Tamil Affairs

Tamil News

Latest news from and about the homeland

16 years today - More than 3,200 killed overnight
  To mark 16 years since the Sri Lankan military onslaught that massacred tens of thousands of Tamils, we revisit the final days leading up to the 18th of May 2009 – a date remembered around the world as ‘Tamil Genocide Remembrance Day’.  After providing an initial death toll of 40,000, the UN found evidence suggesting that 70,000 were killed. Local census records…

Protesters disrupt workshop in Colombo for Tamil journalists

Jul 25, 2014
11:12 BST

A press workshop in Colombo for Tamil journalists was disrupted today after protesters gathered outside Sri Lanka's Press Institute, where the workshop was to take place, the journalist Dushyanthini reports.

Last night, eleven Tamil journalists travelling to the workshop were stopped and questioned by security forces, whilst the driver of the vehicle was detained. See more here.

"This was the 3rd training for northern journalists which was disrupted in just 2 months (May-July 2014)," Dushyanthini tweeted.

Regions in the Jaffna unidentifiable after military flattening say Tamil IDPs

Jul 25, 2014
Tamils that were allowed to temporarily leave the Sri Lankan Army’s enforced High Security Zones (HSZ) to return to visit their original areas of residence have found that homes,  schools and community buildings have been flattened, reports BBC Tamil.

One of those that was allowed to leave the HSZ in Valikamam North to see his home region, told reporters that many temples and schools that previously existed in the region could not be found.

Military intimidate media at inquiry into gang rape of Tamil school girls

Jul 24, 2014

Sri Lankan military personnel on Friday threatened and evicted journalists from the court room where the inquiry into the gang rape of two Tamil school girls, aged 11 and 9, in Karainagar by Sri Lankan navy personnel is currently taking place.

Dressed in civilian uniform, the military officers confiscated cameras and mobiles phones from the journalists, and deleted any photographs that had been taken, sources in Jaffna told Tamil Guardian.

The media personnel were told not publish news related to the incidents and the parents of the victims were offered money and threatened to drop the case.

Outside the court room, locals held a protest condemning the ongoing rape and sexual assault against Tamil children by military personnel, as well as calling for an end to the intimidation and harassment of victims.

CPA criticises expansion of presidential commission mandate

Jul 24, 2014

The Colombo-based Centre for Policy Alternatives has expressed “deep concern” over the recent expansion of the presidential commission, which was initially found to solely investigate disappearances in the Northeast.

A recent gazette notification by the government expanded the mandate of the Presidential Commission of Inquiry to Investigate into Complaints Regarding Missing Persons (COI), to include “from violations of International Humanitarian Law (IHL) and International Human Rights Law (IHRL) including the recruitment of child soldiers and suicide attacks, to the criminality of financial and other resources obtained by the LTTE”.

Important we never forget' Black July - Labour leader Ed Miliband

Jul 24, 2014

The leader of the British opposition Labour Party, Ed Miliband has stressed the importance of not forgetting the lives lost during Black July, in a statement to commemorate the pogroms in 1983.

“This month, in remembrance of Black July, we commemorate the lives of Tamil men, women and children that were lost and those who were displaced and exiled as a result of the regrettable violence,” Mr Miliband said in his statement, released on Friday.

"We may never know exactly how many lives were lost, but it is clear that the memories of the violence that ensued still live on. And it is important that we never forget."

We stand with the Tamils in commemorating Black July - Jason Kenney MP

Jul 24, 2014

Commemorating the thirty-first anniversary of Black July, an anti-Tamil pogram that took place in 1983, Jason Kenney MP of Canada's ruling Conservative party, reiterated the country's condemnation of the ongoing abuses and said they stood with the Tamil community in Canada.

"As we reflect on the violence that swept through Sri Lanka in July of 1983, I am proud to say that Canada remains committed to promoting and upholding our fundamental values of freedom, democracy, human rights and the rule of law," Mr Kenney, the MP for Calgary Southeast, said in a statement released on Thursday.

