• Tamil political parties to hunger strike in solidarity with detainees

    May 22

    Members of the Tamil National Alliance and its constituent parties are to go on hunger strike in Vavuniya on Wednesday, to show solidarity with the over 300 reported Tamil detainees protesting across the island.

  • Murder of Canadian-Tamil highlights ethnic violence

    The recent murder of Canadian-Tamil  Anthonypillai Mahendrarasa, has underscored the “enduring ethnic violence” in Sri Lanka, reported the Globe and Mail on Tuesday, after the slain businessman’s funeral last week near Montreal.

  • Russia supports Sri Lanka against war crimes pressure

    Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has criticised pressure on Sri Lanka to allow an international probe into war crimes and human rights abuses, Russian media reported on Wednesday.

  • Sri Lankan constitution burnt on 40th anniversary

    A group of young Tamil activists burnt copies of the 1972 constitution, at the same spot where the mother of the LTTE’s leader, Parvathi Amma, was cremated, TamilNet reported today.

    Over 40 youths burnt the copies at Oorani cemetery in Valvettithurai on Tuesday afternoon.

  • TNA calls for reduction of military camps

    The leader of the Tamil National Alliance, R. Sampanthan, has called for a removal of military camps in the Northeast of the island.

    Speaking to Tamil media, Sampanthan said his party would continue to campaign for a reduction in military presence.

  • Fonseka: I was in charge

    Speaking to Charles Haviland of the BBC, General Sarath Fonseka, asserted that he was in charge of the military in 2009, and not the political leadership.

    See BBC report here.

  • Worldwide coalition of diaspora youth groups condemn Jaffna uni attack

    In statement released on Monday, a coalition of Tamil diaspora youth organisations across the world, the Global Taml Youth League (T-League), condemned the attack on Paramalingam Tharsananth, the secretary of Jaffna University Student Union (JUSU).

    Describing it as an "act of intimidation and violence", T-League said it was "an attempt to instill fear in students and silence their voices for justice", adding that the targeting remembrance events was "an attempt to extinguish the memory of the victims, and deny the ongoing genocide that is apparent today".

    Standing in solidarity with Tamil youth in the North-East, the global coalition of youth organisations, pledged,

    "We will never forget the victims of Mu'l'livaaykkaal, and must work tirelessly to bring justice to our brothers and sisters who have suffered, and continue to fall prey to violence at the hands of the Sri-Lankan Government."

    The Global Tamil Youth League's member organisations include:  Canadian Tamil Youth Alliance, Canada (CTYA); Tamil Youth Network, Germany; Giovani Tamil, Italy; Tamil Youth Organisation, Norway (TYO-Norge); Tamil Youth Organisation, Switzerland (TYO-Swiss) and Tamil Youth Organisation, UK (TYO-UK); Voice of Tamils, Australia; Tamil Youth Organisation New Zealand (TYO-NZ), Tamil Youth Organisation Sweden (TYO-Sweden) and  Tamil Youth Organization USA (TYO-USA).

    See also: UK Tamil university societies condemn Jaffna student attack (19 May 2012)

  • Government plans to seize assets “linked to terrorism”
    The Sri Lankan government has declared that the assets of those linked to “terrorist” activity will be frozen and seized, both inside and outside of the country, as part of new regulations put in place by the External Affairs Ministry.
  • ‘This is precisely what we mean’
    The US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton spoke to Sri Lanka’s GL Peiris on issues of accountability, free media, human rights and demilitarising the North, according the spokesperson Victoria Nuland, a move that was rejected just hours later by the President Mahinda Rajapaksa.
  • Mahinda and Basil decide to expand fertiliser subsidies
    Sri Lanka has announced that a new subsidy for fertilisers would be granted to farmers with supplementary crop cultivations, expanding a scheme currently only available for paddy farmers.
  • Marina Beach candlelight vigil held for Mullivaikal

    Thousands of people gathered on Marina Beach in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, to remember those that perished in Mullivaikal, shouting slogans of grievance and calling in international independent investigation into war crimes.

    Organised by the Periyar Dravidar Kazhagam and the May 17th Movement, the crowd also called for a referendum in establishing a separate state and were heard to shout slogans such as, “We will never forget India’s betrayal” and “We will never condone”.

    An organisation called Youth Against War Crimes and Genocide also took part in the event, collecting signatures for their campaign.

    See below for more photos.

  • Over 200 Tamil prisoners on hunger strike
    A total of 234 Tamil detainees are now on hunger strike at prisons across the country, which has stretched into its fifth day, with more detainees joining the protest.

    The detainees, some who have been held without charge for several years, have asked to be either charged or released.
  • Row over lending of Buddha's relics

    India’s plans to lend ancient fragments of the Buddha’s bones to Sri Lanka have been slammed by Tamil Nadu activists.

    Sri Lanka signed an agreement with India on Friday, permitting the transfer of the relics for the celebrations marking the 2,600th anniversary of Buddha’s enlightenment.

  • Media organisations criticise Supreme Court decision
    The Committee to Protect Journalists has slammed the Sri Lankan Supreme Court’s decision to rejection a petition on the government’s website censorship earlier this week, filed by members of the Free Media Movement.

    Bob Dietz, coordinator of CPJ’s Asia Program stated,
  • Rajapaksa pardons General Fonseka
    President Mahinda Rajapaksa has used a presidential pardon to grant the former army General Sarath Fonseka release from prison, after he was jailed in 2010.

    Around 2,000 supporters greeted Fonseka at his release, waving the Sri Lankan flag and chanting,
    "Victory to our war hero! Victory to our leader!"
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