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,…

Families of disappeared demand answers on Children's Day

Tamil families of the disappeared demonstrated across the North-East on Friday to mark Children's Day in Sri Lanka.

Protesters held up photographs of children who had been forcibly disappeared along with their parents who had surrendered to the Sri Lankan army in May 2009.

The 'UK will never forget the Tamil genocide' - British Ministers and MPs speak at British Tamil Conservatives Conference

Speaking at the a confrence held by the British Tamil Conservatives, UK ministers and parliamentarians thanked the British Tamil community for their contribution to the country and reaffirmed their committment to "truth, justice, and reconciliation" in Sri Lanka.

Sri Lankan police fire shots in Jaffna as EPDP member arrested

Sri Lankan police officers reportedly fired shots in the air in Jaffna last week, as an Eelam People's Democratic Party (EPDP) member and two others were arrested after a traffic stop in Urelu.

According to Sri Lankan police reports, two men on a motorcycle were stopped by police for driving recklessly on Monday when a third man, allegedly an EPDP Pradeshiya Sabha member arrived at the scene and began to challenge the police officers.

The Sri Lankan police claimed the officer then “fired two shots into the air as a warning”, stating that the EPDP member’s interference went “overboard”.

Muslim man dies following police custody in Mannar

A Muslim man has died after spending a night in police custody in Mannar.

A 29-year-old householder identified as Ramzan died at the Mannar District General Hospital, where he was admitted by Mannar police this morning.

Ramzan and another individual were arrested on Friday night when their three-wheeler was stopped and searched by Mannar police, allegedly on suspicion of possessing drugs. 

Ramzan’s family have alleged that he may succumbed to injuries he sustained as a result of being beaten by police.

His body is being kept at the hospital for further investigations.

Sri Lankan Military intelligence personnel leading suspects in Mattakkuliya murder case

Colombo Magistrate Lochana Abeywickrema has ordered the remand of 14 military personnel in connection with the murder of the captain of the Thotalaga Elee Sports club,Pinchadewage Akila Sampath Ratnasiri.

The suspects will be held in prison until the 15. Lawyers representing the accused had requested the court to issue orders to the Superintendent of Prions to provide them with security inside the prison but the magistrate had denied the request stating that the suspects had not carried out an intelligence operation. It is noted that the wife of the victim was also remanded by the magistrate.

Sri Lanka's Defence Minister claims prisoner officers should be fired if they don't display professional conduct



Speaking at a conference on "contingency plan for riot and hostage situations in prisons" Sri Lanka's Defence Secretary, Kamal Gunaratne, claimed that if prison officials should be fired if they failed to display "professional dignity" in their conduct". 

Tamil prisoners demand relief after Prison Minister threatens them at gun point

Eight Tamil prisoners, detained under Sri Lanka's Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA), in Sri Lanka's Anuradhapura prison have submitted a fundamental rights petition to Sri Lanka's Supreme Court requesting relief after they were threatened at gun point by State Minister, Lohan Ratwatte.

Sri Lankan police deny abduction of former LTTE cadre

Sri Lankan police have denied abducting a former LTTE cadre at gunpoint in Trincomalee, claiming instead that the abduction was an arrest for which police had a warrant.

On Tuesday, 39-year-old Manoharadas Subas was forced into a vehicle at gunpoint by unknown persons who said that he was being taken to the Uppuveli police station. Subas’s family went to the Uppuveli police station but were told that no police officers there had any involvement in the incident.

People's tribunal formed by press freedom groups to hold Sri Lanka 'accountable' and 'investigate murdered journalists'

Three leading press freedom groups have established a People's Tribunal to "investigate their murders and hold governments accountable", in an effort to achieve justice in the killing of journalists, with an opening hearing to be held on the 2nd November 2021 in the Hague. 

Iran ready to provide financial assistance to debt-ridden Sri Lanka

File photograph

The Central Bank of Iran (CBI) has noted that it is ready to provide the necessary financial mechanisms for financing trade transactions between Iran and Sri Lanka.