Tamil Affairs

Tamil News

Latest news from and about the homeland

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The number of skeletal remains identified at the Chemmani mass grave in Jaffna has risen to 366, as excavators uncovered further remains of children on Tuesday, at one of the largest mass graves unearthed on the island and a site long tied to the enforced disappearance and extrajudicial killing of Tamils by the Sri Lankan military. Six sets of skeletal remains, including those of children,…

Sri Lanka signs US $1 billion credit line with India

Sri Lanka signed a USD $ 1 billion credit line with India last week, for the supply of essential goods to alleviate the shortages of fuel, food and medicine. 

Following discussions with the Sri Lankan Minister of Finance Basil Rajapaksa, India's Ministry of Finance announced that an agreement was signed between the state bank of India (SBI) and the Government of Sri Lankan for a USD $1 billion credit facility. The credit line is set to be used for the purchase of food, medicine and other essential items.

UN is ‘pinpointing cases and perpetrators’ in Sri Lanka

The Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights is currently creating a “centralised repository” of material that could be used to prosecute war crimes suspects, according to a report in the BBC this week.

Rory Mungoven, Asia-Pacific chief at the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, told the BBC, that further to a UN Human Rights Council resolution on accountability in Sri Lanka, his office was already collecting material.

No paper, no exams - Sri Lanka cancels school examinations over paper shortage

Photo Credit: World Bank 

Sri Lanka has cancelled school examinations indefinitely for millions of students over a shortage of printing paper as the island struggles to grapple with one of its worst financial crisies.

Printing paper is the latest in a series of goods that Colombo have been unable to import due to a shortage in foreign exchange reserves. 

Standoff between Sri Lankan police and Tamils protesting PM's visit to Jaffna

Sri Lankan police officers pushed back Tamil families of the disappeared into their bus to block them from attending a rally opposing the Sri Lankan Prime Minister's visit to Jaffna. 

Tamils block Sri Lankan Prime Minister from laying foundation stone for Buddhist temple in Jaffna

Sri Lankan Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa dropped his plans to lay a foundation stone for a Buddhist temple today after local Tamils protested his visit amidst heavy police presence. 

How Four Powerful Brothers Broke an Island Nation'

Writing in the Bloomberg, Ruth Pollard highlighted that the Rajapaksa regime has "lost control of Sri Lanka’s economy" as the island continues to suffer from an economic crisis "mostly of its own making".

"From an ill-fated fertiliser ban that led to a dramatic fall in yields of crops like rice and tea, to its failure to deal with a foreign-currency crisis that’s now a humanitarian emergency, the government of President Gotabaya Rajapaksa is fast running out of solutions. Relying until now on help from its two major backers — India and China — and stubbornly refusing wider international aid, the country is on the verge of default," Pollard wrote. 

Sri Lankan army storm International Woman's Day event in Jaffna

Sri Lankan authorities stormed a Women’s day event that took place at Manipai Fort in Jaffna on 12th March.

The International Women’s day event was hosted by Quotech religious group, on Saturday in the hall by the Aanaikottai Bala Subramaniam Vidyalaya.

Western embassies call on Sri Lanka to oppose Russia’s invasion

The heads of 14 embassies to Sri Lanka have called on the government to call “on Russia to end its hostilities immediately” and join in “vocal support for Ukraine and international law”.

Sri Lankan restaurants collapse amidst gas shortage

Restaurants all over Sri Lanka have been forced to close down as a result of a gas shortage, leaving as many as 500,000 employees without a job.

Sri Lanka's decision to issue 'missing certificates' to families of disappeared is met with outcry

Sri Lanka's cabinet of ministers approved a proposal to issue death or missing person certificates to disappeared persons and pay a 100,000 LKR one time allowance to their next of kin.