Tamil Affairs

Tamil News

Latest news from and about the homeland

Photograph: A Sinhalese mob beats a Tamil passenger after pulling him out of his car. 1958. (Courtesy Victor Ivan) On this day 67 years ago, Sinhala mobs began attacking, raping and murdering Tamils across the island. The violence was to become another in a series of deadly anti-Tamil pogroms. Estimates range from between 300 and 1,500 Tamils murdered in the days of violence, which…

2,000 days of protest and yet no answers - Tamil families of the disappeared rally in Kilinochchi

Tamil families of the disappeared are rallying through Kilinochchi today as they mark 2,000 days of continuous protests in the search of their forcibly disappeared loved ones. 

Gotabaya Rajapaksa flees to Bangkok

After being denied asylum by several Middle Eastern countries, Sri Lanka's war crimes accused former President Gotabaya Rajapaksa has been welcomed by Thailand on "humanitarian grounds".

‘Where are our children?’ – Families of the Disappeared continue protests

In Vavuniya, Tamil Families of the Disappeared are continuing their protests on the roadside to demand to know what happened to their loved ones.

UNFPA appeals for USD 10.7 million to aid women and girls in Sri Lanka

The United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) has appealed for USD 10.7 million to aid the 2 million women and girls in Sri Lanka that have been affected by the country's economic crisis.

 

Last Chance – Why Singapore owes it to the Tamil people to arrest Gotabaya Rajapaksa

Sri Lanka’s former president Gotabaya Rajapaksa is a war criminal accused of overseeing some of the most heinous atrocities of the 21st century. Under his command Sri Lankan troops unleashed an offensive that saw widespread violations of international law and left as many as 169,796 Tamils unaccounted for. Out of all the countries in the world, Singapore has a particular duty to hold him to account. It must do so before he flees.

Next stop Thailand – ‘No problem’ for Rajapaksa as visit request confirmed

Thai authorities confirmed that they received a visitation request from former Sri Lankan president Gotabaya Rajapaksa, who is reported to fly to the country tomorrow after fleeing to Singapore last month, amidst growing calls for the arrest of the accused war criminal.

Soldiers first in Sri Lanka as secret Australian fuel deal keeps navy afloat

Whilst millions across the island are forced to queue hours in the face of crippling fuel shortages, Sri Lanka’s navy has been getting a steady supply of fuel through a secret deal forged with Australia.

According to a report in The Australian, Sri Lankan navy patrol boats are regularly being refuelled in India at Canberra’s expense.

UN experts condemn Sri Lanka's 'extensive, prolonged and repeated' use of emergency laws to crackdown on protesters

United Nations (UN) human rights experts have condemned Sri Lanka's "extensive, prolonged and repeated use of state of emergency measures" to repress the voices of peaceful protesters. 

In a statement, the experts highlighted that Sri Lankan authorities have clamped down on activists and protesters in recent weeks in response to the ongoing political and social unrest on the island. 

He left for a ‘medical appointment’ – Continued denials that Sri Lanka’s President fled the island

Sri Lanka’s former Prime Minister, Mahinda Rajapaksa, has insisted that his brother, former President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, did not flee the island but instead left for a medical appointment.

Mahinda Rajapaksa’s strenuous denials follow similar claims by cabinet spokesman, Bandula Gunawardena, who insisted that Gotabaya Rajapaksa was “not in hiding”.