Tamil Affairs

Tamil News

Latest news from and about the homeland

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  The lawyer representing detained Tamil rapper Sangeethsan Ganeskumar challenged allegations that his client sought to revive the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) during proceedings before the Jaffna Magistrate's Court this week, arguing that the material cited by police contains no reference to the organisation or its leadership. Sangeethsan, better known by his stage name…

Sri Lanka seizes passport of British national following her reporting of protests

British national, Kayleigh Fraser, has reported being accosted by Sri Lankan immigration officers who have seized her passport following her critical coverage of the “Go Home Gota” protests.

Nallur temple annual festival underway with flag raising

The annual festival, Thiruvizha, of the iconic Nallur Kandasamy Kovil in Jaffna began today with the ceremony for hoisting of the deity's flag.

Loaded Gun

Writing in the Caravan, Viruben Nandakumar details the worrying militarisation of Sri Lankan society and the influence Sri Lanka’s war crimes accused security forces continue to wield.

“While the country’s political establishment and civil government face a crisis of legitimacy, the military seems poised to weather the turmoil with its considerable might intact or even enhanced relative to other centres of power,” he writes.

UK using its 'significant voice in international debt fora' to help resolve Sri Lanka's economic crisis

British Minister of State at the Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office, Amanda Milling, said the UK has a "significant voice in international debt fora" and is working with organisations such as the World Banka and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to work on solutions to resolve Sri Lanka's deepening economic crisis.

Remembering Nilakshan - The young Tamil journalist who was assassinated

Sahathevan Nilakshan, the up and coming Tamil journalist who was shot and killed by suspected Sri Lankan military intelligence personnel on August 1st, 2007 was remembered today by the Tamil National People's Front (TNPF). 

At a time when the Jaffna district was on lockdown due to a military-imposed curfew, and the city’s streets were heaving with troops, so-called unidentified gunmen were able to approach Nilakshan’s home in Kokkuvil, a busy suburb less than 5km away from town.

Mannar basin raises hopes in fuel-strapped Sri Lanka

Chairman of the Petroleum Development Authority of Sri Lanka, Mr. Saliya Wickramasuriya, has detailed that the prospect of extracting petroleum and natural gas from Mannar basin have significantly improved over the last two years, placing it on the radar of internal oil majors.

Protests across North-East condemning recent arrests in the South

Protests were held in Batticaloa, Jaffna and Mannar on Friday, condemning the recent flurry of arrests of anti-government protesters in the South. 

The protests, organised by the North-East Coordinating Committee, called on the Sri Lankan government to stop arresting and assaulting those who had organised and participated in the mass anti-government protests in recent months and release those who have already been detained. 

Tensions spark as China plans to dock military ship in Sri Lanka

Chinese plans to dock a military ship in Sri Lanka’s southern port have raised alarm in New Delhi as officials raise concerns that their southern neighbour may act as a military base in their backyard.

According to a Sri Lankan consulting firm, the Belt & Road Initiative Sri Lanka, the ship (known as the Yuan Wang 5) would dock in the Hambantota port for a week and "conduct space tracking, satellite control and research tracking in the north-western part of the Indian Ocean region through August and September".

Sri Lankan MP claims Aragalaya is 'funded by LTTE diaspora'

Speaking in Sri Lanka's parliament earlier this week, Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) MP Major Sudharshana Denipitiya claimed that the 'Aragalaya' protesters are "funded by the LTTE diaspora with hopes to ruin the country."

According to Economy Next, the MP said that "this not the time when we should be taking part in #Aragalaya but a time we should step forth and help the country."

Sri Lanka’s Real Reckoning is Yet to Come

Writing in Just Security, Tasha Manoranjan, founder and a director of People for Equality and Relief in Lanka (PEARL) stresses that “accountability for atrocities against Tamils and curbing Sinhala Buddhist nationalism are key for the island’s future stability and prosperity”.