The Tamil National Alliance (TNA) said today that the current war census being carried out by the Sri Lankan government to consolidate the number of dead and disappeared over the 20 year civil war was improper. Speaking at an after event at an annual conference in Vavuniya, the TNA parliamentarian M A Sumanthiran, said , “We feel that the census is not being properly conducted.” According the parliamentarian, grassroots representatives of the TNA in the former war zones also held similar views that the census was not being carried out properly.
An Indian journalist, Tamil Prabhakaran, was arrested by the Sri Lankan police in Kilinochchi on Wednesday. The BBC's Sinhala Service reported that the journalist, who had arrived on a tourist visa, had been arrested for taking photographs of military installations. He had also reportedly met with members of the Tamil National Alliance. The Indian High Commission in Colombo is aware of the arrest. The journalist was inside St Anthony's Chuch, in Ponnaaveli, in the Vanni region, when 50 Sri Lankan army soldiers surrounded the church and detained the journalist, confiscating his camera. The TNA...
The Bishop of Mannar has called for an international investigation into the mass grave unearthed in Mannar, reported BBC Tamil . Dismissing any inquiry by the Sri Lankan government, Bishop Rayappu Joseph, said that other graves had been unearthed across Jaffna, and he did not believe the investigations undertaken were authentic. Last week construction workers attempting to installing a pipeline in Thirukketheeswaram, found the remains of two human skeletons . Further excavation revealed four human skulls earlier this week. Photograph Tamilwin According to BBC Tamil ten human skeletons have...
Photographs Tamilwin Tamils gathered across the North-East in remembrance of their loved ones that perished during the 2004 Tsunami.
Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa has said in his annual Christmas message that he sends his “warmest good wishes […] to all Christians in Sri Lanka”. "In this season of loving and giving, Christians seek to break the barriers that divide people, whether by race, ethnicity, religion, caste, wealth or social status. “The message Peace on Earth and Goodwill to all that came with the first Christmas has relevance to the world today as it faces increasing challenges of hatred, terror, national rivalry, economic crisis, climate change and food insecurity. The prayers of Christians in this...
Photograph: Tamilwi n The son of a leading civil society activist was kidnapped by masked and armed men in Jaffna earlier this morning, after his family had left the house to attend a tsunami memorial event. 22-year-old Thamilamuthan Suriyakumaran, the son of Kanthavanam Suriyakumaran - president of the Northern Province Fishermen's Federation, was alone at the family home in Point Pedro in Jaffna, when masked intruders came to the house between 4-5 am. Thamilamuthan managed to send a text message to his family, stating that 4 masked men carrying handguns had then kidnapped him and taken him to the Point Pedro army camp. President of the TNPF, GG Ponnambalam tweeted earlier that Thamilamuthan had spoken to his sister, saying that he was being held in the jungle and was ‘frightened for his life’. He also reported that the Sri Lankan police are refusing to believe his son was abducted, labelling it a ‘scam’.
The Sri Lankan government today rejected claims by the Tamil National Alliance (TNA), that a recent state led census to determine the human and material losses due to the ethnic conflict was not credible. The Director General of the Sri Lankan Census and Statistics Department, DCA Gunawardena labelled the TNA’s assertions as a ‘political gimmick, stating , “This census was not carried out in an ad hoc manner, we provided the technical expertise to the officials who are conducting the census. We are trying our level best to eradicate any duplication or gathering of false data.”
Tamil grocery traders in Mannar have reported losses after the Sri Lankan army began selling groceries last Saturday, reported Uthayan . According to the paper, traders are having to buy vegetables from Dambulla in the South, before selling them on in Mannar, whilst the Sri Lankan army is selling the same vegetables at a lower cost. This report is the latest in a serious of business ventures by Sri Lankan Army in the North-East, at a time when Tamil residents are struggling to regain their livelihoods.
Commander of the Sri Lankan Navy visited an Iranian submarine that had berthed in Colombo earlier today, after visiting India earlier this month. Vice Admiral Jayanath Colombage visited the Iranian Navy’s 28th fleet, which included the 'Younus' submarine, stating, “We could host a submarine in Colombo port after a long time and it was a rare opportunity for us to visit such a submarine”. The Iranian visit to Colombo came after the flotilla had docked in Mumbai earlier this month. Whilst there, the Commander of India’s West Navy Admiral Shekar Sinha, also visited, saying, “The Indian Navy has...
A statue of Buddha, erected recently in Batticaloa, was found smashed on the ground on Wednesday, reported Tamilwin . The statue had been removed from its glass casing before being smashed, said the police, who have initiated an inquiry into the incident. The pieces have been collected by the police for further investigation. According to Tamilwin, the statue was erected following the end of the armed conflict, whilst most of the Tamil residents were detained within internment camps.