Tamil Affairs

Tamil News

Latest news from and about the homeland

The International Truth and Justice Project (ITJP) has submitted a dossier to the UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office calling for targeted sanctions against retired Sri Lankan General Kamal Gunaratne, citing his direct involvement in war crimes, torture, and systemic human rights abuses. The submission, dated 8 May 2025, outlines a detailed case for the designation of Gunaratne…

Sri Lanka interrogates Tamil journalist over article from three years ago

Sri Lanka’s Terrorist Investigation Division (TID) interrogated Uthayan journalist Dileep Amuthan for over 4 hours this week, as they questioned him about a 2020 article on Maaveerar Naal, a national day of remembrance for Eelam Tamils.

Amuthan was summoned to the TID headquarters in Colombo on Wednesday, where he was questioned on the article. He was also interrogated on the paper’s publishing of images and quotes of Velupillai Prabhakaran, leader of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), on his birthday, 26 November 2020.

Lyca ventures further into Sri Lanka as French court issues €10 million fine

The Tamil-owned telecoms company Lycamobile has had its former CEO convicted and was ordered to pay a fine of €10 million after being found guilty of money laundering and fraud by a French court last month, just weeks after the company launched a Sri Lankan production arm looking to boost Sinhala-language cinema.

The verdict in the Parisian court comes after years of controversial practices by the multimillion-dollar company, which is reported to have links with the war crimes accused Rajapaksa family in Sri Lanka, and is looking to expand its operations on the island further.

Remembering Thamilselvan

 

Today marks sixteen years since S. P. Thamilselvan, the head of the political wing of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), was assassinated by the Sri Lankan air force (SLAF).

In pictures: Thousands across Europe mark Tamil Eelam Women's Uprising Day

In cities across Europe, thousands of Tamils marked Tamil Eelam Women's Uprising Day this month, paying tribute to 2nd Lt. Maalathy, the first female fighter of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) to lose her life in the Tamil armed struggle.

See photographs from events across Europe below.

Remembering the Jaffna exodus – 500,000 displaced

On October 30, 1995, 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.

Sinhalese settlers feed explosives to Tamil farmer's cattle

Sinhalese settlers who have been encroaching upon land used by Tamil farmers to graze their cattle in Mayilathamadu, have reportedly fed a cow owned by a Tamil armer an explosive, ripping its jaw into shreds.

Genocide apologist looks to ward off justice for Sri Lanka’s war crimes

Sri Lankan parliamentarian Sarath Weerasekara, the current Chairmen of the Sectoral Oversight Committee for National Security, told a press conference in Colombo that he is about to submit a comprehensive report on the “real state of affairs” to ward off international accountability over mass atrocities committed by Sri Lanka’s armed forces.

Australia posts ‘death threat’ billboards in Jaffna to deter Tamil refugees

The Australian government has come under fire for its controversial asylum policy once more, after a poster was spotted in Jaffna this month warning of death if Tamil refugees sought to flee the island for Australia.

Images posted on social media show a billboard warning against fleeing to Australia, stating “Don't be in a hurry for your funeral”.

“If you are caught, you will perish,” the poster adds, with amangala thoranam leaves in the backdrop. The leaves are traditionally displayed at Tamil funeral homes.

We will definitely kill you' - Armed men issue death threat to Tamil activist in Batticaloa

Sri Lankan police question Tamil journalists over land grab protest in Batticaloa

Two Tamil journalists were questioned by Sri Lankan police for over two hours today over their coverage of a protest in Batticaloa earlier this month. 

On October 8, the two Batticaloa based journalists, Punniyamoorthy Sasikaran and V Krisnakumar, attended and covered a demonstration by Tamils who were protesting against the land grabs by Sinhala settlers in Madhavanai and Mayilathamadu. The protesters were marching towards Chenkaldy Central College, where Sri Lankan president Ranil Wickremasinghe was attending an event, but were brutally assaulted by Sri Lankan police.