Tamil Affairs

Tamil News

Latest news from and about the homeland

""
EU delegation granted access to Chemmani mass grave as tally reaches 454
A delegation from the European Union is to visit the Chemmani mass grave in Jaffna on Wednesday morning, after the Jaffna Magistrate's Court granted permission for the inspection on Monday, in the latest instance of international attention on a site where excavations continue to unearth evidence of atrocity. The visit comes amid sustained calls from Tamil families, human rights groups and…

Seventeen years on, Kepapilavu residents still blocked from ancestral lands

Jul 3, 2026
Tamil families in Kepapilavu have continued their protest for a ninth consecutive day, demanding the immediate release of 59.5 acres of ancestral residential land still occupied by the Sri Lankan military more than 17 years after the end of the armed conflict.

Sri Lanka attends Khamenei funeral as Iran's allies gather to mourn

Jul 3, 2026
The Sri Lankan government will be represented at the state funeral of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in Tehran this weekend, in another sign of the island’s long-standing ties with Iran, a state that provided military, financial and diplomatic support to Colombo during its war on Tamils.
""

Valikamam North landowners protest for 11th week against military occupation

Jul 3, 2026
Displaced Tamil landowners from Valikamam North staged their 11th consecutive weekly protest on Friday, demanding the release of hundreds of acres of privately owned land that remain under Sri Lankan military occupation more than three decades after they were forced from their homes.

TNC urges Vijay to unite behind Eelam Tamil self-determination

Jul 3, 2026
TNC's memorandum calls for a federal constitution recognising the Tamil nation, rejects Sri Lanka's unitary framework, criticises the 13th Amendment, and urges an all-party initiative in Tamil Nadu

Sanctioned ex-Navy chief Karannagoda arrested over Rajapaksa recruitment probe

Jul 3, 2026
Former Navy commander Wasantha Karannagoda, a UK- and US-sanctioned figure accused of serious human rights violations, has been arrested over allegations that he helped alter naval recruitment procedures to benefit Yoshitha Rajapaksa.
""

Court orders Sallay to hand over passwords in Easter Sunday probe

Jul 2, 2026

The Colombo Fort Magistrate’s Court has ordered former State Intelligence Service Director Major General (Retired) Suresh Sallay to provide the Criminal Investigation Department with the passwords to his mobile phone and computer as part of the ongoing investigation into the 2019 Easter Sunday bombings.

The order was issued on Wednesday by Colombo Fort Magistrate Pasan Amarasena, while Sallay remains detained and questioned under a detention order in connection with the attacks.

""

The Isle of the Goddess: Nagapooshani Amman's Mahotsavam and the battle over Nainativu's identity

Jul 2, 2026
The annual Mahotsavam of the historic Nainativu Nagapooshani Amman Temple concluded this week, its closing days drawing thousands of devotees to an island whose ancient Hindu and Naga heritage is increasingly being overshadowed by a state-driven project of Sinhala Buddhist majoritarianism.
""

Ceylon Teachers' Union condemns delays investigating Tamil schoolgirl's death

Jul 2, 2026
More than a year after Dilshi Amshika, a 15-year-old Tamil student at Colombo's Ramanathan Hindu Ladies' College, died by suicide following alleged sexual abuse by a teacher, the investigation into her death remains incomplete, prompting renewed criticism of the delays in Sri Lanka's justice system.

'Stay the course' - IMF presses Sri Lanka to continue with austerity

Jul 2, 2026
The International Monetary Fund has urged Sri Lanka to "stay the course" on its austerity programme, after the Middle East war and a surge in fuel prices knocked the island's recovery, at the close of a fund mission to Colombo.
""

Pillayan remanded until 13 July, dismisses allegations as 'false'

Jul 1, 2026

The former Sri Lankan state minister and paramilitary leader Sivanesathurai Chandrakanthan, widely known as Pillayan, has been remanded until 13 July after appearing before the Batticaloa Magistrate's Court on Tuesday in connection with five killings carried out in the Eastern Province in 2008.

As he was escorted from court, Pillayan addressed journalists, insisting the charges were fabricated.

Seventeen years on, Kepapilavu residents still blocked from ancestral lands
Sri Lanka attends Khamenei funeral as Iran's allies gather to mourn
"" Valikamam North landowners protest for 11th week against military occupation
TNC urges Vijay to unite behind Eelam Tamil self-determination
Sanctioned ex-Navy chief Karannagoda arrested over Rajapaksa recruitment probe
"" Court orders Sallay to hand over passwords in Easter Sunday probe
"" The Isle of the Goddess: Nagapooshani Amman's Mahotsavam and the battle over Nainativu's identity
"" Ceylon Teachers' Union condemns delays investigating Tamil schoolgirl's death
'Stay the course' - IMF presses Sri Lanka to continue with austerity
"" Pillayan remanded until 13 July, dismisses allegations as 'false'
Seventeen years on, Kepapilavu residents still blocked from ancestral lands
Sri Lanka attends Khamenei funeral as Iran's allies gather to mourn
""
Valikamam North landowners protest for 11th week against military occupation
TNC urges Vijay to unite behind Eelam Tamil self-determination
Sanctioned ex-Navy chief Karannagoda arrested over Rajapaksa recruitment probe
""
Court orders Sallay to hand over passwords in Easter Sunday probe
""
The Isle of the Goddess: Nagapooshani Amman's Mahotsavam and the battle over Nainativu's identity
""
Ceylon Teachers' Union condemns delays investigating Tamil schoolgirl's death
'Stay the course' - IMF presses Sri Lanka to continue with austerity
""
Pillayan remanded until 13 July, dismisses allegations as 'false'