Tamil Affairs

Tamil News

Latest news from and about the homeland

Sinhala rioters celebrate as they pause in the destruction of homes and businesses in Tamil sectors of Colombo Today marks 43 years since the horrors of the anti-Tamil pogrom of 1983, when thousands of Tamils were killed by Sinhala mobs backed by the then UNP government and state forces. Armed with electoral rolls, Sinhala mobs targeted Tamil homes and businesses, looting and ransacking…

Families accuse Sri Lankan state of abandoning search for four missing Tamil fishermen

Fishermen in Point Pedro, Jaffna have accused Sri Lanka's government of neglecting search efforts for four Tamil fishermen who went missing at sea, while alleging that claims made by Fisheries Minister Ramalingam Chandrasekar regarding naval and aerial search operations are false.

Batticaloa honours Nadesan as impunity over Tamil journalist killings persists

The 22nd remembrance of slain senior Tamil journalist Aiyathurai Nadesan was held on Sunday at the memorial for murdered journalists in Gandhi Park, Batticaloa, with journalists, politicians and civil society representatives paying tribute and renewing calls for justice.

The commemoration, held on 31 May, was jointly organised by the Batticaloa Media house (Maddu Oodaha Maiyam), the Batticaloa District Tamil Journalists Association and the Eastern Lanka Journalists Association.

Keeping the flame alive - Tamil Eelam's musical legacy honoured at Eluchikuyil 2026

A commemorative event honouring artists whose works contributed to the Tamil liberation struggle was held in Switzerland with the 11th edition of the Ezhuchikkuyil 2026 Tamil Eelam patriotic song competition.

The event, held in the Canton of Bern on May 8, 9, 23 and 24, paid tribute to 72 artists whose songs and artistic contributions were associated with the Tamil liberation movement. Floral tributes and respects were offered before portraits of the late artists during the programme.

Sri Lanka arrests Tamil youths for photographing Thaiyiddy Vihara

The occupying Sri Lankan police force has arrested two Tamil youths from Jaffna after reportedly taking photographs in the vicinity of the controversial Thaiyiddy Vihara, a Buddhist shrine at the centre of a long-running dispute over the colonisation of Tamil land in the Valikamam North region.

The arrests were carried out by officers attached to the occupying Palaly Police Station during special Vesak observances held at the vihara on Friday.

45th anniversary of Jaffna Library burning commemorated

A commemoration marking the 45th anniversary of the burning of the Jaffna Public Library was held there today, to remember its destruction by Sri Lanka's security forces and state-backed mobs.

Velupillay makes history as first Tamil at a FIFA World Cup

Nishan Velupillay has been selected in Australia's squad for the 2026 FIFA World Cup, making him the first footballer of Tamil heritage to compete at the tournament.

Sri Lankan court orders arrest of Basil Rajapaksa over misuse of public funds

Colombo Fort Magistrate Court has ordered the arrest of former minister and founder of the Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP), Basil Rajapaksa, in connection with a case involving the alleged misuse of public funds amounting to more than Rs. 7.8 million.

History in flames: Remembering the burning of Jaffna Library

Cover art by Sagi Thilipkumar

At midnight on May 31, 1981, the Jaffna Public Library, the crucible of Tamil literature and heritage, was set ablaze by Sri Lankan security forces and state-sponsored mobs. The burning has since been marked by Eelam Tamils as an act of genocide.

'We don’t need compensation, we need justice' - Tamil families of the disappeared in Vavuniya

 

Tamil families of the disappeared staged a protest in Vavuniya on Saturday (30), insisting that they do not need financial compensation but justice and an international investigation to uncover the fate of their forcibly disappeared loved ones.

Monks above the law

The explosive revelation that one of the island’s most senior Sinhala Buddhist monks stands accused of repeatedly raping a child has laid bare a culture of impunity that has protected powerful members of the clergy for decades. It is shameful and symptomatic of a powerful political class that for too long has lived by its own rules. It cannot be allowed to continue.