Tamil Affairs

Tamil News

Latest news from and about the homeland

The LGBTQIA+ community in Jaffna held their fifth annual Pride Walk, under the theme  “We Exist For Each Other".  The walk, organised by the Jaffna Transgender Network, began outside the iconic Jaffna Public Library and proceeded along Hospital Road and Pannai Road before ending at Jaffna Fort.  Members of the LGBTQIA+ community, human rights activists, civil society…

Transparency International challenges Sri Lanka's VFS in courts

Transparency International Sri Lanka (TISL) has filed a case in the Supreme Court calling for action against the procedural violations and abuse of public trust by officials in the procurement of VFS, an Electronic Travel Authorization (ETA) system for the issuance of visas for tourists visiting Sri Lanka.

NSSP party leader and Tamil Eelam supporter Wickramabahu Karunaratne commemorated in Vavuniya

An event was held in Vavuniya this week to commemorate Nava Sama Samaja Party (NSSP) leader and Tamil Eelam supporter Dr. Wickramabahu Karunaratne, who passed away recently.

A portrait of Dr Karunaratne was decorated with garlands while Tamils lit candles and offered their condolences. The event in Vavuniya was organised by a group of civil society organisations.

Ranil Wickremesinghe's government was architect of Black July - Chandrasekar

Former JVP MP Ramalingam Chandrasekar, a member of the Marxist National People's Power (NPP) urged Tamils to bear in mind it was Ranil Wickremesinghe’s government that was the main architect of the anti-Tamil Black July pogrom in 1983. 

“Ranil has been the Prime Minister five times yet he has not done anything for this country in 47 years of his political career,”  Chandrasekar told reporters in Jaffna.

Sri Lanka's Defense Secretary to revive government security agency for deployment in Red Sea

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Sri Lanka's Defence Secretary Kamal Gunaratne announced that the government plans to revive the Rakna Arakashaka Lanka, a government-owned security agency that has come under criticism for its fraudulent activities.

‘Our children’s lives are worth more’ – Tamil families of the disappeared reject OMP’s US$660 payment

Tamil Families of the Disappeared staged a protest in Mannar rejecting payments from the Sri Lankan government-run Office of Missing Persons (OMP), stating that the lives of their children were worth more than the US$660 on offer.

Sri Lanka’s Justice Minister resigns to run as presidential candidate

Ahead of Sri Lanka’s election, on 21st September, Wijeyadasa Rajapakshe, has resigned from his post as Sri Lanka’s Justice Minister in order to run for the presidency. 

The controversial former justice minister has previously has previously advocated for the rape of lesbians to “cure” them and had lashed out against the UN Special Rapporteur on human rights and counter terrorism, Ben Emmerson.

‘Our children’s lives are worth more’ – Tamil families of the disappeared reject OMP’s US$660 payment

Tamil Families of the Disappeared staged a protest in Mannar rejecting payments from the Sri Lankan government-run Office of Missing Persons (OMP), stating that the lives of their children were worth more than the US$660 on offer.

The women who were protesting said that the OMP had assured them a sum of Rs. 200,000 as a form of reparation, as they continued to demand justice for their abducted loved ones. Tamil families have been protesting since at least 2017, continuously sat on the roadsides of the North-East, demanding the government reveal what happened to their family members.

 

Tensions flare as Sinhala Buddhist monks accused of clearing lands in Trincomalee

Tensions ensued when residents of Illankulam in Kuchchaveli found that a section of their land had been cleared of trees with a chainsaw, that seemed to have been hastily left behind.

The residents who comprise of both Tamils and Muslims had lodged a complaint at the Kuchchaveli police over the unlawful trespassing on their farming lands and clearing of trees in the fields.

EU extends ban on LTTE for six more months

The European Union (EU) has extended its ban on the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) for an additional six months, despite calls for it to be lifted.