Tamil Affairs

Tamil News

Latest news from and about the homeland

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Sri Lanka's United National Party (UNP) has accused the National People's Power (NPP) government of attempting to undermine Buddhism and interfere in the affairs of the Buddhist clergy, as controversy continues over proposed reforms aimed at addressing misconduct within the Buddhist Sangha. The dispute comes amid heightened public scrutiny of Buddhist institutions following allegations of…

Sangakkara meets US ambassador

Sri Lanka cricket star and former captian Kumar Sangakkara met with the United States Ambassador in Colombo, Patricia Butenis, Monday, colombopage reports, citing a report in the Sinhala daily Divaina.

The newspaper said it was unable to contact Sangakkara to inquire about the matter, and that the US embassy declined to comment on it.

Why cricket can do nothing for peace in Sri Lanka ...

Amid the Sri Lankan government’s refusal to accede to a political solution and accountability for war crimes, and its continuing militarised repression in Tamil areas, cricket can no more be a unifying force across Sri Lanka’s communities than whale-watching, or any other human pastime.

India's response to Channel 4 documentary ...

Eight days after the broadcasting in India of Channel 4’s documentary, 'Sri Lanka's Killing Fields', the Delhi government has finally broken its silence.

India and Sri Lanka's war crimes

These are comments by former Indian Foreign Secretary Jaswant Singh during the discussion hosted by Headlines Today on the atrocities highlighted by the acclaimed Channel 4 documentary, Sri Lanka’s Killing Fields.

When asked if it wasn’t time for India to get off the fenceon Sri Lanka's war crimes?:

India’s failing policy on Sri Lanka

“Should Indian foreign policy to a neighbour like Sri Lanka be based on such unwarranted fears about India’s interests? Why will Sri Lanka not develop relations with China, even if India does everything to placate the current regime?

One Canadian Tamil's experience of Sri Lankan custody

A Canadian Tamil man has returned to Toronto after spending three years in the custody of Sri Lanka’s anti-terrorism police, who detained him until he signed a false confession saying he had smuggled equipment to the Tamil Tigers.

The below are extracts of his account to Stewart Bell of the National Post newspaper (see full report here)

Why a sports boycott is essential for justice

“As a first step, Britain must support the international isolation of the Sri Lankan regime until it accepts an independent, international investigation into the mass killings.

A boycott of Sri Lankan sport will send a clear message to Sri Lanka's regime and in particular to its many supporters at home, of the international community’s abhorrence of these atrocities and its commitment to justice.”

Sri Lanka's monoethnic military

“Not all Sinhalese are evil. Neither is every Tamil a saint. But the fact remains that every soldier in the Sri Lankan army who fought the war against the LTTE during 2008-2009 was a Sinhalese.

“This background information is essential for any non-Tamil to understand how the Sri Lankan army can be so brutal against its own civilians.”

Taking the stand

At the screening last week in New York of the Channel 4’s documentary ‘Sri Lanka’s Killing Fields’ to UN diplomats and US media, representatives of Sri Lanka’s government insisted on responding to it.

One of those who challenged the documentary, which examined the mass killings by government forces of over 40,000 Tamil civilians, was Sri Lanka’s Deputy Permanent Representative to the UN, Maj Gen (retd) Shavendra Silva.