Tamil Affairs

Tamil News

Latest news from and about the homeland

Commemorations were held across Jaffna over the weekend to mark 43 years since the Black July pogrom, honouring the thousands of Tamils killed in the anti-Tamil violence of July 1983 and the Tamil political prisoners massacred while in state custody. At the Thanthai Selva Auditorium in Jaffna, a common flame of remembrance was lit on Saturday, 25 July, and candles were lit in memory of the…

Families of disappeared protest in Muthur

Families of the disappeared in Muthur staged a protest in Bharathipuram on Wednesday.

ICJ - accountability mechanism not credible without international judges

The International Commission of Jurists (ICJ) on Thursday reiterated the importance of involving international judges in an accountability mechanism in Sri Lanka, stating without this it would not be credible. 

"The ICJ reiterates that, in line with operative paragraph 6 of resolution 30/1, 1 the accountability mechanism cannot be seen as credible without involvement of international judges, prosecutors and investigators," the ICJ said in a statement. 

STF officers granted bail over Ariyalai killing

Two Sri Lankan Special Task Force (STF) officers were yesterday granted bail over the killing of a Tamil man in Ariyalai in October last year. 

The officers were arrested in November, after the murder weapon and vehicles used in the shooting were found in the Jaffna STF camp. 

The victim, 24 year old Don Bosco Rikman died from a bullet injury.  

Namal Rajapaksa refused entry into US

The son of the former president, Mahinda Rajapaksa said he was blocked from entering the United States this week after spending time in Moscow as an election observer. 

"I won't make my Houston Flight as #US Officials instruct them to not let me board. Sure it has nothing to do with my name, being part of #lka opposition or my travel from #Russia," he tweeted yesterday.

Mr Namal Rajapaksa has been charged with money laundering in Sri Lanka, along side other family members. 

 

Council needs to maintain scrutiny on Sri Lanka - HRW

Human Rights Watch this week urged the UN Human Rights Council to the maintain its scrutiny on Sri Lanka until the commitments agreed on within the 30/1 resolution were implemented in full. 

"The Sri Lankan government should present a time-bound implementation plan to carry out its pledges to this body, and the Council needs to maintain scrutiny until Sri Lanka’s commitments are met in full," HRW said in its submission to the Council on Wednesday. 

Sri Lankan soldier and intelligence personnel convicted of 2010 murder of Hindu priest

A Sri Lankan soldier and two local Tamil military intelligence employees were handed death sentences by the Jaffna High Court for the murder of a Hindu priest during a burglary in 2010.

The high court judge, M. Ilancheliyan convicted the three of shooting and killing the priest in Sankanai in April 2010, as well as injuring his two sons.

With the death sentence in excess of twenty years imprisonment, the judge also ordered the three to pay several hundreds of thousands of rupees in compensation and court fines.

Switzerland calls on Sri Lanka to release list of persons surrendered to armed forces in 2009

Switzerland has called on the Sri Lankan government to release the list of those who surrendered to the army in 2009, a demand which has been reiterated by families of the disappeared throughout their struggle for justice.

Speaking at the UN Human Rights Council session on Wednesday, the Swiss mission in Geneva expressed concern at Sri Lanka’s lack of progress in implementing the commitments the government had signed up to in previous human rights council resolutions:

Do not wait any longer to deliver transitional justice - Special Rapp tells Sri Lanka

The UN Special Rapporteur on the promotion of truth, justice, reparation and guarantees of non-recurrence, Pablo de Greiff told the Sri Lanka and the Human Rights Council "do not wait any longer" to deliver transitional justice, as he submitted his report to the Council on Wednesday. 

Germany - worried about Sri Lanka's delays in resolution implementation

Germany expressed concern over the Sri Lanka's government's failure to implement the co-sponsored UN Human Rights Council resolution 30/1, as well as recent attacks on Muslims in Kandy by Sinhala mobs. 

Canada urges time-bound strategy to implement Sri Lanka's resolution

Canada urged the Sri Lankan government to ensure a time-bound plan to implement the UN Human Rights Council co-sponsored resolution 30/1. 

"While noting positive initial first steps, Canada urges the government with the technical support from the OHCHR to set a time-bound strategy for full implementation of Resolution 30/1," Canada said in a statement. 

"We call on Sri Lanka to meet its domestic and international human rights obligations to ensure a peaceful, reconciled and prosperous future for all Sri Lankans."