Tamil Affairs

Tamil News

Latest news from and about the homeland

Illustration:  Aravinthan Ganeshan Familiar scenes played out across the island last week as Sri Lanka marked 77 years since the end of British rule. In the Sinhala south, lion flags were hoisted with pride and Colombo’s streets saw yet another military parade. But in the Tamil North-East, a starkly different picture was evident once more. Black flags were raised, protests were held…

Australian Immigration Minister to attend SL navy ceremony

The Australian Immigration Minister Scott Morrison will visit Sri Lanka this week to attend the commissioning ceremony for two former Australian Customs patrol vessels that were gifted to Sri Lanka to help the island control its sea borders,
reports abc news.
 
The two former Australian Customs patrol vessels gifted to the Sri Lankan navy to prevent people from leaving the island, after Australian borders saw an increase in the number of Tamil asylum seekers arriving by sea.

Morrison’s visit comes as several groups express concern over the plight of asylum seekers that were intercepted by Australian sea border patrol and handed over to the Sri Lankan navy.

The Immigration Minister has so far refused to answer questions regarding to the plight of Tamil asylum seekers found near Australian seas.

Australian patrol boat 'gift' arrives in Sri Lanka (28 June 2014)

Asylum seekers have already been tortured by Sri Lankan forces (04 July 2014)

Club de Madrid urges Sri Lanka to condemn religious violence and bring perpetrators to justice

The Government of Sri Lanka should unequivocally condemn and bring to justice  those that incite violence against people on account of their religion, said the Club de Madrid, in a statement released Monday.

Commenting on the lack of accountability for rights violations in Sri Lanka,
the collective of former presidents and prime ministers around the world that look to foster political and social change, said in a statement:
“It requires a clear commitment to apprehend and hold accountable both the instigators and perpetrators of violence.  Sadly we believe that this has not happened following previous violent episodes and therefore there is a greater onus on government to demonstrate its commitment to firm action on this occasion.”

War-affected must be able to work with UN and face no repercussions - Suresh Premachandran

The TNA spokesperson Suresh Premachandran said this week that people affected by the war should be allowed to give evidence to the UN war crimes probe without worrying about their security, reports BBC Tamil.

Speaking in a press brief on Monday, he said that people working with the UN should not be targeted by Sri Lankan anti-terrorism laws and legislations that prohibit the disclosure of alleged national secrets, reports BBC Tamil.

BBS leader blames SLMC for religious violence, tells police to focus on 'real issues'

Updated 18.49 BST
The General Secretary of the Bodu Bala Sena (BBS) Galabodaatta Gnanasara, this week alleged that the Sri Lankan Muslim Congress (SLMC) could be responsible for the religious violence, reports The Island.

Gnanasara made allegations of SLMC culpability for violence, during a press brief outside the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) after making a statement to police authorities regarding allegations of BBS involvement in anti-Muslim violence.

The Buddhist monk said that it was the sole right of the Sinhalese Buddhist to protect Sri Lanka from all other forces, reports AlJazeera.

Gnanasara further accused the police and human rights activists of portraying the BBS in bad light and not paying attention to the 'real issues.'

The Sri Lankan Police spokesperson, Ajith Rohana, said that 119 people had been arrested in relation to the anti-Muslim violence, including 95 Sinhalese and 24 Muslims.

UN experts urge Sri Lanka to stop Buddhist attacks on religions and bring perpetrators to justice (02 July 2014)

US envoy to be summoned over NGO ad - Daily Mirror

The Sri Lankan government is to summon the US envoy, Michele Sison over an advertisement in a newspaper by the US embassy in Colombo, calling for applications from NGOs for a 'citizenship program', DailyMirror.lk reports.

Discussing the matter extensively on Thursday, ministers reportedly criticised the advert as "blatant interference in domestic affairs".

Cabinet has since instructed the ministry of external affairs to summon the US envoy and lodge a formal protest against the move.

Gotabhaya places restrictions on international envoys visiting North-East

Defence Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa called for a meeting with the Sri Lanka head of USAID, accusing the organisation of attempting to turn people against the government through a voter education programme.

US ambassador to the country, Michele Sison, has refused to authorise the meeting, unless she was also invited, The Island reported, causing Gotabhaya to order senior military officers as well as heads of other institutions under his purview to only meet the ambassador or her representatives in his presence. The defence secretary said that the government welcomed visits by diplomats from other countries and military commanders to the North-East and usually briefed them but that from now on there would be restrictions on these meetings.

Rajapaksa told The Island last night that he wanted to discuss what he called a move to influence the electorate through a voter education project called ‘Election Support through Voter Education (ESVE) programme, adding it was nothing but a “ruse” by USAID to turn people against the government and if it goes ahead, bilateral relations would be further undermined.

4 'LTTE suspects' arrested in Malaysia

Malaysian police have arrested four more people for allegedly having links to the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, reported Reuters.

Police inspector general Khalid Abu Bakar said the two Tamils, one Muslim and one Sinhalese, "were planning to reactivate the group by making Malaysia as their base of operations" adding that some had “exploited their status as refugees to pursue illegal activities”.

IMF policies cause for reduced social welfare, health and education budgets – UNP

The Sri Lankan government’s adherence to policies by the IMF, was behind the annual cuts in social welfare, health and education budgets, UNP MP and financial analyst Eran Wickremeratne told The Island.

India can gain a lot from Sri Lanka – China

A Chinese embassy official said that a stable and peaceful Sri Lanka was to India’s advantage and that the country can gain a lot from its southern neighbour, reported Colombo Gazette.

Speaking at an event in Colombo, Ren Faqiang said that India was one of the first countries to make use of the Chinese funded Hambantota port and that Sri Lanka was now more like a developed country due to the many infrastructure project funded by the Chinese.