Tamil Affairs

Tamil News

Latest news from and about the homeland

Sinnathurai commemorating Maaveerar Naal in London, 2022. Selvachandran Sinnathurai, the father of Lieutenant Shankar, the first fighter from the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) to be killed in the Tamil armed struggle, passed away in London earlier this month. Lieutenant Shankar holds a significant place in Tamil history as the first cadre to sacrifice his life in the early…

PHU calls for Fonseka to be arrested

The Pivithuru Hela Urumaya (PHU) this week called for the Field Marshall Sarath Fonseka to be arrested "for withholding evidence in connection with the war crime charges levelled against former army commander (Rtd) General Jagath Jayasuriya, the Daily Mirror reported. 

"Mr Fonseka betrayed the Army for the second time and therefore could be known as the biggest traitor in the world," the PHU leader Udaya Gammanpila told the paper. 

Sri Lanka denies cluster bomb use, agrees to discuss convention accession

Sri Lanka’s ambassador to the United Nations maintained that security forces “never” deployed cluster munitions during the island’s armed conflict, whilst stating his government was currently reviewing the process of acceding to the convention banning their use in Geneva today.

Sri Lankan army releases Oorani school surrounded by army camps

The Sri Lankan Army has released a school being used as an army base in the Kankensanthurai area, although the lands surrounding the school remain occupied by the army.

EU granted access to Rs. 7 billion market claims Sri Lankan minister

The granting of GSP+ trade concessions and the lifting of a ban on Sri Lanka’s fishing exports by the European Union has opened up access to a market worth Rs. 7 billion claims a Sri Lankan minister.

Sri Lanka’s Minister of Primary Industries Daya Gamage made the claim whilst speaking to shrimp farmers in Puttalam who have come under pressure due to ongoing dry weather.

Sri Lanka’s Court of Appeals fixes date for Raviraj hearing

Sri Lanka’s Court of Appeals has said it will hear the case on the murder of Tamil National Alliance MP Nadarajah Raviraj in December of this year, more than 11 years after his assassination.

The appeal, lodged by Shashikala Raviraj, the wife of the murdered parliamentarian, challenges the Colombo High Court's judgment on the case last year. An all Sinhala jury had acquitted three navy intelligence officials and two members of the Karuna group accused of the murder after a month long trial.

Sri Lanka seeks international assistance to tackle drug smuggling

The Sri Lankan government is seeking foreign assistance in order to curb illegal drug trafficking on the island, after it emerged that it was becoming a transit hub to transport cocaine across Asia.

Sri Lanka’s Law and Order Minister Sagala Ratnayaka admitted that the island had become a ”transit point for mass scale drug dealers”.

Speaking to reporters in Colombo, he went on to add, "We have a responsibility to prevent and stop this."

See more here.

Jayasuriya backtracks over responsibility for war, blames Fonseka

A former Sri Lankan military commander who stands accused of overseeing war crimes has backtracked over claims of responsibility for the military during the final stages of the armed conflict, and instead blamed Sri Lanka's former army commander Sarath Fonseka.

Speaking in an interview to Ceylon Today, Jagath Jayasuriya who fled his post as Sri Lanka’s Ambassador to Brazil last week after a law suit accusing him of war crimes, contradicted previous public statements on his role.

New constitution must not be allowed to fail - TNA tells US Assistant Secretary of State

The new constitution being drafted for Sri Lanka must not be allowed to fail, TNA leaders told the visiting Assistant Secretary of State of the United States.

TNA leader R. Sampanthan met with the assistant secretary, Alice Wells, at the residence of US Ambassador Atul Keshap on Friday.

Sri Lankan navy arrests 3 Indian nationals

The Sri Lankan navy on Friday arrested three Indian nationals for allegedly attempting to smuggle in the banned weedicide glyphosate via boat. 

The men were arrested off the coast of Kudiramalai by navy officers attached to the Thalaimannar base, Colombo Page reported. 

They have been handed over to Thalaimannar police for further investigations. 

Fonseka should be sacked for betraying army - Weerawansa

Sri Lanka's Field Marshal Sarath Fonseka should be stripped of his portfolio over his comments which betray the army, the leader of the National Freedom Front (NFF) Wimal Weerawansa said on Sunday. 

Mr Fonseka this week said he would be prepared to testify against the former military general Jagath Jayasuriya who has been accused of committing war crimes in the final stages of the armed conflict in 2009. 

Describing Mr Fonseka's statement as "traitorous", Mr Weerawansa called on the government to act.