Tamil Affairs

Tamil News

Latest news from and about the homeland

Jaffna and Palaly protests mark 36 years since Valikamam North displacement
Displaced residents of the Valikamam North region of Jaffna held protests on Monday, in front of the Jaffna District Secretariat and near Palaly Junction, marking 36 years since their forced displacement and demanding the right to return and resettle in their lands. The people of Valikamam North were displaced from their homeland on 15 June 1990 by the Sri Lankan military. Thirty-six years on…

IDPs urge TNA to reclaim their appropriated land

Dec 9, 2013

Displaced Tamils vented their anger at the leader of the Tamil National Alliance (TNA), R. Sampanthan, on Monday, whilst he was visiting the Kattai Parichchan IDP camp near Sampoor.

Families of disappeared attacked by masked men during demonstrations in Trincomalee

Dec 9, 2013

Families of the disappeared protesting at the Trincomalee Bus Station were attacked by masked men, today.

The demonstrators, whose protest coincided with international Human Rights Day, sustained several injuries, resulting in the organiser, Sundara Mahendran, being admitted to hospital.

Third day of Permanent People's Tribunal on genocide in SL gets underway

Dec 8, 2013

Published 09:36 GMT

The Permanent People's Tribunal on the genocide of Tamils in Sri Lanka continues this morning in Bremen, Germany.

Watch the live feed from the PPT website 09:00-13:30 (GMT+1) here.

We will not bow down to Geneva' - G.L Peiris on UNHRC

Dec 8, 2013
The External Affairs Minister, G.L Peiris, reiterated Sunday, that the Sri Lankan government would not accept international pressure and demands from the United Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva.

Addressing a parliamentary debate on Sri Lankan external affairs, G.L Peiris, said,

NPC Minister refuses to hoist Sri Lankan flag

Dec 8, 2013

The Northern Provincial Council Minister for Agriculture, Livestock and Water Supply, P Iyngaranesan has refused to hoist the Sri Lankan flag at an event in Mannar.

The minister was chief guest at the event in a school in Vellangulam.

UNP's saffron party whip

Dec 8, 2013
The Buddhist monk organisation, the United Bhikku Front (UBF), issued a stern warning to the UNP's Sajith Premadasa to stop acting against the party's newly appointed Leadership Council or else face 'stern action', reported Colombo Page.

Speaking at the UBF press conference today, the organisation's General Secretary, the monk, Bopitiye Dhammissara Thero, warned Premadasa to refrain from acting against party unity.

Statue of Sinhala soldier appears in Elephant Pass

Dec 8, 2013
A statue of a Sinhala soldier, Corporal Gamini Kularatna, appeared recently as a new addition to Sri Lanka's war victory monument in Elephant Pass, situated within the Tamil region of the North-East, reported the Jaffna based newspaper, Uthayan.

Sri Lanka indefinitely postpones torture inquiry

Dec 8, 2013

Sri Lanka has announced that a ‘National Inquiry on Torture’ has been postponed indefinitely, after requests from several ‘civil society organisations’, reported the Sunday Leader.

UK will 'build international support' for March 2014

Dec 7, 2013
Britain will be playing an 'an active role in building international support' for action on Sri Lanka at the March 2014 session of the UN Human Rights Council said the UK's Minister of State at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office on Wednesday.

Responding to a question on the UK setting up an international inquiry into war crimes allegations, Hugo Swire, who recently took on the role from Alistair Burt, stated,

More money for Jaffna prison

Dec 7, 2013

The government is seeking more money for the construction of a new prison complex in Jaffna, reported the Sunday Times.

The government initially allocated Rs 272mn for the prison, but is now seeking Rs 21.6mn more, due to “cost escalation”.

Families of disappeared attacked by masked men during demonstrations in Trincomalee
Third day of Permanent People's Tribunal on genocide in SL gets underway
We will not bow down to Geneva' - G.L Peiris on UNHRC
NPC Minister refuses to hoist Sri Lankan flag
UNP's saffron party whip
Statue of Sinhala soldier appears in Elephant Pass
Sri Lanka indefinitely postpones torture inquiry
UK will 'build international support' for March 2014
More money for Jaffna prison
'Widespread' and 'systematic' - British Upper Tribunal defines attacks on Tamils in Sri Lanka
Families of disappeared attacked by masked men during demonstrations in Trincomalee
Third day of Permanent People's Tribunal on genocide in SL gets underway
We will not bow down to Geneva' - G.L Peiris on UNHRC
NPC Minister refuses to hoist Sri Lankan flag
UNP's saffron party whip
Statue of Sinhala soldier appears in Elephant Pass
Sri Lanka indefinitely postpones torture inquiry
UK will 'build international support' for March 2014
More money for Jaffna prison
'Widespread' and 'systematic' - British Upper Tribunal defines attacks on Tamils in Sri Lanka