Tamil Affairs

Tamil News

Latest news from and about the homeland

A protest march was held last month opposing limestone excavation, mineral sand mining and a proposed wind power project across the villages of Veravil, Valaipadu, Ponnaveli and Kiranchi, in the Poonakary Divisional Secretariat division of Kilinochchi. The demonstration was organised against plans to establish wind power stations and to carry out mineral sand and limestone extraction in the…

Army denies involvement in Mullaitivu grave

The Sri Lankan army has denied involvement in the recently unearthed grave in Mullaitivu arguing that there was an "an attempt to use these premature conclusions to support their claims for an international investigation which is not really necessary" 

The Northern Province's Minister T. Raviharan of the TNA had said local residents believed many more graves existed in the area.

Speaking to the Reuters news agency, acting judicial medical officer Sinnaiyah Sivaruban said,
"We have found nine skeletons of mostly women with burn injuries,"

"Three local people have said the bodies were dumped in this land on February 9, 2009, after they were killed in an army multi-barrel shell attack, and that there is another mass grave 200 meters from this. But we don't know the truth."

Tamils demand international investigation into political prisoner death

Tamils demonstrated in Jaffna today, demanding an international investigation into the death of the Tamil political prisoner, and British citizen, Gopithas, in a Sri Lankan prison last week.

Photo:Tamilwin
 
Calling for an international investigation into the death, Tamils demanded wider accountability for all enforced disappearances, as well as the de-militarisation of the North-East and for the Tamil people’s right to self-determination to be respected.

Sinhala parties unite against SLMC over report to UN Human Rights chief

Two parties from the ruling government coalition have campaigned against another government partner, the Sri Lankan Muslim Congress (SLMC), after reports that the party leader Rauf Hakeem had handed over a report to UN High Commissioner Navi Pillay detailing attacks on Muslims.

Both the National Freedom Front (NFF) and the Jathika Hela Urumaya (JHU) have slammed Justice Minister Rauf Hakeem over the incident, which led to a reported clash from an irate Sri Lankan President, who accused him of “betraying the country”.

Karunanidhi slams Singh’s plan to meet Rajapaksa

DMK leader M Karunanidhi has hit out at Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh for his “indifferent” approach towards the issue of Tamils on the island of Sri Lanka, slamming his plans to meet Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa.

Writing in the party organ "Murasoli", Karunanidhi stated,

Tamil talent takes centre stage at LSE



‘Raise Your Voice’, an event held by the Tamil Student Initiative (tsi) to showcase and empower emerging creative talent, proved to be an apt reminder of the growing creative versatility within the Tamil student community.

Italian Tamil activists found not guilty of terrorism charges

An Italian appeals court has ruled that the LTTE should not be considered as a terrorist organisation, according to the Uthayan.

The ruling relates to the case of 28 Italian Tamils who were cleared of terrorism charges by a court in Napoli in 2011, as the LTTE cannot be described as a terrorist organisation.

Challenge to EU LTTE terror ban

A challenge against the European Union’s proscription of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam has been heard at the European Court of Justice last week.

According to TamilNet, the hearing exposed serious flaws in the evidence used to proscribe the organisation in 2006.

The European Council reportedly drew on Indian anti-terror law as a suitable precedent and used Wikipedia articles as a source of information.

Body of Tamil youth found hanging in Jaffna

The body of a 26-year-old Tamil youth has been found hanging in Navalar Road in Jaffna, reported the Uthayan.

The body has been identified as that of Ganesh Rukhshan, a labourer from Vavuniya.

Sri Lankan police, who are reportedly investigating the murder, have said the death could have been due to an argument that Rukhshan had with his friends, after a night of drinking. The cause of his death is still to be established.

When Rukhshan’s body was discovered, the entire premises had been set on fire.

See more from the Uthayan here.

Warning - Graphic images below

International community now has a duty to act' says UK, calling for an international investigation

The UK has said it will support the calls by the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Navi Pillay, for an international investigation into war crimes in Sri Lanka, stating "the international community now has a duty to act", in a statement welcoming her report.

Foreign Office Minister Hugo Swire said in a statement the UK agreed with her finding that Sri Lanka has failed to credibly investigate past violations and remained concerns about ongoing issues such as militarisation and continuation of impunity.

The statement went on to say that the UK "strongly support her call for an international investigation".

TNA pledges to support resolution for international investigation at UNHRC

The Tamil National Alliance (TNA) today reiterated its support for an international investigation into allegations of abuses, adopting a resolution to support a US-sponsored resolution to be tabled at the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) this session.