Tamil Affairs

Tamil News

Latest news from and about the homeland

Montreal borough passes motion recognising Tamil Genocide Remembrance Day
Côte-des-Neiges-Notre-Dame-de-Grâce, a borough in Montreal, has passed a motion recognising May 18 as Tamil Genocide Remembrance Day.  The motion was passed on May 5 and comes as the Tamil nation marks 16 years since the genocide at Mullivaikkal, where an estimated 169,796 people were killed by the Sri Lankan army in the final days of the armed conflict.  Tamil activist Subitha…

Vaiko protests Rajapaksa's visit, detained

May 25, 2014
10:30 BST

Photographs @MDMKIW

The leader of the MDMK, Vaiko, was detained after holding a black flag protest at Jantar Mantar in Delhi, against the visit of Sri Lankan president Mahinda Rajapaksa at the swearing-in ceremony of Narendra Modi, reports PTI.

Addressing fellow protesters today, Vaiko said Rajapaksa's presence would "pollute the sanctity" of the swearing-in ceremony. Vaiko was subsequently detained for 'defying prohibitory orders'.


In Memoriam - Songs from the Purananuru - Song 112

May 25, 2014
During this month of May, as Tamils remember their loved ones that were killed as the armed conflict ended in 2009, we publish selected Poems from the classical Tamil anthology, the Purananuru (the 400 Puram poems) as we have done in previous years.

Song 112 - Pari’s daughters sing (on the death of Pari)
Tinai - Potuviyal (General heroism)

That month

That month
In that white moonlight

Profiles of May 2009: Theeban

May 25, 2014

The following account is written by a second generation Tamil from London who was involved in organising the prolonged protest on Parliament Square in Westminster during April and May 2009, the bloody end of Sri Lanka's armed conflict. Theeban (not his real name), then in his early twenties, was studying at a London university. Names have been changed in order to protect the identity of individuals not already within the public domain.

I went into university that Sunday morning, April 5th 2009, for what was supposed to be the first day of revision for my finals a month or so later, and read the news. The last areas held by the LTTE that weren’t in a safe zone had been captured by the Sri Lankan military and the Tamil fighters were now trapped in the safe zone, alongside the civilians.

I knew then I wasn’t going to get any revision done. I think a lot of people at the time, including myself, were just waiting for the moment the LTTE would launch a counter-offensive. I guess, that’s when I first realised that there’s not going to be the miraculous military recovery as we had expected.

Army conducts workshop for Kilinochchi schoolchildren

May 25, 2014
The Sri Lankan Army held a workshop for schoolchildren in Kilinochchi on Saturday, to “enlighten students” on telecommunication, according to their website.

Troops from the 9 Sri Lanka Signal Corps organised the event, which was attended by senior military commanders, including Major General Sudantha Ranasinghe, Commander of the Sri Lankan Security Forces in Kilinochchi.


Schoolchildren stand as the Major General enters the venue...

... and takes his seat alongside other senior military figures at the front of the hall.

Rajapaksa announces social media to come under government watch

May 24, 2014
Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa declared that social media on the island is to come under closer scrutiny from the government, whilst speaking in Shangai last week.

Rajapaksa had told the Conference on Interaction and Confidence Building Measures in Asia (CICA) that,
“We witnessed the corrupt use of social media to create domestic unrest and cyber crime. Youth have been targeted and they became pawns of misplaced agendas. These are dangerous trends that need to be arrested and addressed effectively through this forum.”

Rajapaksa orders release Indian fishermen ahead of controversial visit

May 24, 2014
The Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa has ordered the release of Indian fishermen detained within Sri Lankan jails, ahead of his attendance at the swearing in ceremony of the Indian Prime Minister designate, Narendra Modi.

"As a goodwill measure on the occasion of @narendramodi's swearing-in, President instructs officials to release Indian fishermen in custody," Rajapaksa's official twitter account tweeted this morning.

According to the Indian news channel, NDTV, the move is being seen as an attempt to counter the controversy and back lash in Tamil Nadu over Rajapaksa's invitation.

Welcoming the decision, Mr. Modi later tweeted: "I welcome the step by Sri Lanka & Pakistan to release our fishermen. I welcome our fishermen brothers back home!"

