Tamil Affairs

Tamil News

Latest news from and about the homeland

Côte-des-Neiges-Notre-Dame-de-Grâce, a borough in Montreal, has passed a motion recognising May 18 as Tamil Genocide Remembrance Day.  The motion comes as the Tamil nation marks 16 years since the genocide at Mullivaikkal, where an estimated 169,796 people were killed by the Sri Lankan army in the final days of the armed conflict.  Tamil activist Subitha Tharmakulasagaram said the…

Gotabaya Rajapaksa ‘ready to enter parliamentary politics’

The Sri Lankan Defence Secretary, Gotabaya Rajapaksa, has told NewsFirst that he is ready to enter parliamentary politics if President Mahinda Rajapaksa tells him to.

Gotabaya Rajapaksa, the brother of the president, was one of the key figures behind the Sri Lankan military’s onslaught on the Vanni, and is thought to be one of the individuals holding command responsibility for atrocities committed during the armed conflict.

 

India summons SL High Commissioner amidst protests against Sri Lanka's MoD article

The Indian government is to summon the Sri Lankan High Commissioner over a defamatory article posted on the Sri Lankan Ministry of Defence website last week, said the Indian External Affairs Minister on Monday, reports The Hindu.

“The government strongly condemned the development,” said the minister, Sushma Swaraj.

The decision came as India's Lok Sabha was disrupted by protests, with AIADMK MPs demanding stricter action against Sri Lanka, the BBC reported.

US embassy expresses concern over SL police support to mob

The United States Embassy in Sri Lanka expressed concern over the Sri Lankan police's apparent support of a mob lead by Buddhist monks that disrupted a private meeting for families of the disappeared from the North on Monday.

“The US embassy is concerned that the initial reaction of the local police to this disruption appeared to be in support of the mob efforts to shut down the meeting, though after discussions with diplomatic officials the police did effectively calm the situation," the embassy said in a statement issued hours after the mob violence.

“The mob shouted hateful slogans, made unfounded accusations, and behaved threateningly towards the families of the disappeared. These protesters were not exercising their right to peaceful protest, but rather were disrupting a peaceful gathering of conflict survivors, including children. The strong impression was that the protesters were seeking to intimidate and silence those in attendance," The statement added.

Scotland criticised over training of Sri Lankan police

Scotland has faced criticism over a training program for more than 3500 Sri Lankan policemen, which takes place as the Sri Lankan government comes under investigation by the United Nations for war crimes and gross violations of international humanitarian law.

The program, funded by the UK Foreign Office, will see senior Sri Lankan commanders receive training from the Scottish Police College
and is set to run until the end of 2015.

The Sunday Herald reports that the program aims to embed “international standards in police training”.

Minister and police entourage disrespect Hindu temple traditions


Photograph: Uthayan

Sri Lankan government minister Mervyn Silva and his police entourage are accused of disrespecting the traditions of a Tamil Hindu temple in Jaffna, after they parked their vehicles inside the temple premises and proceeded to enter the temple without removing their footwear.

Tamil student attacked in South as posters warn Tamils and Muslims to leave

A Tamil student has been attacked at the Sabaragamuwa University in the south of the island, as posters appeared across the campus warning all Tamil and Muslim students to leave the town immediately.

Santhirakumar Sutharshan from Mukamalai was attacked with wooden logs by persons wearing masks, early on Sunday morning, reports Global Tamil News.

The victim said he went to use the toilet at around 2am, when a person wearing a mask covered his mouth from behind whilst another beat him on the head with a wooden log, causing him to fall unconscious.

When he regained consciousness, he found himself outside the hostel in woods, with a rope fastened around his neck.

After managing to make his way back to the hostel, he was spotted by fellow students, who took him to Balangoda hospital where he has been admitted for treatment.

The attack comes as the names of Tamil and Muslim first year students were published on posters posted across the university campus ordering the students to leave the town or else be killed.

In broken Tamil, one poster (photograph above) listed the names of students on the left side, with a death threat warning on the right:

"Muslim, Tamil students do not study here, if you do, we will shoot and kill. Women - rape you and kill.. otherwise shoot and kill"

"Do not study here, if you do, you will be killed" reads poster.

Presidential change irrelevant unless Tamil national question is addressed - TNPF

Presidential change alone will not solve the problems facing the Tamil people warned the Tamil National Political Front (TNPF) leader in an interview with the Sunday Leader.

Responding to a question on the proposal of a common candidate to challenge the current president, Gajendrakumar Ponnambalam, said,
“I don’t believe merely having the President changed at the top is going to solve anything. But merely removing the individual at the top, without the prospective new President having concrete proposals to solve the Tamil national question, is not going to be a ‘Regime Change’ but merely a ‘Personality Change.’ Such an exercise is going to be irrelevant to the Tamils.”
“So far we are yet to see all the prospective common opposition candidates saying anything on the ethnic question and what they see as a solution,”

Tamil media oppression is state sponsored - Bishop of Mannar

The murder and abduction of journalists and attacks on press offices in Sri Lanka is state sponsored said the Bishop of Mannar, Rayappu Joseph, on Saturday.

"Many journalists are being murdered, are disappearing, and their offices are being attacked, it is an terrible situation that continues to persist for a long time," the Bishop said.

"Government sponsored mob are carrying out such ill activities fearing that truth will come out," he added.

Vavuniya journalist receives death threat

Death threats were issued via telephone to a journalist in Vavuniya, Navarathinam Kapilanath, on Saturday night warning he would killed, reported Global Tamil News, as well as fellow journalists based in Jaffna.

"You do not know us. Do you not wish to live after complaining about us to the police," the anonymous caller told Kapilanath after he said he would file a complaint with the police.

The phone calls were made from two different phone numbers said Kapilanath, who is also the deputy leader of the Vanni Journalists' Club.

24y woman missing in Jaffna

A 24 year old Tamil woman, named Jeyavarna Thuraisingham, has been reported missing in Jaffna, Uthayan reports.

According to her relatives she had travelled to Jaffna Teaching Hospital due to an illness on Wednesday, however has not been seen since.

Her relatives have filed a missing persons report at Jaffna police station on Thursday.