Tamil Affairs

Tamil News

Latest news from and about the homeland

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Mannar Urban Council Chairman Daniel Vasanthan has strongly condemned the arrest of Tamil rapper Sangeethsan Ganeskumar under Sri Lanka's Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA), stating that the detention reflects a situation where "Tamils do not even have the freedom to sing". Speaking at a media briefing held at the Mannar Urban Council on Friday, Vasanthan criticised the decision to arrest the…

Don't dig our sand!' - Tamils oppose establishment of ilmenite mine and prawn farm in Vakarai

Tamils in Vakarai, Batticaloa, held a protest this week to oppose the establishment of an ilmenite mine and a prawn farm due to the impact they will have on their livelihood and the environment. 

‘We can never return to Aragalaya’ says Ranil at launch of Indian hotel in Colombo

Sri Lanka’s president Ranil Wickrememsinghe said the island “can never return Aragalaya,” as he opened a new Indian-funded hotel at the site of the previous anti-government protests in Colombo.

“Two years ago this was the site of a huge struggle,” said Wickremesinghe. “Today we have a huge hotel in its place”.

Thanthai Chelva remembered in the North-East

SJV Chelvanayakam, fondly known as Thanthi Chelva, is being remembered in Batticaloa and Jaffna today to mark 47 years since his death. 

Chelvanayakam was responsible for spearheading the Vaddukoddai resolution, which was overwhelmingly ratified by the Tamil votes in the 1977 parliamentary elections. 

We are not racist, says racist Sinhala Buddhist monk

An extremist Sinhala Buddhist monk and lawmaker claimed that he has never used racist terms against Muslims, despite having repeatedly been racist and delivered hate speech against Muslims on the island.

Proudly and fiercely Tamil' - An interview with Sunthar V

Ahead of his headline London show, the comedian sat with the Tamil Guardian in London, wearing his “Seeni Appa" (Sugar Daddy) T-shirt, to speak about his Tamil identity and how it has been integral to his comedy and to his audience.

Argentina tells Sri Lanka to arrest Iranian minister over 1994 bombing

Argentina called on Sri Lanka to arrest Iranian minister Ahmad Vahidi, who was touted to visit the island alongside Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi this week, accusing him of orchestrating a 1994 attack on a Jewish community centre in Buenos Aires that killed 85 people.

The request from the Argentinian government comes less than two weeks after a court in the country held Iran responsible for the attack and demanded Sri Lanka, as well as Pakistan, which the Iranians visited before arriving in Colombo on Wednesday, arrest Vahidi.

‘Impunity remains entrenched’ – Amnesty International slams Sri Lanka’s human rights record

As part of their global annual report, Amnesty International slammed the Sri Lankan government’s human rights record noting that “impunity remained entrenched with the Sri Lankan government making no notable progress around the right to truth, justice and reparation for those affected by war”.

Sri Lanka defies US warning of sanctions to host Iranian president

Iran’s President Ebrahim Raisi and his delegation landed in Sri Lanka to inaugurate the Uma Oya Hydropower project this morning, just hours after the United States warned that it could impose sanctions on countries engaging in trade with Iran.

Canadian police chief was aware of court ruling as he met Sri Lankan torturer

Nishan Duraiappah, the Chief of Peel Regional Police, was aware of a Supreme Court ruling that found Sri Lanka’s police chief had personally participated in torture, and still decided to meet him in Colombo, according to a report in Global News.

Sri Lanka summons Canadian envoy to express outrage over genocide memorial

The Sri Lankan government reportedly summoned the Canadian High Commissioner in Colombo over plans to construct a monument to victims of the Tamil genocide, thousands of miles away in the Canadian city of Brampton.