Tamil Affairs

Tamil News

Latest news from and about the homeland

Sri Lanka’s Defence Secretary, Air Vice Marshal Sampath Thuyacontha, met with Pakistan’s Defence Minister, Khawaja Muhammad Asif, in Islamabad this week on the sidelines of the 5th Sri Lanka-Pakistan Bilateral Defence Dialogue, the Sri Lankan government announced. The meeting took place on Tuesday 29 April, the second day of the three-day dialogue, which aims to enhance defence cooperation…

Jayatilleka defends himself

Soon after facing threats of losing his position as Sri Lanka's ambassador to Paris, Dayan Jayatilleka, vehemently rebutted the accusations. Responding to the letter stating that he should be charged under Sri Lanka's Penal Code, for "alleged wrongdoings" in the conduct of the affairs of the Embassy in Paris, Jayatilleka said,

Major General Silva set to flee Britain

Major General Prasanna de Silva, Sri Lanka's military attache at the high commission in London, is to return to Sri Lanka in the next few days, amid allegations of war crimes and an increasing moves towards legal action, reported The Guardian newspaper on Thursday.

A spokesperson for Sri Lankan government has refuted any connection between the legal proceedings and Silva's departure, claiming it to be a "routine transfer matter".

Speaking to The Guardian, he said,

It doesn’t pay to think

Dayan Jayatilleke’s position as Colombo’s ambassador to Paris is under threat because of opinions he aired in the wake of the recent UN Human Rights Commission’s resolution against Sri Lanka, press reports said.

IMF approves $427 million loan to Sri Lanka

The International Monetary Fund has approved the final tranche of the recently suspended $2.6 billion loan granted in 2009.

Sri Lanka has been struggling to implement economic reforms tied to the loan, however the IMF’s board of directors said in a press release on Monday that the implementation of certain measures has put Sri Lanka on the right path.

European embassies facing closure announced

Sri Lanka announced the five Sri Lankan embassies in Europe that are to be closed include Poland, Netherlands, Austria, Norway and Sweden. One embassy will be established to execute all affairs relevant to these countries.

All five countries voted against Sri Lanka on a resolution that was approved by United Nations Human Rights Commission (UNHRC).

See 'European embassies that serve no purpose will close - Sri Lanka' (27 Mar 2012)

India rejects reports of LTTE training camps in Tamil Nadu

In a statement released Monday, the Indian High Commission in Colombo dismissed reports made in a Sri Lankan newspaper that there were LTTE training camps in Tamil Nadu.

The statement read,

“The suggestion contained in the news item regarding the training of terrorists at three secret camps in Tamil Nadu, India is entirely erroneous and baseless. Relevant agencies of the two countries have ongoing cooperation and no such information has been brought to the notice of the Government of India."

Lawyers' Rights Watch on UNHRC resolution

Gary Anandasangaree, monitor for Sri Lanka at Lawyers' Rights Watch, and legal counsel for the Canadian Tamil Congress (CTC),writes in the Sunday Leader on the recently passed resolution at the 19th session of the UN Human Rights Council.

See here for full article, extracts reproduced below:

SL economic hopes hinging on IMF meeting

Sri Lanka will eagerly be awaiting the outcome of Monday’s meeting of the International Monetary Fund, as they look to be granted a desperately needed $800 million tranche of a recently suspended $2.6 billion loan.

If the final instalment of the loan is granted, the payment will be given out at a rate of 3.1% interest as opposed to the 1% of the previous tranches, and will be paid in two $400 million instalments.

Who are the “real war criminals”?

According to Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa, it’s all those that are “contributing to the rise in global warming”.

In a speech at Kandy, Rajapaksa singled out the United States, stating,
“All plants and animal species could be wiped out by global warming. Considering it, the real war criminals and human rights violators are such countries, which are contributing to the rise in global warming. The western nations became the violators of these rules.”

GTF takes action against British Foreign Secretary over SL diplomat

An international Tamil diaspora organisation has launched legal action against the British Foreign Secretary William Hague, over the failure to declare a senior Sri Lankan diplomat accused of war crimes a ‘persona non grata’.

The Global Tamil Forum has instructed lawyers to launch a judicial review against Hague, citing the Foreign Office’s refusal to take action against Major General Prasanna Silva. The former senior Army commander is now Sri Lanka’s military attache to the Sri Lankan High Commission in London, and is accused of involvement on systematic attacks on Tamil civilians from January to May 2009.