Tamil Affairs

Tamil News

Latest news from and about the homeland

The Toronto City Council unanimously passed a motion on May 22 for the city to work with the Tamil community to build a Tamil Genocide Monument in Scarborough. The motion was brought forward by Parthi Kandavel, city councillor for Scarborough Southwest, and seconded by fellow councillor Josh Matlow, representing Toronto-St. Paul’s. It requests the city to identify a potential site in a City of…

TNA leader calls on Sri Lanka to release funds allocated to North-East

The leader of the Tamil National Alliance (TNA), R Sampanthan has called on the Sri Lankan government to released funds that were pledged for the North-East without further delay. 

Impunity entrenched in Sri Lanka says ITJP as case filed against Gota

Yasmin Sooka, the executive director at the International Truth and Justice Project (ITJP) said the culture of impunity related to torture and sexual violence was entrenched in Sri Lanka during a press conference today, following two civil lawsuits being filed in the United States against Sri Lanka's former defence secretary, Gotabhaya Rajapaksa over torture. 

Sri Lankan military in Jaffna briefs ICG at occupying Palaly base

The Sri Lankan military held a meeting with the International Crisis Group (ICG) Sri Lanka desk representative Alan Keenan at its occupying military base in Palaly last week.

Sri Lanka asks India for more military training

Sri Lanka’s president called on the Indian government to increase its training of the country’s war crimes accused military, as he met with India’s defence secretary in Colombo on Monday.

UN torture prevention team visits Vavuniya prison

The UN Subcommittee on the Prevention of Torture visited Vavuniya prison on Sunday as part of their trip to the island. 

26 Tamils arrested in Kilinochchi

Twenty-six Tamils were arrested in Kilinochchi accused of trying to flee Sri Lanka by boat to Canada. 

Former NPC member disputes Buddhist rewriting Mullaitivu history

A Sinhala Buddhist monk is attempting to rewrite and erase the history of a Tamil Hindu temple in Mullaitivu, former Northern Provincial Council (NPC) member T Ravikaran has said.

Mental health disorders affect over half of North reveals new study

A study by researchers from Britain’s  Anglia Ruskin University found that 58% of the northern population suffered from mental health disorders from anxiety and depression to post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

The study, which was based of interviews with around 1,000 displaced adults at 25 hospitals across the north, also revealed that despite the high prevalence of mental illness, 83% of people reported they had not seen a mental health specialist in the previous three months.

Dr Shannon Doherty, Senior Lecturer at Anglia Ruskin and lead researcher in this project, said:

Crowds honour Major Pasilan's mother at funeral

Locals, family members and political figures from the TNA and TNPF paid their respects to the mother of the senior LTTE commander, Major Pasilan yesterday at her funeral. 

His mother had lit the lamp at Mulliyavalai Thuyilum Illam for Maaveerar Naal the past two years. 

EU, UK, Canada and Australia tell Sri Lanka death penalty is ‘unacceptable denial of human dignity’

The European Union and several other governments released a statement on Monday, calling on Sri Lanka to halt steps towards reinstating the death penalty, stating it was an “unacceptable denial of human dignity and integrity”.

The statement, which was issued in agreement with the embassies of France, Germany, Italy, Netherlands, Romania, Norway, Switzerland, Canada, Australia and the UK, called on the Sri Lankan government to “maintain its moratorium on the death penalty”.