Tamil Affairs

Tamil News

Latest news from and about the homeland

Pon. Sivakumaran, the first Tamil to die in the liberation struggle, was remembered today in Urumpirai, Jaffna, on the 52nd anniversary of his death.  Sivakumaran was a member of the Tamil Manavar Peravai (or Tamil Student Federation, TSF) and a leading militant in the early armed Tamil struggle. On 5th June 1974, Sivakumaran was surrounded by Sri Lankan security forces. He had…

Muslim student acquitted after nine month detention under Sri Lanka's PTA

Mohamed Rifai Suhail, was acquitted this week after he was detained last year under Sri Lanka's notorious Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA), which has been disproportionately used against Tamils and Muslims for decades. 

The 21 year old student was arrested by the Dehiwala police in October 2024 for over a social media post which reportedly showed a sword pointing at an Israeli flag. 

India exempts Eelam Tamil refugees from prosecution – but blocks path to citizenship

Eelam Tamil refugees who fled to India before 2015 have been exempted from prosecution under India’s new immigration law, but remain barred from applying for long-term visas or citizenship, leaving more than 90,000 in Tamil Nadu in continued legal limbo.

Tamil massacre victim files police complaint demanding investigation into atrocity

A survivor of the 1990 Sathurukondan massacre, who lost their entire family in the slaughter, lodged a complaint at the occupying Sri Lankan Police Station in Kokkuvil, Batticaloa this month, demanding an investigation into one of the most notorious mass killings of Tamils in the East.

Premadasa doubles down on Sinhala Buddhist nationalism at temple ceremony

Sri Lanka’s Opposition Leader Sajith Premadasa has once again pledged to defend Buddhism as central to the island’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, underscoring his alignment with Sinhala Buddhist nationalism.

Speaking at the Sri Vipashyarama Purana Viharaya in Maharagama on 13 September, Premadasa declared,

Fourth day of Thileepan's hunger strike commemorated in Jaffna

Marking the fourth day of Lt. Col. Thileepan's hunger strike, residents paid their respects at his memorial in Nallur, Jaffna this morning. 

Thileepan fasted unto death in September 1987, in a protest appealing to the Indian government to honour their pledges to the Tamil people. 

SJB MP retracts Israel friendship initiative amid party’s ‘genocide’ rhetoric

Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB) parliamentarian Sujeewa Senasinghe has been forced to retract a letter convening the inaugural meeting of a proposed Sri Lanka–Israel Parliamentary Friendship Association, after admitting it was issued “in error.”

The notice, dated 4 September, had invited MPs to attend the launch of the association on 12 September at Parliament. However, in a statement, Senasinghe acknowledged the move had been a “genuine mistake.”

Sri Lanka tops global list for attacks on Indians abroad, MEA data reveals

Sri Lanka has recorded the highest number of attacks on Indian nationals abroad since 2022, according to official data presented in the Indian Parliament by the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA).

The figures, which track reported assaults and incidents across 45 countries, place Sri Lanka far ahead of other nations, with 66 attacks on Indians documented between 2022 and 2025. By comparison, the United States recorded 34 incidents over the same period, the United Kingdom 19, and Canada 19.

Washington’s ‘Pacific Angel’ lands in Colombo as US trains Sri Lanka’s war criminals

The United States concluded “Exercise Pacific Angel – 2025” in Sri Lanka last week, further entrenching military cooperation with Colombo despite ongoing allegations of war crimes and genocide by Sri Lankan security forces.

‘Like collecting taxes’ - Sri Lankan president admits ministers linked to underworld

Sri Lankan president Anura Kumara Dissanayake has admitted that members of parliament and cabinet are directly linked to underworld figures running the island’s sprawling criminal and drug networks.

Sri Lanka must face international courts, say experts at Geneva panel

The National Council of Canadian Tamils (NCCT) hosted a high-profile panel discussion at the Geneva Press Club this week, where international legal experts and Tamil civil society representatives reiterated that accountability for atrocities in Sri Lanka can only come through independent international prosecutions, not domestic mechanisms.