Tamil Affairs

Tamil News

Latest news from and about the homeland

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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,…

British police arrest man at airport over suspicion of being LTTE member

UK police have arrested a man at Luton airport last week on suspicion of being a member of and supporting the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), which remains a proscribed organisation in Britain.

Few details have been released by British authorities who only confirmed that the man is in his 30s and was initially stopped by officers under schedule 7 of the Terrorism Act (TACT), 2000 at Luton Airport as he arrived in the country.

He was taken to a local police station and reportedly released under investigation.

TNA support is conditional on meeting certain demands – MA Sumanthiran

Speaking to the Hindu, Tamil National Alliance MP, MA Sumanthiran, maintained that support for an interim all-party government would be conditional on meeting certain demands.

“We have been consulted and the SJB has invited us. We have asked them to go ahead with a new government if they have the numbers. However, if they need our support, we said will then talk about the conditions on which we might be able to support them,” Sumanthiran stated.

‘We are closely monitoring ongoing developments’ – IMF concerned by crisis in Sri Lanka

Responding to mass unrest in Colombo, which saw the burning of the Prime Minister’s house, the International Monetary Fund has raised deep concerns over the crisis whilst stressing the need for a resolution that will “allow for the resumption of our dialogue on an IMF-supported program”.

BJP lawmaker calls on Indian military to support Rajapaksa’s

Responding to mass demonstrations in Colombo and continued calls for Sri Lanka’s President to resign, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) lawmaker Subramanian Swamy demands that India’s military be prepared to support the Rajapaksas.

On Twitter he stated:

Sri Lankan army admits to opening fire during protests

A statement from the Sri Lankan army admitted that soldiers opened fire during Saturday’s protest, after video clips of the shootings were widely shared, but denied there was any “intent on causing deliberate harm to the protesters”.

In a statement entitled ‘The army sets the record straight about Saturday firing’, the military said its attention “has been drawn to a few video clips going viral”.

Flowers and prayers for victims of Navaly church bombing

The Church of St Peter in Navaly commemorated over 140 Tamil civilians that were killed in its premises by Sri Lankan Air Force bombs 27 years ago.

Questions of corruption as over 17 million rupees uncovered in Rajapaksa's residence

Following the breach of the Presidential residence yesterday, a video has circulated showing protesters recovering an estimated Rs. 17,850,000 in the President's residence.

Sri Lankan security forces open fire before protesters storm president’s house

Footage has emerged of Sri Lankan security forces opening fire yesterday as demonstrators storm the president’s house, with bullets ricocheting off walls just inches away from protestors.

A revolutionary moment?

On July 9, thousands of protestors stormed the residence of Sri Lankan president Gotabaya Rajapaksa, in what appeared to be the climax of months of protest over the economic crisis on the island. Photos and videos that quickly made headlines around the world showed demonstrators rummaging through his wardrobe, working out in his personal gym, and splashing around in his private pool. Less than three years after Rajapaksa won a commanding majority among the island’s Sinhalese, the unimaginable had happened - the Sinhala Buddhist strongman, whose war crimes aided rather than impeded his rise to power, was being forced out of office.

Gotabaya to resign according to parliamentary speaker

According to Parliamentary Speaker Mahinda Yapa Abeywardena, President Gotabaya Rajapaksa will be stepping down on 13 July.

The announcement comes amidst escalating protests in which protesters set Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe's home ablaze and stormed the President's property. Rajapaksa has since fled his home and his location remains unknown.

Rajapaksa has informed the speaker of his plans to step down as president this coming Wednesday, the speaker stated that "the decision to step down on 13 July was taken to ensure a peaceful handover of power"

Earlier today Prime Minister Wickremesinghe agreed to resign and make way for an all-party government.