The United States is “not satisfied” with progress in Sri Lanka and is eyeing up a broader involvement in the island’s ethnic turmoil, said Tamil National Alliance parliamentarian MA Sumanthiran, who held a series of high-level meetings in Washington DC, New York, Toronto and London last month.

Speaking to the Tamil Guardian in London, the lawmaker said that there had been discussions regarding “greater involvement by the US, broadly speaking, in the Tamil affairs in Sri Lanka”.

World-leading expert in international rights and humanitarian law Wayne Jordash QC is calling on the International Criminal Court (ICC) and the UK to investigate crimes perpetrated against Sri Lankan Tamils.

With Tamil Nadu Assembly elections set to take place on April 6 and electioneering underway in full swing across the state, Tamil Guardian spoke to Naam Tamilar Katchi (NTK) State Youth Wing Coordinator, Dhuruvan Selvamani. Naam Tamilar Katchi (NTK), is a Tamil nationalist party that formed following the genocide that took place in Mullivaikkal in 2009. We asked Selvamani about a number of issues including the NTK’s strategy for the elections, its stance on the intensifying Sinhalisation and colonisation of the Tamil homeland and its views on India-Sri Lanka relations. 

Tamil-Swiss singer Priya Ragu has defined her own style of music - which uniquely blends soulful vocals and electro-pop beats that she refers to as 'Ragu Wavy'.

She is rapidly growing worldwide acclaim, as has already been named one of the 6 Musicians About to Blow Up in 2021 by Vogue, featured as one of the top 100 Essential emerging artists for 2021 by NME and had her single “Good Love 2.0” included on FIFA 21’s official soundtrack.

Following the release of Deepa Mehta’s ‘Funny Boy’ trailer, the film came under fire and faced calls for a boycott over Mehta’s links to the Rajapaksa regime and the lack of Tamil representation in the film. 

As ‘Funny Boy’ was being released on Netflix last week, Tamil Guardian spoke to Sinthujan Varatharajah, a researcher essayist and political geographer based in Berlin, who brought the controversies of the film to the forefront in a series of powerful infographics posted across social media. 

Sir Ed Davey, the newly elected Liberal Democrats leader, has backed calls for sanctions against Sri Lankans accused of war crimes and called for greater recognition of the genocide of Tamils, as he spoke on the issues Eelam Tamils face in their pursuit for justice with the Tamil Guardian last week.

Speaking to Tamil Guardian on his plans for the party’s policy on Sri Lanka, Davey slammed Colombo’s withdrawal from commitments made to the UN Human Rights Council and pledged to ensure that any future British trade and economic engagement with Sri Lanka has human rights at its centre.

In this interview, we speak to the leader of the Tamil National Peoples’ Front (TNPF) Gajendrakumar Ponnambalam, who won a seat in Sri Lanka's parliamentary elections yesterday.

We discuss the path forward for international accountability, Tamil-Muslim politics, the role of the Tamil diaspora and his response to criticism the party has faced in the past.

In this interview, we speak to the leader of the Thamizh Makkal Thesiya Kootani (TMTK), the former Supreme Court Justice and former Chief Minister of the Northern Province, C. V. Wigneswaran, who won a seat in Sri Lanka's parliamentary elections yesterday.

We discuss the prospects of international justice, Tamil-Muslim unity, economic development and his response to criticism over his tenure as Chief Minister of the Northern Province.

As part of a series marking 11 years since the atrocities of Mullivaikkal, a Tamil woman shares her reflections on the experiences and the struggles she faces.

I am in grade 10 now. I want to score enough to be able to enter Advance Level soon. I love the subject history. I was four years old when I lost my leg, I am 15 years old now. My studies depend on the income we get from the coconut grove.

I am 22 years old. My right hand was amputated during the end of the war in Valainjarmadam. I was 10 years old at the time and I became disabled. I am right-handed. It was very difficult to learn to write with the left hand after I lost my right hand. At the beginning no matter how much I tried, my writing didn’t come out well. However, now I am able to use my left hand to do everything I need to do. I sat for Ordinary Level exams twice and now I have passed the A / L exam as well.

As part of a series marking 11 years since the atrocities of Mullivaikkal, land protestors from Keppapilavu shared their reflections on their experiences and the struggles they continue to face.

The community has been protesting the military’s occupation of their land continuously since February 2017.

I am from Vadduvaakal, Mullivaaikaal. I was a fisherman before the war. I used to do all my work, no matter how much work I have.

I lost both my legs during a Kfir attack during the last days of the war.

I wanted to die when I knew that I lost my legs. I asked the doctors at the hospital I was being taken care of, to please kill me with an injection; but they helped me recover.

Phil Miller was a student in university when he first heard the name ‘Keenie Meenie Services’. 

“It was about 2010, 2011,” he told the Tamil Guardian in London. “I was involved in visiting asylum seekers in immigration detention centres.” Miller had spoken to Tamils who fled Sri Lanka, but faced an uphill battle in the United Kingdom, where British authorities were still attempting to deport them. “The Home Office was saying it was safe to send Tamils back,” says Miller. “And after the first few deportations, reports emerged that Tamils were being arrested upon arrival and tortured.” 

“So that got me thinking - why is the UK government sending people to be tortured when supposedly we are a country that respects human rights and opposes torture?” From conversations that Miller had with activists and asylum seekers themselves, the name ‘Keenie Meenie Services’ or KMS began to crop up.