On the day 25 years ago, over half a million Tamil men, women and children fled their homes in Jaffna as the Sri Lankan military launched a military offensive to capture the peninsula, under the leadership of then president Chandrika Kumaratunga. On October 30, 1995, the entire town of Jaffna, the largest Tamil population centre on the island, streamed out in a mass exodus for the safety of the Vanni, which was then controlled by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE). Walking for several miles east, crossing the Navatkuli bridge, the throngs of people, carrying whatever they could...
As US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo visited Sri Lanka this week, he was asked repeatedly about a travel ban imposed on the head of Sri Lanka’s army Shavendra Silva over his role in overseeing war crimes. Earlier this year, Pompeo’s office announced a travel ban on Silva and his immediate family, “due to his involvement in extrajudicial killings” of Tamils. At the time, State Department spokesperson Morgan Ortagus said “this sends an important message to those guilty of committing war crimes, not only in Sri Lanka, but around the world”. “It is also a crucial signal for Tamil victims and...
US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo warned of China’s “predator” relationship with Sri Lanka as he held high level meetings with Sri Lankan leaders in Colombo today, with trade, accountability for rights abuses and a US travel ban on army commander Shavendra Silva also discussed. Pompeo met with Gotabaya Rajapaksa, who himself stands accused of war crimes, where the two discussed “post-pandemic economic recovery and development and the importance of our partnership to bolster sustainable and transparent trade and investment”. “The United States seeks to strengthen our partnership with...
A landmark judgement from Britain’s Proscribed Organisations Appeal Commission found that the Home Office decision to keep the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) proscribed as a terrorist organisation was “flawed” and unlawful, and paves the way for the organisation to possibly being legalised in the United Kingdom. This is only the second time in the Commission’s history that such an appeal has been heard in the past twenty years. The Commission which issued its judgement in London this morning, will now hold a second hearing to decide on relief to be issued to the applicants. The...
Tamil actor Vijay Sethupathi has seemingly announced that he will no longer play controversial Sri Lankan cricketer Muttiah Muralitharan in a biopic, by posting a letter from Muralitharan himself asking him to withdraw. The last fortnight has seen Sethupathi and the wider Tamil film industry drawn into the controversy, as Tamil fans voiced their opposition to the popular actor portraying the cricketer - a supporter of the ruling Rajapaksa regime in Sri Lanka, who has frequently spoken up against Tamil rights campaigners in the North-East and against Malayaga Tamil labour rights campaigners...
During their annual conference, senior British government ministers and MPs, within the All-Party Parliamentary Group for Tamils (APPGT), raised “deep concerns” over Sri Lanka’s human rights record and withdrawal from the UN co-sponsored resolution. During the conference, government officials maintained their commitment to the resolution and stressed that if Sri Lanka failed to meet said commitments, alternatives avenues will need to be pursued.
While elephants are under threat all over the world, elephants in the North-East have come under increased threat due to improper waste management.
Justice C.V. WIgneswaran, Jaffna MP and former Northern Province Chief Minister, delivered a speech to the New Indian Forum last Sunday on India’s role in the 13th Amendment of the Sri Lankan Constitution, drawing on his own experience to call the amendment “fundamentally flawed”. Briefly explaining the history of the Indo-Lanka Peace Accord of 1987, Wigneswaran then held forth on how ineffective the 13th amendment has practically been in ensuring devolution of power to the Tamil provinces and bringing about regional autonomy. Governors - answerable to the President “The 1978 constitution...
On 15 October of 1987, the UK, France, and the Channel Islands were hit by the Great Storm of 1987. Roads and railways were strewn with fallen trees; rooftops and windows were shattered; and Britain’s national grid was so devastated that many areas were left without electricity. However, perhaps most importantly, the storm enabled over thirty refugees to escape detention of the ship, "Earl William". Those who escaped were able to avoid being recaptured, forcing then Home Secretary, Douglas Hurd, to grant them "temporary admission". However, the refugees who were still on board were deported, subjected to further torture, and after a protracted legal battle, won asylum in the UK two years later.
Today marks thirty-three years since the death of 2nd Lt. Maalathy, the first female fighter of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) to lose her life in the Tamil armed struggle.