Tamil Affairs

Tamil News

Latest news from and about the homeland

Mullaitivu police arrested Tamil farmers who were cultivating farmland at the foothills of Kurunthurmalai, where a Buddhist temple has been illegally constructed.  The farmers were cultivating the privately owned land when they were obstructed by a Buddhist monk, Galgamuwa Shantha Bodhi, police and Department of Archaeology officials before they were arrested.  Bodhi, the head…

SL police arrest asylum seekers turned back by Australia

Thirty-seven asylum seekers who were deported to Sri Lanka by Australian authorities after being detained at sea have been arrested by Sri Lankan police.

Sri Lanka's police spokesperson Ajith Rohana, said the asylum seekers, which include 6 children, have been handed over on Thursday after being caught by Australia's coast guard by the Indonesian coast.

'The boat left Sri Lanka on November 1,' Rohana said.

You can never remove memories from our hearts' - NPC minister Ayngaranesan

Photographs Tamilwin


The Northern Provincial Council (NPC) agriculture minister, P. Ayngaranesan, education minister T. Kurukularasa, and TNA MP S. Sritharan joined arranged a tree planting ceremony in Varani on Thursday, in the memory of LTTE cadre who had given their lives for the Tamil struggle.

"The tombs of those fought for us have been destroyed, and today the Sri Lankan army is stepping on those places," NPC minister Ayngaranesan told Uthayan.

"As we are not able to go there to pay our respects, today we are planting trees in remembrance. Each tree planted in remembrance of the dead are living shrines."

"The Liberation Tigers or other cadres may appear as terrorist in the eyes of the Sri Lankan government, but they are our blood."

Sri Lankan stocks reach 3 month low due to presidential election uncertainty

Sri Lankan stocks fell to a 3 month low due to investors' fears that the presidential elections in January could result in a hung parliament, reports Reuters.

Maaveerar Naal in Qatar

Tamils in Qatar observed Maaveerar Naal commemorations on Thursday, along with Tamils across the world, reported Pathivu..

Dozens of Tamils gathered in the capital Doha and paid their respects to the fallen fighters.

A legacy for generations

Twenty-five years ago today, the Tamil nation’s day of remembrance - Maaveerar Naal, was first commemorated at an event in the Vanni. Today, the commemoration of the nation’s fallen heroes has spread across the world, taken by those who were forced to flee their homeland in the North-East. This year also marks a significant anniversary of remembrance in global history, the hundredth anniversary of the start of the first world war. Over 16 million people died during four years of intense warfare, which led to a further world war and millions more deaths. Silence, a candle and a flower - a gloriosa lily and a poppy, were used in an act of remembrance that is understood across nations and across generations. The legacy of those who gave their all for their nation binds a people beyond political differences. It reverberates through history and is honoured and revered as the ultimate sacrifice.

Stop EU trade benefits if SL does not cooperate with UN inquiry says UK Foreign Affairs Committee

The British Foreign Affairs Committee report said that the UK should negotiate with the EU to remove trade benefits granted to Sri Lanka, if the government not allow UN investigators into Sri Lanka or stop activists engaging with the UN.

Highlighting further concerns over witness intimidation following David Cameron’s visit to Jaffna, the Committee urged the British Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) to report on how individuals at risk in Sri Lanka had been monitored, in a report published today.

Commemorating 'Heroes Day' is a terrorist act warns SL military spokesperson

Sri Lanka will not allow anyone to celebrate the birthday of the Liberation of Tamil Tigers leader or “Heroes Day,” said the Military Media spokesperson, Ruwan Wanigasooriya.

The brigadier stressed that security had been strengthened in the North by deploying additional special forces, and warned that anyone commemorating these events would be considered as committing a terrorist act, reports Colombo Page.

Jaffna Municipal Council hackers leave message celebrating LTTE leader's birthday

The website of the Jaffna Municipal Council was hacked on Wednesday, displaying a message celebrating the 60th birthday of LTTE leader Veluppillai Prabhakaran.

The image, posted on Wednesday, featured Prabhakaran's photograph and the words “Happy Birthday Karikaalan,” a reference to the name he was also known as.

No bells must toll today warns army, as North-East under military siege on Maaveerar Naal

Updated 10:38 GMT

Photograph @Tharu1985


The Sri Lankan army have warned Tamils across the North-East that no temple or church bells must toll today, as the Tamil nation marks its remembrance day - Maaveerar Naal, the local newspaper, Uthayan, reported.

Photograph Uthayan


Sri Lankan military personnel and police officers have been deployed across the Tamil homeland. The main town of Jaffna has been particularly affected, with Jaffna University, Nalloor temple and the main teaching hospital, under effective siege.

"The army is stationed at every street and lane, so much so that the place is looking like war zone, and everyone who goes past is subjected to an interrogation," the Uthayan noted.