Tamil Affairs

Tamil News

Latest news from and about the homeland

Sri Lankan president Anura Kumara Dissanayake will now attend Sri Lanka’s 16th National War Heroes’ Commemoration Ceremony as the chief guest, the government confirmed on Sunday, following backlash over earlier reports that he would not participate in the state-sponsored event. The ceremony is set to take place on Monday, 19 May 2025, at the National War Hero Cenotaph in Sri Jayawardenepura,…

UN reiterates support for Sri Lanka's 100 day reform plan

The UN's Assistant Secretary General, Haoliang Xu, who is currently concluding a visit of the island, reiterated the organisation's pledge to support the new Sri Lankan government's 100 day reform plan, reports LBO.

Mr Xu, who is also the UNDP Assistant Administrator and Director - Regional Bureau for Asia and the Pacific, made these remarks in a meeting with Sri Lanka's minister of foreign affairs, Mangala Samaraweera on Thursday.

His comments come as Sri Lanka's prime minister, Ranil Wickremasinghe, criticised the international community this week, for allegedly providing "far too little" assistance to the government to institute its reform agenda.

We want peace and prosperity in South Asia' says Indian PM

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi said his government has a “vision of regional cooperation and connectivity” in South Asia, in an interview with the Hindustan Times.

Stating that India wants “peace and prosperity in South Asia”, Mr Modi continued to say those principles remain “a guiding factor in our foreign policy”.

“The dividends are visible in the quantum leap in relations with Nepal, Bhutan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka,” added Mr Modi.

Sri Lanka to launch domestic probe in June and hold parliamentary elections

Sri Lanka will announce a domestic investigation into the end of the ethnic conflict by the end of June, said president Maithripala Sirisena in an interview with Time.

“We have informed the UN that we’ll have a strong internal mechanism to look into this and we’ve asked for advice and consultancy though the UN high Commissioner for Human Rights,” he said.

Speaking to Time Magazine, Sri Lanka’s president said that he planned to dissolve Parliament in May and hold general elections in late June or early July.

Former LTTE cadres are being intimidated – Bishop of Jaffna

The Bishop of Jaffna Thomas Savundranayagam told the Australian High Commissioner Robyn Mudie that former members of the LTTE who had gone through the military’s ‘rehabilitation’ are still being intimidated frequently, Ceylon Today reports.

Rev Savundranayagam said the new government should ensure the safety of the former cadres.

Tamil refugees arrested in Tamil Nadu

Two Tamil refugees were arrested by India’s coast guard on Tuesday, according to police.

The youths, form a refugee camp in Trichy, were being monitored by the ‘Q Branch’, a special unit within the Tamil Nadu police force, Outlook reported.

Police say they escaped from the camp and were on their way to Sri Lanka when they were detained.

Kilinochichi residents demand resettlement

Residents in Kilinochchi demanded to be resettled in their original lands, reports Uthayan.

Families who had been displaced since 1995, speaking to the Uthayan, said that at least 3000 families in the regions of Vempodukeni, Mukamalai and Ithavil were living as refugees.

The resettlement in the mentioned regions has been delayed over the past 5 years due to government claims that explosives may still be present in the unoccupied lands.
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Tamil journalists threatened by police in Jaffna

Three Tamil journalists were harassed and threatened by police officers in Jaffna on Tuesday, after they reported from the protest against oil pollution outside Nallur temple.

The Thinakkural’s T Vinojith, T Piratheeban from a Colombo-based radio station and freelance journalist Mayurapriyan were leaving the protest after conducting interviews, when they were stopped behind the temple, by two men wearing jerseys with the Sri Lankan police’s emblem.

The officers, who were intoxicated, intercepted the reporters on a red motorbike, registration number NP BAL 2172, and asked for their identity documents. The Tamils questioned the police men under which capacity they were stopped, as they were not in full police uniform, at which point one of the officers pulled a knife and started chasing the journalists.

Sri Lankan army renovates chapel in Jaffna college



The Sri Lankan army's renovated a chapel and built a basketball court in Jaffna, reported the army's civil military coordination website.

Jaffna journalist detained after investigating assault by Sri Lankan police

A freelance Tamil journalist from Jaffna has been detained by a court in Point Pedro on Wednesday, reports the local newspaper, Uthayan.

N Logathayalan was called in for an investigation regarding his coverage for the paper of the assault of a school girl by Sri Lankan police officers at Nelliyadi station.

UN Assistant Sec Gen visits Mullaitivu

The UN Assistant Secretary General, Haoliang Xu, who is currently on a six day tour of the island, visited Mullaitivu on Wednesday.

Mr Xu, who is also the UNDP Assistant Administrator and Director - Regional Bureau for Asia and the Pacific, reviewed the UNDP's projects in the region.

"I am here to learn more about emerging development needs and expectations, in this new environment, with the new government in office," Mr Xu was quoted by Xinhua as having said on his arrival.