Tamil Affairs

Tamil News

Latest news from and about the homeland

Marking the 16th anniversary of the Mullivaikkal massacre, Tamil organisations in the Netherlands held a memorial event at Dam Square in Amsterdam, on 18 May 2025, in remembrance of the tens of thousands of Tamil killed during the 2009 genocide. The event was jointly organised by the Netherlands Tamil Coordination Committee and Tamil Youth Organisation. A floral tribute ceremony, following…

Mother and child found dead in well in Vavuniya

A mother and her 4-year-old son have been found dead inside a well in Vavuniya this morning, Sri Lankan news sites reported. 

The deceased were identified as Mayuran Rajini and her child Mayuran Saswin.

Sri Lankan police are reported to be currently conducting investigations into the deaths.

See more from the Daily Mirror here and Colombo Gazette here.

Tamil protestors demand Sri Lankan military release land in Amparai

Tamil villagers in Amparai staged a protest this week, demanding resettlement in their land which is currently being occupied by the Sri Lankan military.

Former SL navy lieutenant commander remanded until Aug 29

Sri Lanka's former navy lieutenant commander, Prasad Chandana Hettiarachchi, alias 'Navy Sampath' has been remanded in custody until August 29, the Daily Mirror reports.

Lieutenant Commander Hettiarachchi was arrested this week over the abduction and murdering of 11 Tamil youths from 2008 to 2009. 

He had been evading authorities ever since he was released on bail earlier this year. He was reportedly arrested at Lotus Road in Colombo with a false identity card.

A former Naval Media Spokesperson and five others including three naval officers have been arrested over the murders so far.

Indian envoy in Jaffna opens eight school buildings in Northern Province

India's Consul General in Jaffna opened eight new school buildings across the Northern Province last week.

Deputy Minister says Tamils should return to Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka’s deputy minister of national integration, reconciliation and official languages has claimed that Tamils who fled the island should return as peace now prevailed.

Speaking at an alumni meet in Trichy, Tamil Nadu, Deputy Minister Seyed Ali Zahir Moulana said that the Sri Lankan government was taking steps to facilitate those who want to return to Sri Lanka, especially Tamils who want to return to the North-East, but claimed some Tamils were hesitant as they were ‘settled down with families’ in other countries.

Mannar mass grave open to journalists, court says

A court-imposed ban on journalists entering a mass grave site in Mannar has been lifted after journalists challenged the injunction last week.

Lawyer P. Deniswaran said that the judge accepted that the court order had contained errors and confirmed that journalists could visit the site to collect news without being disturbed.

Registered journalists could obtain permission from the police officer on duty at the mass grave excavation site, the judge said.

US Navy Special Warfare unit concludes military exercise in Trincomalee

The United States Naval Special Warfare unit announced that it had completed a four week long exercise with Sri Lankan troops in Trincomalee this week, as military ties between the two governments continue to increase.

Sri Lankan PM burnishes Sinhala Buddhist credentials with pledge to preserve archaeological sites

Sri Lanka’s Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe pledged to continue with the preservation of Buddhist sites across the island, as he slammed the former regime for claiming to be ‘Sinhala Buddhist’ without spending as much on archaeology as the present government has.

ColomboPage reports Mr Wickremesinghe as stating “it is no use of claiming 'Sinhala Buddhist' to obtain the votes without preserving the ancient historic Buddhist temples to tell the world about their glory”.

CID summons former president over attack on journalist

Sri Lanka's CID has summoned the former president Mahinda Rajapaksa over the abduction and assault of the associate editor of The Nation, Keith Noyahr in May 2008. 

Mr Rajapaksa has been summoned to the CID office on August 17 to record a statement. 

The summons was delivered to his official residence on Sunday by the Organized Crimes Investigation Unit. 

Mr Noyahr was beaten after writing an article criticising the then army commander, General Sarath Fonseka and his colleagues.

Two Tamil youths arrested over alleged sword attack

Two Tamil men have been arrested on suspicion of carrying out a sword attack three months ago, Koppay police said.

A 24-year-old and a 28-year old were arrested on Tuesday in connection with a sword attack in Neerveli in May.

Initially three Tamil youths had been arrested by Koppay police in connection with the attack but witnesses did not identify any of them during the identity parade. A further two arrests were made. All five were kept in remand for a month and then released on bail.

The Jaffna Magistrate judge ordered the two new suspects to be remanded until the 23rd August.