adani Renewable Energy Project in the district.

'This is Anura's rule!' - Tamil families of the disappeared face threats at protest

An individual claiming to be a supporter of the National People's Power (NPP) disrupted a protest organized by the Families of the Disappeared in Vavuniya, harassing and intimidating the demonstrators while threatening them with arrest. The protest grew tense as the man shouted insults at the families from a distance, calling them "dogs" and attempting to provoke them.

Tamil Families of the Disappeared mark Children's Day as a day of mourning

Tamil family members of the enforced disappeared staged a protest outside the IOM office in Jaffna today, marking Children's Day as a day of mourning by the families who continue to search for their loved ones.

Remembering Balachandran

Today marks the birthday of Balachandran Prabhakaran, the third child of LTTE leader Velupillai Prabhakaran, who was executed by the Sri Lankan military during the final days of the Mullivaikkal massacre.

Balachandran, who was born on the 1st of October 1996, would be 28 years old today.

 

 

'We know the debt we owe to the Tamil community' - British Tamil Conservatives host senior leaders at party conference

The British Tamil Conservatives (BTC) hosted their annual reception at the Conservative Party Conference in Birmingham on Sunday, with number of current and former parliamentarians present. Speakers at the event highlighted the contributions of the British Tamil community and reiterated their commitment to advocating for justice for Tamils in Sri Lanka.

Who ruined Sri Lanka?

Writing in the Hamilton Spectator, Gwynne Dyer, questions who is responsible for Sri Lanka’s dire economic and political status. Comparing Sri Lanka’s post-independence history to that of its south asian neighbours, Dyer notes that “none compares with Sri Lanka for sustained, large-scale violence across five decades”.

Dyer notes that in addressing this question there are many contenders;

'Do people realise how many of our children we've buried or lost?' - Children's Day filled with grief for Tamil mothers

Tamil Families of the Disappeared will mark October 1 as a day of sorrow and mourning across the North-East, remembering the tens of thousands of Tamils who were killed or forcibly disappeared during Sri Lanka's decades-long armed conflict.

Nirmalnathan Nirajani, a Tamil mother of the disappeared, said the day, on which Sri Lanka marks “Children’s Day” was one filled with grief for Tamils.

Jaffna journalists and families commemorate Sudarshan and Viraj Mendis

A memorial was held at the Jaffna Press Club to commemorate the late journalist and cartoonist Ashwin Sutharshan as well as supporter of Tamil Eelam struggle Viraj Mendis.