Tamil Affairs

Tamil News

Latest news from and about the homeland

The LGBTQIA+ community in Jaffna held their fifth annual Pride Walk, under the theme  “We Exist For Each Other".  The walk, organised by the Jaffna Transgender Network, began outside the iconic Jaffna Public Library and proceeded along Hospital Road and Pannai Road before ending at Jaffna Fort.  Members of the LGBTQIA+ community, human rights activists, civil society…

UK money transfer company looks to tap into US $7 billion transferred by diaspora to Sri Lanka

A UK based money transfer company will launch a mobile money transfer process that will allow customers to transfer money to the mobiles of family and friends in Sri Lanka.

The company “WorldRemit” estimated that at least US $ 7 billion was sent back to Sri Lanka in 2014 by its diaspora, reports The Economic Times of India.

White van abductions are returning says TNA

White van abductions, which became notorious under the former Rajapaksa government, are once again on the rise in Colombo, said the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) spokesperson, Suresh Premachandran.

Speaking to journalists at the Jaffna Press Club on Monday, Mr Premachandran said that "many hundreds of Tamil youths have been abducted by white vans, and even today there has been no explanation as to where they are. Hundreds of mothers are still striving to search for their children who were abducted by the white vans and wives are searching for their husbands."

Highlighting a recent report that the former defence secretary, Gotabhaya Rajapaksa criticised the presence of a white van by him, arguing it threatened his security, Mr Premachandran said Mr Rajapaksa's statement proved he knew the damage caused by white vans during his own era.

TNA will not accept an internal investigation reiterates spokesperson

The Tamil National Alliance (TNA) will not accept an internal inquiry following the publishing of the upcoming UN report examining mass atrocities in Sri Lanka, said the party spokesperson, Suresh Premachandran at a press briefing on Monday.

Speaking at the Jaffna Press Club (JPC), Mr Premachandran responded to the current government's statements on the issue.

"They said that once the UN report is released, we will give our response after reading that, or we will arrange to have an internal investigation. We [TNA] want to say something very clearly. The UN report must be released [and] we expect it to be released in September."

"We expect that the UN report following the investigation, will include many issues such as who is responsible for war crimes, what were the reasons for this, issues relating to human rights violations."

Sri Lankan MP says TNA manifesto threatens country's sovereignty

The Sri Lankan MP and former UNP General Secretary, Tissa Attanayake, said the Tamil National Alliance's (TNA) manifesto was a threat to Sri Lanka's sovereignty stating that it called for LTTE members to be pardoned, reports the Daily Mirror.

"The TNA’s manifesto released on Saturday is a challenge to the war victory because it wants a re-merger of the North and East under federal structure and right to self determination for Sri Lankan Tamils," he was further reported as saying by the newspaper.

Sri Lanka approves East oil exploration by French company

The Sri Lankan cabinet has approved the exploration of the Eastern coast by the French oil company, Total, after the bid went for open tender following the end of Cairn India's exploration from Mannar basin, reports the Sunday Times.

"The company would gain exclusive rights for scanning, data collection and mapping in the seas off the Eastern coast," the power and energy ministry secretary B M S Batagoda was quoted as saying.

Bids were also received from Shell and ExonMobil.

Commenting on the departure of Cairn India's Sri Lanka branch from the Mannar basin, Dr Batagoda said:

“However, the two wells in the basin had yielded two trillion cubic metres of natural gas which would be sufficient to meet the demand of the country for ten years."

Sri Lanka's PM claims to have saved Mahinda Rajapaksa from ICC

Sri Lanka’s prime minister Ranil Wickremesinghe claimed to have saved former president Mahinda Rajapaksa from the International Criminal Court (ICC) by not ratifying the Rome Statute.

Reiterating that Sri Lanka would conduct a domestic probe in response to the release of the UN report into Sri Lanka’s atrocities, Mr Wickremesinghe added that an independent judiciary under Maithripala Sirisena meant that an international judicial process would not be needed.

Speaking to the Sunday Leader, Mr Wickremesinghe said,

“I have saved Mahinda Rajapaksa from the electric chair and ICC (International Criminal Court) since we have not signed Rome Statute. He should always be grateful to me for that. No one can take our soldiers to ICC. But wherever a soldier commits a crime and an issue pertaining to the reputation of our armed forces, it is an offence punishable both under our domestic common law system as well as the military law. Therefore we don’t need ICC or any international probe. We have firmly stood by the premise that no international probe can be initiated since we are not a signatory to the Rome Statute and so we will have our own domestic mechanism instead.”

ITJP to document evidence of sexual violence and torture under new Sri Lanka government

At least 8 accounts of torture and sexual violence under Sri Lanka’s new government are expected to be documented in a report released by the International Truth and Justice Project Sri Lanka (ITJP) this week.

The ITJP will release a report that expands on a previous study entitled “An Unfinished War:Torture and Sexual Violence in Sri Lank

United National Front rejects claims of working with TNA to grant further autonomy

The right to autonomy will not be granted in Sri Lanka, said a senior government minister when responding to questions regarding claims by the Tamil National Alliance that a United National Front (UNF) government would grant Tamils self-rule.

TNA manifesto calls for constitutional change that accepts Tamil right to self-determination

The Tamil National Alliance (TNA) election manifesto, released today, called for constitutional changes that accept the Tamil people's entitlement to their right to self-determination under the United Nations International Covenants on Civil political rights and Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICCPR).

TNA launches manifesto in Jaffna     Photograph:Tamil Guardian

Noting that any political solution should accept the Tamil people’s right to self-determination and that Sri Lanka had ratified the international treaty, the TNA election manifesto, said:

“The Tamil People are entitled to the right to self-determination in keeping with the United Nations International Covenants on Civil and Political Rights and Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, both of which Sri Lanka has accepted and acceded to.”

On accountability and reconciliation, the manifesto added that “truth, justice and reparation and the guarantee of non-recurrence are fundamental to the national question being comprehensively addressed so as to ensure permanent and genuine reconciliation.”

TNPF campaigner detained by Sri Lankan police

A campaigner with the Tamil National People's Front (TNPF) was detained by the Sri Lankan police in Poonahari on Thursday.

The detained campaigner was falsely accused of distributing election leaflets after 11pm in the Kilinochchi district, said the party's media spokesperson and Jaffna district candidate, V Manivannan. The detained campaigner has been since released on bail.