Tamil Affairs

Tamil News

Latest news from and about the homeland

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Bribery commission arrests Rajapaksa's son over naval training
Photo : Newswire Yoshitha Rajapaksa, the second son of former Sri Lankan president Mahinda Rajapaksa, was arrested on Wednesday by the Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery or Corruption (CIABOC), over his recruitment to the Sri Lanka Navy and the funding of his training at Britain's Royal Naval Academy. He appeared before the commission on 17 June in response to a summons,…

Tamil protester continues hunger strike, calling on Cameron to boycott CHOGM

Nov 6, 2013
Tamil protester, Parameswaran, continues his hunger strike opposite Downing Street, calling on the British Prime Minister to boycott the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) due to take place in Sri Lanka later this month. Photograph TYOUK

Sri Lanka needs to face international pressure, including CHOGM boycott - Archbishop Tutu

Nov 6, 2013

A boycott of the upcoming Commonwealth Heads of Government meeting in Sri Lanka could help pressure Colombo to address alleged war crimes against Tamils, suggested Archbishop Desmond Tutu today.

Speaking to journalists in New Delhi, Nobel laureate Archbishop Desmond Tutu said:

British Tamils disappointed at Cameron’s commitment to CHOGM, continue call for boycott

Nov 6, 2013

British Prime Minister David Cameron met with a delegation from various British Tamil organisations today, including the British Tamils Forum, Global Tamil Forum and Tamils against Genocide.

Cameron to push for international investigations if Sri Lanka doesn’t credibly investigate itself

Nov 6, 2013

A spokesperson for Number 10 has said that the Prime Minister David Cameron will call for an international inquiry, if Sri Lanka does not deliver an independent investigation into accusations of war crimes and crimes against humanity.

"We have consistently called for an independent inquiry into the allegations,” the spokesperson said.

“To date, that has not happened. And the PM believes that in the absence of an independent investigation, an international inquiry would be needed.”

Why Commonwealth nations should boycott the Sri Lanka meeting - CTC

Nov 6, 2013
Writing in Embassy, Raj Thavaratnasingham, the president of the Canadian Tamil Congress, called on Commonwealth heads to boycott CHOGM next week. The full text of his opinion has been reproduced below: 

In 2009, the Canadian government refused to support a bid by Sri Lanka to host the next Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting, as a way to pressure the government to allow relief workers access to refugee camps following the end of the Sri Lankan civil war. In 2011, Prime Minister Stephen Harper first mentioned his intent to boycott the biennial summit if the human rights situation in Sri Lanka did not improve.

Genocidaire on Yale’s campus'

Nov 6, 2013
Tasha Manoranjan
Tasha Manoranjan, a graduate of Yale Law School and the founder and executive director for People for Equality and Relief in Lanka, has criticised the Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies' decision to allow Sri Lanka's ambassador to the UN to speak at the school, calling it 'contradictory to the values that are so actively inculcated in Yale students'.

See the full piece entitled 'Genocidaire on Yale’s campus' here.

Extracts have been reproduced below.
"This Thursday, one of the key officials implicated in the White Flag incident will be speaking at the Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies. Sri Lankan Ambassador Palitha Kohona is Sri Lanka’s permanent representative to the United Nations in N.Y., and is the subject of an investigation by the Australian Federal Police. There have also been requests from NGOs to the International Criminal Court that Kohona’s involvement in these extrajudicial killings be investigated."

"Kohona is the official representative of an authoritarian and oppressive regime. Yale is disturbingly granting him a platform to whitewash Sri Lanka’s genocide against Tamils on the island and normalize Sri Lanka’s role within the international community."

India boycott of CHOGM necessary - TNPF

Nov 6, 2013
The Tamil National People’s Front (TNPF) in a statement, urged the Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to fully boycott the CHOGM due to take place in Sri Lanka and criticised Northern Provincial Chief Minister C.V. Wigneswaran’s attempts to discourage CHOGM boycotts.

The TNPF said that a boycott of CHOGM was necessary to “isolate Sri Lanka from the international community” and that India’s decision as “regional power” was key

Tamil Nadu holds 'slipper waving protest' against CHOGM

Nov 5, 2013

Activists from the Balachandran Student Movement held a protest oustide the British High Commission in Chennai on Wednesday, protesting against Prince Charles and Indian Foreign Minister Salaman Kurshid's decision to attend CHOGM.

No demos allowed around CHOGM - The Island

Nov 5, 2013

The government will prevent any planned protests around the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in Sri Lanka next week, according to The Island.

When asked whether police would be deployed to break up protests in Colombo or Jaffna, a senior government official told the paper that protestors wouldn’t be allowed to interfere with the schedule of the summit.

Rajiv Gandhi statue vandalised in Tamil Nadu

Nov 5, 2013
A statue of the former Indian Prime Minister, Rajiv Gandhi was found vandalised on Wednesday morning near the Tirupur district in Tamil Nadu.

According to PTI a letter was found nearby calling on the Indian government to boycott the CHOGM later this month.
Sri Lanka needs to face international pressure, including CHOGM boycott - Archbishop Tutu
British Tamils disappointed at Cameron’s commitment to CHOGM, continue call for boycott
Cameron to push for international investigations if Sri Lanka doesn’t credibly investigate itself
Why Commonwealth nations should boycott the Sri Lanka meeting - CTC
Genocidaire on Yale’s campus'
India boycott of CHOGM necessary - TNPF
Tamil Nadu holds 'slipper waving protest' against CHOGM
No demos allowed around CHOGM - The Island
Rajiv Gandhi statue vandalised in Tamil Nadu
More defence of the Commonwealth
Sri Lanka needs to face international pressure, including CHOGM boycott - Archbishop Tutu
British Tamils disappointed at Cameron’s commitment to CHOGM, continue call for boycott
Cameron to push for international investigations if Sri Lanka doesn’t credibly investigate itself
Why Commonwealth nations should boycott the Sri Lanka meeting - CTC
Genocidaire on Yale’s campus'
India boycott of CHOGM necessary - TNPF
Tamil Nadu holds 'slipper waving protest' against CHOGM
No demos allowed around CHOGM - The Island
Rajiv Gandhi statue vandalised in Tamil Nadu
More defence of the Commonwealth