Tamil Affairs

Tamil News

Latest news from and about the homeland

Displaced residents of the Valikamam North region of Jaffna held protests on Monday, in front of the Jaffna District Secretariat and near Palaly Junction, marking 36 years since their forced displacement and demanding the right to return and resettle in their lands. The people of Valikamam North were displaced from their homeland on 15 June 1990 by the Sri Lankan military. Thirty-six years on…

Search operation carried out in Mullaitivu seeking buried LTTE weaponry

A search operation to identify weapons used by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) was undertaken on Thursday in Maththalan, Mullaitivu. Among the retrieved documents were logos of the LTTE on fragments of fabric and cloths, Tamil Eelam Map books and children's savings account books for kids.

Annual Nainativu Nagapooshani Amman Temple chariot festival held

The annual Nainativu Nagapooshani Amman Temple ‘Ther’ was held on Friday. The historic temple festival was celebrated in its traditionally spectacular fashion with the day commencing with the “Vasantha Mandapam Pooja” at 7am, followed by the chariot being transported to offer blessings to the devotees. 

Thanthondreeswarar temple hunting festival held in Mullaitivu

The historic Oddusuddan Thanthondreeswarar temple hunting festival (Vettai thiruvizha) was held in Mullaitivu on Wednesday to conclude the temple's annual Thiruvizha.

Sri Lanka’s ‘Sinhala Buddhist’ bank doubles down after Muslim woman refused entry

Sampath Bank, a commercial bank in Sri Lanka, has defended its staff after a viral video showing security officers at its Dehiwala branch demanded a Muslim women remove her headscarf before she enters the premises.

The video shows a Muslim woman and a family member stopped by security officers at the branch, who demanded she remove her headscarf, even as mask-wearing members of the public and staff walk by.

ITAK expels women’s wing leader after questions over US$ 1 million of diaspora funds

The Illankai Tamil Arasu Kachchi (ITAK) has expelled the head of its women’s wing in Jaffna after she raised questions as to how over US$ 1 million of funds raised by Tamil diaspora organisations has been entirely unaccounted for by the party.

World Bank demotes Sri Lanka to lower-middle-income country 

Sri Lanka is among the three economies that the World Bank has classified into a lower category than the previous year in the 2020-21 report published this week, amidst an economic crisis on the island.

The move, which comes only a year after Sri Lanka was upgraded to an upper-middle-income country, reflects the dire financial straits the island faces. 

SLFP alleges Sritharan committed election fraud in 2004

A candidate with the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) has filed an official complaint against the Tamil National Alliance’s (TNA) Sivagnanam Sritharan this week, claiming that he had committed voter fraud in the 2004 parliamentary elections.

Stanislaus Celestine, a lawyer who is a candidate for the SLFP in the Jaffna District, lodged a formal complaint at the Jaffna District Elections Complaint Unit and with the Sri Lankan police against the former TNA parliamentarian.

Sampanthan heaps praise on Rajapaksa

The leader of the Tamil National Alliance heaped praised on Sri Lankan prime minister and alleged war criminal Mahinda Rajapaksa last month, in a lavish tribute to mark Rajapaksa’s 50 years in parliament.

Sri Lankan PM calls for two third majority to repeal 19th Amendment

Sri Lankan Prime Minister and leader of the SLPP, Mahinda Rajapaksa, has called for a two-thirds majority in upcoming general election, to repeal the 19th amendment (19A), which limits the powers of the executive presidency.

Rajapaksa claims that the 19A was “brought in to take personal revenge” upon him and that it made the constitution “a joke”. It is only by repealing the 19A, Rajapaksa maintains, that Sri Lanka will be able to address the shortcomings of the previous administration and deliver a “strong government”.

Chinese Investment and the BRI in Sri Lanka – Chatham House

 

Following the publication of their report on the impact of Chinese investment and the BRI (Belt and Road Initiative) in Sri Lanka, Chatham House held a wide reaching and informative discussion on the economic, political, and geopolitical role of China in Sri Lanka.