Tamil Affairs

Tamil News

Latest news from and about the homeland

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A.G. Alexraja The Jaffna Bar Association has written to Sri Lankan President Anura Kumara Dissanayake expressing "complete disbelief and shock" over the transfer of Jaffna High Court Judge A. G. Alexraja, while the Northern Province Governor's Office has denied any connection to the move. In a letter dated 30 May, the Jaffna Bar Association said Judge Alexraja, who was appointed to the High…

Sri Lankan police officer threatens Jaffna protesters during demonstration against occupation

The Officer-in-Charge (OIC) of the Palaly police station threatened to arrest Tamil protesters, who were demanding the release of their occupied lands, for erecting a temporary rain shelter on the fence of a military Commander's bungalow during a protest on Friday (May 15). 

Chola era copper plates to be repatriated from Netherlands to India

 

A set of historic Chola-era copper plates from the Netherlands will be repatriated to India, with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi hailing the return as “a joyous moment for every Indian”.

In a statement shared on X this week, Indian Prime Minister Modi said the copper plates, dating back to the 11th Century, would be returned from the Netherlands after having been preserved for decades at Leiden University.

Sixth day of Tamil Genocide Remembrance Week observed in Mannar

 

Tamils in Mannar observed the sixth day of  Tamil Genocide Remembrance Week today by distributing Mullivaikkal Kanji to commemorate the massacre 

Tamils in North-East mark fifth day of Tamil Genocide Remembrance Week

Tamil genocide remembrance Tamils across the North-East held remembrance events and distributed Mullivaikkal Kanji on May 16, to mark the fifth day of Tamil Genocide Remembrance Week. 

This year marks 17 years since the genocide at Mullivaikkal where at least 169,796 Tamils are unaccounted for or presumed dead following Sri Lanka's military offensive in the final months of the armed conflict. 

See photographs from events in the Tamil homeland below. 

 

Karuppu - Playing god

The devotional film genre had disappeared from mainstream Tamil cinema for a while until radio jockey turned actor turned director RJ Balaji brought it back with his 2020 directorial debut ‘Mookuthi Amman’. For his third film, RJ Balaji dives back into the genre, this time teaming up with actor Suriya for ‘Karuppu’, a devotional-courtroom-masala film centring the guardian deity Karuppuswamy. 

Mullivaikkal memorial unveiled in Sydney

A memorial dedicated to the victims of the Tamil genocide was officially unveiled on Saturday, 16 May, in Sydney, Australia, bringing public recognition to the mass atrocities committed against Tamils during the final stages of the armed conflict.

The memorial is located at the Peace Garden in Civic Park, Pendle Hill, and was opened by Ola Hamed, Mayor of Cumberland City Council, alongside local political representatives, community leaders and members of the Tamil diaspora.

Tamil genocide has 'happened for decades and continues' says Australian Senator

Speaking in the Senate during Tamil Genocide Remembrance Week, Australian Senator David Shoebridge said the world remembers the “appalling crimes inflicted upon the Tamil people" by the Sri Lankan government during the final months of the armed conflict.

Australian MP calls for recognition of Tamil Genocide ahead of May 18

 

Australian MP Hugh McDermott has called for the recognition of the Tamil genocide and justice for the atrocities committed by the Sri Lankan military against Tamils. 

Sri Lankan police tear down Mullivaikkal remembrance banner and threaten youth in Jaffna

Sri Lankan police tore down a banner erected in remembrance of the Tamil genocide in Point Pedro, Jaffna earlier today.

The banner had been put up by residents of Point Pedro ahead of the 17th Tamil Genocide Remembrance Day on 18 May. It featured photographs of Balachandran and Isaipriya whose deaths became enduring symbols of the atrocities committed by the Sri Lankan military in Mullivaikkal alongside the words, “We will never forget, we will never forgive".

Convict in Athukorala murder case dies after fall inside Welikada Prison

A prisoner convicted in the murder of former Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) parliamentarian Amarakeerthi Athukorala has died after reportedly falling from a building inside Welikada Prison, according to Sri Lankan prison authorities.

The deceased, identified as a 29-year-old inmate from Pasyala, had been sentenced to death over the 2022 killing of Athukorala during the height of Sri Lanka’s Aragalaya uprising.