"We stand with the quarter-million-strong Tamil community in Canada in commemorating the tragic events of Black July," he added.

157 Tamil asylum seekers to be transferred to Australia mainland

Jul 24, 2014
The 157 Tamil asylum seekers, who had been drifting in the ocean off the coast of Christmas Island for four weeks, are to be transferred to an immigration centre on mainland Australia on Saturday, reports the Sydney Morning Herald.

This would be the first time asylum seekers have been accepted onto mainland Australia in over six months.

Indian authorities will be coming to "identify" and accept back any Indian nationals on board, Australia's Immigration minister Scott Morrison was quoted by the paper as saying.

Canada's Liberal party leader joins Tamils in Black July remembrance

Jul 24, 2014
The leader of Canada's Liberal Party, Justin Trudeau, this week remembered the thousands of Tamils killed during the anti-Tamil pogrom of 1983.

“Tamil-Canadians and members of the Tamil community around the world mourn the pogroms of Black July, which began 31 years ago on July 24, 1983," he said in a statement released on Tuesday, adding, “I join in solemnly observing this important anniversary.”

“Our country has welcomed those seeking asylum during this protracted crisis, and we continue to accept refugees and immigrants from Sri Lanka who come to Canada in search of safety, equality, and prosperity. We must and we will continue to work with the international community to achieve accountability and justice for those who have suffered the horrors of the Sri Lankan Civil War," he further said.

Tamils protest Sri Lanka's inclusion in Commonwealth at opening ceremony of Glasgow games

Jul 23, 2014
All photographs Tamil Guardian

Hundreds of Tamils protested against Sri Lanka's inclusion within the Commonwealth and that the country's president remained as chair, at the opening day of the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow on Wednesday.

Stating that Sri Lanka was a "shame on the Commonwealth", protesters carried placards condemning the ongoing killing, torture and rape of Tamils in the North-East.
 

The protest took place as the Sri Lankan president's office confirmed that Mahinda Rajapaksa would not be attended the opening ceremony. The presidential spokesperson denied this was due to the protests.

Tamils mark Black July in London, call for justice for ongoing genocide

Jul 23, 2014
All photographs by Amrita Chandradas

Remembering the anti-Tamil pogrom of Black July in 1983, Tamils came together on Wednesday in London, opposite the British prime minister's residence at Downing Street, and called for justice for the victims of the past and ongoing genocide against the Tamil people.


Candles were lit in remembrance of the over 3000 Tamils who were killed by Sinhala mobs, backed by the then UNP government and state's security forces, rampaging through the island.

Regions in the Jaffna unidentifiable after military flattening say Tamil IDPs
Military intimidate media at inquiry into gang rape of Tamil school girls
CPA criticises expansion of presidential commission mandate
Important we never forget' Black July - Labour leader Ed Miliband
We stand with the Tamils in commemorating Black July - Jason Kenney MP
157 Tamil asylum seekers to be transferred to Australia mainland
Canada's Liberal party leader joins Tamils in Black July remembrance
Tamils protest Sri Lanka's inclusion in Commonwealth at opening ceremony of Glasgow games
Tamils mark Black July in London, call for justice for ongoing genocide
Rajapaksa declines invitation to Commonwealth event, fearing Tamil protests
Regions in the Jaffna unidentifiable after military flattening say Tamil IDPs
Military intimidate media at inquiry into gang rape of Tamil school girls
CPA criticises expansion of presidential commission mandate
Important we never forget' Black July - Labour leader Ed Miliband
We stand with the Tamils in commemorating Black July - Jason Kenney MP
157 Tamil asylum seekers to be transferred to Australia mainland
Canada's Liberal party leader joins Tamils in Black July remembrance
Tamils protest Sri Lanka's inclusion in Commonwealth at opening ceremony of Glasgow games
Tamils mark Black July in London, call for justice for ongoing genocide
Rajapaksa declines invitation to Commonwealth event, fearing Tamil protests