International actors who are pushing for reconciliation must respond proactively to the Sri Lankan government's denial of the Tamil people's right to mourn their dead, said exiled Tamil journalist Nirmanusan Balasundaram in a piece published on Monday. Writing for Journalists for Democracy Sri Lanka, Balasundaram states that the Sri Lankan government continues to wage war on the Tamil populace, through acts such as the banning of any memorial events and the isolation of the Tamil diaspora. Despite this, the diaspora continues to build non-violent strategies to counter government moves, noted Balasundaram, adding that international actors who push for reconciliation must respond proactively to the government's actions.
The Sri Lankan government has refused to grant permits to Maruti Suzuki India to open a vehicle assembly plant on the island, reported the Sunday Times, dashing the Indian company's plans. Quoting Investment Promotion Minister Lakshman Yapa Abeywardena, the Sunday Times reported that foreign manufacturers could not open plants on the island, unless there was “local input”. The announcement will also affect the local agent of Land Rover Defenders, where plans had been in place to bring in British engineers to help with the production process in their own plant.
Starting lineup of Tamil Eelam (Pictures: Tamil Guardian) The Tamil Eelam football team put up an impressive display against Arameans Suryoye, despite losing their opening match at the ConIFA World Cup 2-0. The match, taking place at the Jamkraft Arena in Ostersund, Sweden, was a lively encounter between the two teams, as they played each other for the first time.
Photograph Uthayan Residents in Atchuveli protested this morning after the Sri Lankan government announced further land grabs in the region, reports TamilMirror and the Uthayan . The proposed land grab include plans to acquire the local cooperatives' headquarter building and approximately 10 acres of surrounding land, close to the region already occupied by the military which includes Atchuveli Street and Nilavarai Street. The protest occurred as government officials surveyed the land ahead of the plan acquisition. Photograph @Hamsanan Police officers and soldiers intervened after the protest...
The Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa ordered the release of the 29 fishermen arrested by the Navy earlier this week, as a goodwill measure, reports ColomboPage . The decision comes following condemnation from the Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Jayalalithaa, wrote to Prime Minister Modi calling for 'decisive action'. She was scheduled to meet with him today. The arrest of the men on Monday, came just days after President Rajapaksa pledged to release all detained Indian fishermen as an act of goodwill towards the newly elected Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Photograph Channel 4 Next week, the Global Summit to End Sexual Violence in Conflict is due to take place in London, co-hosted by the UK's Foreign Secretary, William Hague and the Special Envoy for the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, Angelina Jolie. In the run up to the ESVC summit, we revisit the mounting evidence which documents the widespread, systematic and on-going use of sexual violence by Sri Lanka's military against Tamils , that occurs with absolute impunity. See our full feature: 'Sexual Violence in Conflict: Sri Lanka' As the armed conflict drew to an end in May 2009, Sri Lanka's soldiers committed acts of sexual violence against Tamil women and men, both civilians and LTTE cadre, at will. One Sri Lankan soldier told Channel 4 in July 2011 : " They [Sri Lankan soldiers] shoot people at random, stab people, rape them, cut their tongues out, cut women's breasts off. I have witnessed all this with my own eyes. I have seen small children laying dead." " If they wanted to rape a Tamil girl, they could just beat her and do it. If her parents tried to stop them, they could beat them or kill them. It was their empire. " " One day I saw a group of six soldiers raping a young Tamil girl. I saw this with my own eyes. " Much of the photographic and video evidence of sexual violence in the final stages of the armed conflict emerged in the form of 'trophy videos', filmed by Sri Lankan soldiers themselves whilst committing the crimes.
The Tamil Eelam Football Association will play their first match of the 2014 ConIFA World Football Cup today against Arameans Suryoye. The players trained for the first time since their arrival from their training camp in Norway on Sunday, with all the players fit for the big match. [ more ]
A school boy has been reported missing in Vavuniya, after he failed to come home on May 27th, Global Tamil News reports. Seventeen year old Mahalingam Rajeevan, a student at Kalmadu MV School, left his home in Tharanikulam, Sasthiri Kulankulam at 5am that morning by bicycle with a 10kg of long green beans, which he took to a vegetable vendor at Vavuniya town. He reportedly left his bicycle by the vegetable stall, telling the vendor he was going to the nearby store to buy school equipment, however failed to return and has not been seen since. Photograph Global Tamil News His parents have...
A Tamil asylum seeker in Australia, who self-immolated for fear of being deported back to Sri Lanka, has died after suffering 90 percent burns to his body, reports the Age . Twenty-nine year old Leo Seemanpillai was taken to Alfred Hospital on Saturday following the incident, but died overnight. Mr Seemanpillai fled Sri Lanka by boat and arrived in Darwin in January 2013. He was granted a bridging visa in May. "He feared for his life if he was returned to Sri Lanka. His housemates have told me he repeatedly talked about being sent back, he was quite worried about it," a spokesperson for the Tamil Refugee Council, Aran Mylvaganam, who had known Mr Seemanpillai during the time he sought asylum, told the Age.
The Sri Lankan Navy arrested 29 Tamil Nadu fishermen today accused of poaching, reports the Hindu . The arrests come just days after President Rajapaksa pledged to release all detained Indian fishermen as an act of goodwill towards the newly elected Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The men were arrested off the coast of Thalaimannar, along with six trailers, said the Sri Lankan Navy.