Namal Rajapaksa oversees Sinhala settlements in Vavuniya

May 24, 2014
The President's son, Namal Rajapaksa, was in Vavuniya today, overseeing the development of recently built Sinhala settlements.

Sinhalese name board of Namalgama village in Vavuniya

The state's settlement of 2500 Sinhala families from the island's South into Vavuniya, a region within the Tamil areas of the North and East of the island, began in February last year and was inaugurated by Namal Rajapaksa.


TNA calls on Modi to act on injustices faced by Tamils in North-East

May 23, 2014
The Tamil National Alliance (TNA) called on India's Prime Minister designate Narendra Modi to take action against the continuing injustices faced by Tamils in the North-East, in a letter today, addressed to Mr. Modi.

Highlighting the Sri Lankan government's on-going crimes against the Tamil people, including forced displacement, state sponsored resettlement of Sinhala families into the North-East, destruction of religious and cultural sites, impeding the functioning of the Northern Provincial Council, militarisation of the North-East, and the lack of equality before the law afforded to Tamils, Mr. Sampanthan said "these actions of the Sri Lankan government undermine all efforts towards reconciliation, permanent peace and harmony, and further create an environment that could promote hostility".

He added: "These actions of the Sri Lankan government are clearly indicative of a lack of genuine commitment on the part of the Sri Lankan government to evolve an acceptable political solution."

Congress sides with Tamil Nadu over Modi's Rajapaksa invite

May 23, 2014
The Indian National Congress has stated that the sentiments of the people of Tamil Nadu should be taken care of, over the increasingly controversial issue of Indian Prime Minister-designate Narendra Modi inviting Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa to his swearing-in ceremony later this month.

The Times of India quoted Congress spokesperson Shakeel Ahmed telling reporters in New Delhi,

Sri Lanka's proscriptions do not constrain your freedoms, Australian govt tells diaspora groups

May 23, 2014
The Australian government reassured Tamil diaspora groups based in the country that Sri Lanka's listings of Tamil diaspora groups as terrorists "do not constrain the freedom of these groups and individuals to express their views and to operate in the Australia in accordance with Australian law" and criticised the move as not conducive towards reconciliation.

"I can assure you the Australian government strongly supports the right to freedom of expression and we do not consider targeting these Tamil diaspora organisations and individuals is conducive to reconciliation in Sri Lanka," Australia's Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Senator Brett Mason said in a letter addressed to one of the groups proscribed, Australian Tamil Congress (ATC).

Noting also the proscription of the Tamil Youth Organisation and individuals residing in Australia, Senator Mason, went on to say:
"Senior Australian officials have directly registered with the Sri Lankan government Australia's concerns on this issue and sought clarification from Sri Lankan counterparts, including on practical implications of the listings."

In Memoriam - Songs from the Purananuru - Song 112
Profiles of May 2009: Theeban
Army conducts workshop for Kilinochchi schoolchildren
Rajapaksa announces social media to come under government watch
Rajapaksa orders release Indian fishermen ahead of controversial visit
Namal Rajapaksa oversees Sinhala settlements in Vavuniya
TNA calls on Modi to act on injustices faced by Tamils in North-East
Congress sides with Tamil Nadu over Modi's Rajapaksa invite
Sri Lanka's proscriptions do not constrain your freedoms, Australian govt tells diaspora groups
TNA 'unequivocally condemns' proscription of Tamil diaspora groups
In Memoriam - Songs from the Purananuru - Song 112
Profiles of May 2009: Theeban
Army conducts workshop for Kilinochchi schoolchildren
Rajapaksa announces social media to come under government watch
Rajapaksa orders release Indian fishermen ahead of controversial visit
Namal Rajapaksa oversees Sinhala settlements in Vavuniya
TNA calls on Modi to act on injustices faced by Tamils in North-East
Congress sides with Tamil Nadu over Modi's Rajapaksa invite
Sri Lanka's proscriptions do not constrain your freedoms, Australian govt tells diaspora groups
TNA 'unequivocally condemns' proscription of Tamil diaspora groups