Sri Lankan President’s Chief of Staff to visit India and discuss land bridge from Tamil Nadu

The Sri Lankan President’s Chief of Staff and Senior Advisor on National Security Sagala Ratnayake is scheduled to make a two-day visit to India, for discussions on constructing an over-the-sea bridge connecting Tamil Nadu to the island by land. The visit to India will take place on 27 and 28 March concerning the topic of the construction of n a 23-km long route, which will connect the two Tamil regions – Tamil Nadu and Tamil Eelam – by land. This route is envisioned to be constructed over the Palk Strait from Talaimannar to Rameswaram and is expected to have a railway line in addition to...

Eelam Tamil representation at 'Genocide to Life Conference' in Erbil

Speaking at the Genocide to Life Conference in Erbil, Dr A R Sriskanda Rajah, representing the World Tamil Co-ordinating Committee drew parallels of the genocide experienced by the Kurds and Eelam Tamils adding that the journey to justice has also been long and arduous for both. The event organized by KONCICC and sponsored by the Kurdistan Regional Government was held earlier this week at the Kurdish capital of Erbil. Dr Sriskanda Rajah was the guest speaker on behalf of World Tamil Co-ordinating Committee. “The Kurds and the Tamils are the world’s two largest nations without a nation-state...

Hunger strike by Jaffna fishermen ends with mass protest

After four consecutive days of a hunger strike, the Jaffna District Federation of Fisheries Co-operative Unions has concluded its demonstrations with a mass. protest outside of the Indian consulate in Jaffna, in protest of ongoing fishing disputes with their northern neighbours.

Sri Lanka on 'knife edge path' says IMF, as it approves second loan tranche

Sri Lanka is on a “knife edge path” which “could easily go back to a vicious cycle,” International Monetary Fund (IMF) officials told reporters in Colombo this week, as they approved the next loan tranche from a $3 billion bailout program. Peter Breuer, the IMF Senior Mission Chief told the press that the IMF has received several proposals but “for us, what is absolutely key is that the program objectives are achieved because with those, Sri Lanka has a chance of emerging from the crisis”. His remarks came as the IMF approved a payout of about $337 million, as part of a $3 billion bailout...

Sri Lanka to drop statutory rape age limit to 14 years old

Civil society organisations have denounced a proposed amendment to Sri Lanka’s Penal Code which will see a reduction in the age of consent from 16 years to 14 years of age, stating that the amendment must be withdrawn immediately. The letter, signed by 150 individuals and 55 civil society organisations states that child abuse is rife in Sri Lanka, and it is reprehensible that this Bill is being presented as an amendment to the Penal Code. “We do not know how this policy was formulated, and it ignores current realities in Sri Lanka on the high incidence of sexual abuse of minor children...

Tamils recall Ranil's broken promises ahead of Jaffna visit

With Sri Lankan president Ranil Wickremesinghe to visit Jaffna, Tamil activists have denounced his history of broken pledges and vowed to continue protests. M Komagan, an activist with the Voice of the Voiceless Organisation told reporters that Tamils in the homeland will continue to call out Wickremesinghe on the hollow promises he made during his last visit to Jaffna, which also saw widespread Tamil protests. “When Wickremesinghe was here last time, he made several promises, but to date, many of those are yet to see the light of day,” he said. “He assured us that land forcibly occupied by...

Jaffna University students file a complaint at HRC over Sri Lankan police brutality

Students attached to the Jaffna University filed a formal complaint at the Human Rights Commission (HRC) office in Jaffna over the conduct of Sri Lanka police during the Shivarathri observances at the Vedukkunaari Temple in Vavuniya. The students who filed the complaint were also present on the day the prayers were held and offered their testimony to the incidents that transpired that evening. The students informed the HRC that the police prevented devotees from worshipping for many hours by putting up roadblocks and checkpoints. They further stated the police acted inhumanely by preventing...

Vedukkunaari chief priest admitted to hospital, temple calls for removal of military in homeland

The chief priest of the Vedukkunaari Adi Shiva Temple who was among the devotees released from Vavuniya prison earlier this week has been admitted to the Mullaitivu District General Hospital due to an illness he had developed while in prison. Tampirasa Madhimukharasa was among the five devotees who led the hunger strike for over five days. The devotees upon being released from prison complained of the deplorable conditions including the lack of water and even food. Meanwhile, V.Poobalasingham, a member of the board of trustees in a letter said the Vedukkunaari temple has been under threat...

MK Stalin vows to defy India’s CAA

Tamil Nadu’s Chief Minister, MK Stalin, alongside a number of other chief ministers, including West Bengal, has vowed that he will not allow for the implementation of Indian Citizen Amendment Act which specifically excludes Muslims and Tamil refugees from Sri Lanka from being granted citizenship. "The rules notified for the Act by the Union government not only go against the basic structure of the Constitution but are also against the welfare of Indian people, the multi-dimensional character of India and its secular character," Stalin told the Indian Assembly. Despite his objections, chief...

Vavuniya prison is 'worse than a concentration camp', says released Tamils

Sri Lanka’s Vavuniya remand prison holds three times its capacity and is “worse than a concentration camp”, one of the eight Tamil detainees who was arrested during the Shivarathri prayers at the Vedukkunaari earlier this month, told reporters after their release.

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