Tamil Affairs

Tamil News

Latest news from and about the homeland

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  The lawyer representing detained Tamil rapper Sangeethsan Ganeskumar challenged allegations that his client sought to revive the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) during proceedings before the Jaffna Magistrate's Court this week, arguing that the material cited by police contains no reference to the organisation or its leadership. Sangeethsan, better known by his stage name…

Sri Lanka’s Justice Minister pledges to raise call for general amnesty for Tamil political prisoners

Sri Lanka’s Justice Minister Harshana Nanayakkara has pledged to raise the issue of Tamil political prisoners with president Anura Kumara Dissanayake and initiate steps toward securing a general amnesty for those who have been incarcerated for decades.

Mannar residents protest wind turbine project, legal action underway

Hundreds of residents took to the streets of Mannar on Monday to protest the installation of new wind power towers on the island, warning that the project was being forced through without local consent and in violation of past pledges by Sri Lanka’s political leadership.

Chemmani mass grave: 135 skeletal remains identified as forensic probe expands

Five more skeletal assemblages have been identified and six previously documented remains were fully exhumed on Monday from the Chemmani mass grave sites in Jaffna, bringing the total number of skeletal remains fully excavated to 126, and the number identified so far to 135.

Convicted Sri Lankan soldier offers to testify in international probe into Chemmani mass graves

Lance Corporal Somaratne Rajapaksa, a Sri Lankan soldier convicted in the 1996 rape and murder of Tamil schoolgirl Krishanthi Kumaraswamy, has expressed willingness to testify in an international investigation into the Chemmani mass graves.

CID probes mass grave allegations in Thambuluvil following high-profile arrests

Police excavate Thambuluvil cemetery after TMVP aide claims site holds victims of enforced disappearances

Elbows up - Defending Gary Anandasangaree

The story of Gary Anandansagaree, Canada’s Minister of Public Safety, is impressive. He came to the country as a child just weeks after the Black July pogrom of 1983, where Sri Lankan state-backed mobs murdered thousands of Tamils just like him.

Number of bodies in Chemmani mass grave climbs to 126 as excavations continue

The number of human skeletons uncovered from the mass grave sites in Chemmani, Jaffna, has reached 126, with 117 remains fully exhumed, as court-supervised excavations continued this week at two designated forensic sites.

Minister Anandasangaree deserves our praise, not derision

Minister Anandasangaree showed courage in advocating for the safety and dignity of his community. That is not a scandal. That is leadership.

Sri Lankan government moves to slash perks for former presidents

The administration of Anura Kumara Dissanayake has taken aim at longstanding privileges enjoyed by the country’s political elite, releasing a draft bill to amend the Presidents’ Entitlements Act No. 4 of 1986 and signalling its intention to revoke the lifetime perks afforded to former presidents and Members of Parliament.

Sri Lankan court acquits military intelligence officers of ‘white van’ abduction

A Sri Lankan court has acquitted and released two former military intelligence officers accused of abducting and assaulting a journalist and two state officials in 2008, in a case that has drawn renewed scrutiny over impunity for state-linked violence.