Tamil Eelam FA arrives in Sweden for ConIFA World Football Cup

Pictures: Tamil Guardian The national football team of Tamil Eelam has arrived in Sweden for the ConIFA World Football Cup. Players and staff attended the opening ceremony in the town of Ostersund, along with the other teams playing in the tournament.

Tamil Eelam concludes training camp ahead of ConIFA World Football Cup

Picture: Tamil Guardian The Tamil Eelam national football team has concluded its training camp in the Norwegian capital Oslo, ahead of the World Football Cup in Sweden, commencing on Sunday.

Tamil Eelam FA arrives in Sweden for ConIFA World Football Cup

Pictures: Tamil Guardian The national football team of Tamil Eelam has arrived in Sweden for the ConIFA World Football Cup. Players and staff attended the opening ceremony in the town of Ostersund, along with the other teams playing in the tournament.

Remembering Nadesan 10 years on

Today is the tenth anniversary of the assassination of veteran Tamil journalist Aiyathurai Nadesan by a Sri Lankan government-backed death squad. Nadesan was shot dead in Batticaloa on 31 May 2004 as he was on his way to work. He reported under the nom-de-plume G. Nadesan for the leading Tamil-language newspaper, Virakesari, and the London-based Tamil radio station, IBC. Nadesan was one of several journalists, including Mylvaganam Nimalrajan, Dharmeratnam (Taraki) Sivaram and Lasantha Wickrematunga killed as part of silencing criticism of Sri Lanka’s ruthless military campaign. See coverage of Nadesan’s death and funeral and a report into his death by the Committee to Protect Journalists’ here .

Jaffna Library burns - May 31st 1981

Thirty-three years ago today, 31st May 1981, Sri Lankan security forces set the Jaffna Library ablaze, destroying a monumental collection of Tamil literary manuscripts.

DAP slams 'cruel and inhuman' deportation from Malaysia

Malaysia’s opposition Democratic Action Party (DAP) has slammed the deportation of three Tamil men to Sri Lanka as “most unacceptable”, warning that the men face torture in Sri Lanka. DAP vice-chairman M Kulasegaran said earlier, “The deportation is most unacceptable as Sri Lanka political leaders themselves have been alleged to have committed war crimes, genocide, ethnic cleansing and crimes against humanity... Deportation is cruel and inhuman because there is a possibility that they may have face torture or prosecution”. The move to deport the three Tamils has sparked criticism from NGOs,...

Malaysian deportations leave Tamil refugees in a state of fear

Tamil refugees have been left in a “state of fear” after Malaysian authorities deport three Tamil men to Sri Lanka last week and announce investigations into all refugees in the country under the premise of links to terrorism. “Anything can happen at any time”, a Tamil refugee in Malaysia , Selvan (not his real name), told Tamil Guardian over the phone from Kuala Lumpur. Over 6,000 Tamil refugees in the country were now living in fear that they too could be deported to Sri Lanka, said Selvan, fearing torture and violence at the hands of the Sri Lankan government on return. “There are children, elderly, pregnant women, young people among us… The Malaysian government are treating us like illegal immigrants. We are from Mullivaikal, from the final battle [and] we came here injured”, he said, adding that the fear of being sent back to Sri Lanka was lingering over all those that escaped. “The fear that we didn’t have there, we now have on Malaysian soil… we don’t know what will happen next," Selvan added.

In Memoriam - Songs from the Purananuru - Song 192

As May draws to an end, and Tamils remember their loved ones, killed as the armed conflict ended in 2009, we publish the last in our collection of selected Poems from the classical Tamil anthology, the Purananuru (the 400 Puram poems). Song 192 - Kaniyan Poonkunran sings Tinai – Potuviyal (General heroism) Every Town a Home Town Every town a home town every man a kinsman. Good and evil do not come from others. Pain and relief of pain come of themselves. Dying is nothing new. We do not rejoice That life is sweet nor in anger call it bitter. [ more ]

UN 'deeply concerned' over Malaysian deportations

The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees has said it is “deeply concerned” over the fate of three Tamil men deported from Malaysia and forcibly returned to Sri Lanka warning that they are at risk of “serious harm”. The three men were last reported as being held by the Terrorist Investigation Division in Kilinochchi. The UNHCR, the body's refugee agency, said in a statement , "We are deeply concerned that these deportations took place without our office being given an adequate opportunity to assess the security issues and the refugees' entitlement to ongoing refugee protection". Also...

Parliamentary Select Committee only way forward insists Govt

Despite insistence from the newly elected Indian Prime Minister that a political solution to the ethnic conflict must go beyond the 13th Amendment, the Sri Lankan government said today that a Parliamentary Select Committee would address the matter and determine the way forward, reports the Island . "President Mahinda Rajapaksa’s position is that a solution to the issue should be evolved only through the PSC," Minister Nimal Siripala de Silva told a press conference at the party head office today. Earlier this week, Prime Minister Narendra Modi called on the Sri Lankan President Mahinda...

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