Tamil Affairs

Tamil News

Latest news from and about the homeland

Displaced residents of the Valikamam North region of Jaffna held protests on Monday, in front of the Jaffna District Secretariat and near Palaly Junction, marking 36 years since their forced displacement and demanding the right to return and resettle in their lands. The people of Valikamam North were displaced from their homeland on 15 June 1990 by the Sri Lankan military. Thirty-six years on…

Sri Lanka's conflict-related sexual violence against Tamils has gone unpunished, PEARL concludes in report

Illustration by House of Thulasi 

A new report by People for Equality and Relief in Lanka (PEARL) examines how Sri Lanka has failed to punish perpetrators of conflict-related sexual violence against Tamils.

Britain’s new Prime Minister and her commitment to Tamils

Following a tense leadership contest, Elizabeth Truss (Liz Truss) has been announced Britain’s new Prime Minister securing 81,326 votes compared to Rishi Sunak's 60,399.

Ahead of the leadership contest, Truss reaffirmed her commitment to justice in Sri Lanka telling a conference of British Tamil Conservatives;

Jaffna Press Club remembers young Tamil journalist Pragas Gnanapragasam

Jaffna Press Club held a memorial event for young Tamil journalist Pragas Gnanapragasam who passed away last year after contracting coronavirus. 

Pragas was an independent journalist writing for magazines and newspapers in the North-East. He also contibuted to the Tamil Guardian, as a correspondent based in the North-East, sending updates from the homeland. 

Tamil journalist summoned again by Sri Lanka's Terrorism Investigation Department

Selvakumar Nilanthan, a Tamil journalist and Batticaloa Press Club secretary, has been summoned to Sri Lanka's Terrorism Investigation Department (TID) in Colombo later this month. 

Batticaloa police officers visited Nilanthan's home yesterday to give him the summons letter which orders him to go to Colombo on September 14th for an investigation for his alleged links to Thayamohan, former Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) Batticaloa political head. 

‘It almost sounds like he’s a member of the government’ – TNPF leader slams hypocrisy of Sajith Premadasa

Sri Lanka’s leaders need the ‘military to stifle democracy’ - TNPF leader speaks out against militarisation

Opposing the interim budget, the leader of the Tamil People’s National Front, Gajendrakumar Ponnambalam, questioned why Sri Lanka’s military was not being downsized.

 “When talking about restructuring, there was no discussion about restructuring of the military. The military structure is so big that in the budget – 19 percent of the budget last time” he told parliament. Funding for education and health combined fell below 10 percent in the last budget.

End Use of Terrorism Law Against Protesters' - Human Rights Watch

Human Rights Watch (HRW) have called on Sri Lankan president Ranil Wickremesinghe to immediately end the use of the notorious Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA) which has been used recently to detain anti-government protesters. 

Since taking office, Wickremesinghe has clamped down on protesters by imposing a one month state of emergency and carrying out a series of arrests. 

Buddhist monks file complaint against former NPC member for 'obstructing' Buddhist worship on Tamil temple land

Ravikaran joined protesters to block the illegal installation of a Buddha statue at the Tamil temple site in June

Buddhist monks have filed a complaint at Mullaitivu police station claiming that former Northern Provincial Council member Thurairasa Raviakaran, is 'obstructing' Buddhist worship at Kurunthurmalai, the hill-top site of an ancient Tamil temple in the district’s Thannimurippu area.

Locals protest establishment of prawn farm in Vaharai over economic and environmental concerns

Locals in Vaharai, Batticaloa protested yesterday to oppose the opening of a prawn farm due to the impact it will have on their livelihoods and the environment. 

Protesters were demanding that the land surveying for the farm must be stopped and called for the farm project to be abandoned entirely.