Tamil Affairs

Tamil News

Latest news from and about the homeland

A newly published study has identified the earliest scientifically confirmed evidence of prehistoric human settlement on Velanai Island in the Jaffna Peninsula, dating back around 3,460 years and overturning an erroneous long-held Sri Lankan assumption that the region was largely uninhabited until much later. The study, published in the Journal of Island and Coastal Archaeology and led by…

Three Tamil youths arrested in Jaffna

Three Tamil youths were arrested in Jaffna on Wednesday night.

The three were arrested after a reported police chase with Jaffna police who went to Tirunelveli following reports that two groups of Tamil youths were gathered in the area and preparing for a fight.

STF to take over security at Welikada, Magazine and Colombo Remand prisons

Sri Lanka’s Special Task Force will take over security and investigations at three major Colombo prisons, Colombo Page reports.

The security and investigations at Welikada, Colombo Remand and Magazine prison have been handed over to the STF effective from next month.

Several Tamil political prisoners are and have historically been detained at Magazine and Welikada, notorious for riots and massacres, prisons. The STF also stands accused of serious human rights abuses including torture and extra-judicial killings.

Indian national arrested over plot to kill Sirisena

An Indian national was arrested on Tuesday over an alleged plot to kill the Sri Lankan president, Maithripala Sirisena. 

Marsili Thomas was arrested under the Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA), whilst visiting the residence of the Anti-Corruption Movement Operations Director, Namal Kumara. 

According to local reports the former director of the Terrorism Investigation Division, Nalaka Silva had discussed a plan to assassinate Sirisena. 

Read more here and here. 

Eastern Uni students remember Thileepan's sacrifice

Students at the Eastern University in Batticaloa yesterday evening marked the 31st anniversary of Lt Col Thileepan's fast unto death. 

Remembering the sacrifice he made, students lit lamps and paid tribute to Thileepan and his hunger strike. 

Kilinochchi court takes action on illegal fishing

A court in Kilinochchi on Tuesday ordered huts built by fishermen from the South who had been fishing illegally to be removed and for the fishermen to leave from Vadamaradchchi East.

The court issued the order to eight organisations who had failed to seek permission from the divisional secretariat at Maruthenkeni and had staying on government land illegally. 

Thirty-two huts are to be removed and 850 Southern fishermen have been ordered to vacate the area. 

The court case follows a case filed by the Maruthenkeni Divisional Secretariat. 

Sinhala Buddhist monks remain wary of war crimes charges for Sri Lankan troops

An organisation of Sinhala Buddhist monks have spoken out against Sri Lanka’s president, stating that despite his call at the United Nations against ‘foreign influence’ they remain wary of an international accountability mechanism for war crimes.

“President Sirisena has guaranteed us that he would not let any authority to implement laws against soldiers,” claimed National Academic Bhikshu Forum (NABF) Convener Maduruoye Dhammissara. “However, such laws were implemented soon after President Sirisena’s guarantee of not doing so.”

Sri Lanka’s denial of cluster bomb use is ‘affront to victims’ - ITJP

The Sri Lankan government’s continued denial over the military’s use of cluster munitions is an “ever increasing affront to victims” said the International Truth and Justice Project, after Sri Lanka was chosen to head the Convention on Cluster munitions earlier this month.

Sri Lankan navy arrests 2 Tamil youths

The Sri Lankan navy yesterday arrested two Tamil youths who were fishing in Kankesanthurai, Jaffna. 

The navy has claimed 28kg cannabis was found during the arrest, which took place in the early morning. 

The two youths have been handed over the police.  

Thileepan remembered across North-East

Tamils across the North-East held local events to remember the death of Lt Col Thileepan on September 26, 1987, after he fasted unto death in protest at the Indian government's failure to fulfil its pledges to the Tamil people.

Staff and students at Jaffna University remember Thileepan

Students and faculty members at the University Jaffna gathered at the campus grounds this morning, to mark the passing of Lt Col Thileepan, a senior political LTTE leader who fasted to death 31 years ago.

As crowds gathered Thileepan's famous 1987 speech, where he laid out his demands to the Indian government, was also played on a screen to the audience, as well as a speech by LTTE leader V Prabhakaran.