Tamil Affairs

Tamil News

Latest news from and about the homeland

Sri Lankan military helicopter crash kills six soldiers
At least six Sri Lankan military personnel were killed on Friday after a helicopter assigned to a training exercise crashed into the Maduru Oya reservoir in the Eastern Province. The Bell 212 helicopter, which was carrying a dozen armed forces personnel, was reportedly conducting a grappling exercise linked to a passing-out parade when the crash occurred. “Four special forces personnel and…

International pressure for human rights probe harmful to Sri Lanka - GL Peiris

Aug 18, 2014
The Sri Lankan Minister of External Affairs said that international pressure on Sri Lanka to probe human rights violations and foreign funding for 'capacity building' were harmful to the country, reports Colombo Page.

"Because of the intensity of this pressure there is a disincentive to engage in earnest in a domestic process. Because of the conviction that far more is forthcoming by the application of pressure at an international level. And that is why this international pressure is not only not helpful, but is absolutely harmful," said GL Peiris at a Ministry of Defence seminar, on Monday, in Colombo.

Sri Lanka will deny visas to UN investigators says President

Aug 18, 2014
Sri Lanka will deny visas to investigators from the Office of High Commissioner for Human Rights due to conduct the UN inquiry into mass atrocities in Sri Lanka, the Sri Lankan President said on Tuesday.

“We will not allow them into the country,” said Mahinda Rajapaksa when speaking to the Foreign Correspondents Association, whilst adding that the domestic investigation panel had been strengthened to carry out its own investigation, reports Reuters.

Disregarding any future findings from the UN investigation, Rajapaksa, said,

“I don’t think anybody will take it [the UN investigation] seriously, other than the people who want it.”

Elderly Tamil woman found dead in Batticaloa

Aug 18, 2014

A 75-year old Tamil woman, who has been missing for nearly 2 weeks, was found dead on Monday morning, reports Battinews.

The decomposed body of Sinnathambi Pasupathu, who lived in Thikkodai, was found in shrub land near Vivekananthapuram, in the Vellaveli area of Batticaloa.

The cause of death is unknown.

Body of Kaaththankudi female discovered

Aug 18, 2014

The body of a 33-year old woman from Kaaththankudi, Batticaloa, was discovered on Sunday.

Mother of three, M Siththi Nazheeba, was found dead in a house in the town. The cause of death is not yet known.

Kaaththankudi police are carrying out an investigation, Battinews reports.

 

Historic mosque near Trinco destroyed, locals blame army

Aug 18, 2014
Muslims near a historic mosque by Trincomalee have accused the Sri Lankan army of demolishing the mosque, which was already in a dilapidated condition due to lack of renovation.

The mosque, now encompassed within the military's High Security Zone, is believed to be over 400 years old, say locals.

The army denies demolishing the mosque, which they say was destroyed due to heavy rains and winds.

When asked by the Eastern Province Chief Minister, Najeeb Abdul Majeed, if locals could pray in the mosque if it were rebuilt and renovated, the army reportedly told him they could not.

Government appoints 5th expert to commission after rejecting UN inquiry

Aug 18, 2014
The Sri Lankan government has appointed a 5th international expert to its commission on disappearances, a law expert from Pakistan, Ahmer B Soofi.

The news of the appointment, tweeted from the President's Twitter account, comes as the President also announced that international investigators with the OHCHR Investigation into Sri Lanka (OISL) Would be denied visas into the country. See more here.

National security is stronger than ever' – Commander of the Army

Aug 18, 2014

The Sri Lankan Commander of the Army stated that national security on the island was “stronger than ever” as he addressed a military conference being held in Colombo this week.

The Commander, Lieutenant General Daya Ratnayake, said that even though the island now had the “incentive of peace... this should not be interpreted in any way as letting down our guard.”

He went on to add,
“Our national security is stronger than ever... Today we are much smarter, more vigilant and possess greater responsive capability to deal with threats to national security.”
In his opening address at the seminar, reportedly attended by representatives from over 50 countries, Ratnayake also said Sri Lanka had learnt “the value of national security and the will to pursue it at any cost.”

Rajapaksa says no to devolving police powers... again

Aug 18, 2014
The Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa has once again reiterated the government's stand against the devolution of police powers to provinces on the island.

Colombo Gazette reports that when meeting with a group of foreign correspondents on Tuesday morning, Rajapaksa “insisted that police powers will not be devolved to the provinces under any circumstances.”

Northern and Eastern Provincial Council members call for UN to investigate genocide

Aug 17, 2014
Thirty-three members of the Northern and Eastern Provincial Council have written to the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), calling on the investigative team to examine the mass killings of Tamils from at least 1974 onwards and explore the charge of genocide against the Sri Lankan state.

In a letter sent to the OHCHR offices in Geneva, the provincial council members stated that “there were several major incidents of massacres of Tamils” and that “none of them were properly investigated by the Sri Lankan government.”

The letter went on to add,
“The Tamil people strongly believe that they have been, and continued to be subjected to Genocide by Sri Lanka. The Tamils were massacred in groups, their temples and churches were bombed, and their iconic Jaffna Public Library was burnt down in 1981 with its collection of largest oldest priceless irreplaceable Tamil manuscripts.  Systematic Sinhalese settlements and demographic changes with the intent to destroy the Tamil Nation, are taking place. We request the OHCHR investigative team to look into the pattern of all the atrocities against the Tamil people, and to determine if Genocide has taken place.”

Peiris: UN inquiry is a 'travesty of justice'

Aug 17, 2014
Sri Lanka's minister of external affairs reiterated the government's refusal to take part in the UN inquiry into mass atrocities stating that the OHCHR Investigation into Sri Lanka (OISL) was a "travesty of justice".

Speaking at Sri Lanka's Defence seminar on Monday, G.L. Peiris said "evidence for the investigation is being clandestinely collected by people in Sri Lanka" and claimed that witnesses were being paid to submit evidence, the Colombo Gazette reports.
Sri Lanka will deny visas to UN investigators says President
Elderly Tamil woman found dead in Batticaloa
Body of Kaaththankudi female discovered
Historic mosque near Trinco destroyed, locals blame army
Government appoints 5th expert to commission after rejecting UN inquiry
National security is stronger than ever' – Commander of the Army
Rajapaksa says no to devolving police powers... again
Northern and Eastern Provincial Council members call for UN to investigate genocide
Peiris: UN inquiry is a 'travesty of justice'
Body of Tamil woman discovered in Northeast
Sri Lanka will deny visas to UN investigators says President
Elderly Tamil woman found dead in Batticaloa
Body of Kaaththankudi female discovered
Historic mosque near Trinco destroyed, locals blame army
Government appoints 5th expert to commission after rejecting UN inquiry
National security is stronger than ever' – Commander of the Army
Rajapaksa says no to devolving police powers... again
Northern and Eastern Provincial Council members call for UN to investigate genocide
Peiris: UN inquiry is a 'travesty of justice'
Body of Tamil woman discovered in Northeast