Security was tightened last week in Keppapulavu over planned protests by residents who have been demanding the release of their lands currently occupied by the Sri Lankan military. Several police officers were seen deployed in the morning and speaking to residents who had gathered in front of the occupying Security Forces Headquarters in Mullaitivu. The residents speaking to the media said they had visited the District Secretariat in Mullaitivu where they handed over letters addressed to President Ranil Wickremesinghe and other officials requesting the return of their lands which are occupied...
Tamil residents of Kalmunai North held protests last week opposing a move by the Sri Lankan government to subjugate their division under the Kalmunai South Division, adding that Tamils in the region have been longing for a separate divisional secretary 40 years ago and were assured a fully-fledged secretariat to address their community-specific needs. A protest was held by locals in front of the Kalmunai North Division to express their opposition to the move by Sri Lanka’s Ministry of Public Administration, Home Affairs, and Provincial Councils adding that it was racially motivated to annex...
Last week, India’s most senior political figures sparked off a row that continues to rage. Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Foreign Minister S Jaishankar expressed their outrage at the 1974 decision by Congress to cede the Katchatheevu islet to Sri Lanka after a set of new documents were publicly unveiled. The small island midway across the Palk Strait remains uninhabited but carries significant political weight, with Indian political parties in Tamil Nadu and beyond seeking to distance themselves from the decision to grant the territory to Colombo. Though the row is domestic for now, it scratches at a deeper issue that remains emotive and crucially important for millions of Tamils – the safety of Tamil Nadu fishermen.
Six of the eight Tamils who were arrested at Vedukkunaari Hill temple in Vavuniya last month, filed a complaint at Sri Lanka's Human Rights Commission (HRC) in Colombo after the local office in Vavuniya failed to take action over the case. On March 8, Last Friday (8) Sri Lanka police unleashed violence at the temple, deploying riot police and forcibly taking away devotees who were engaged in worship. Tamil National People's Front (TNPF) MP Selvarajah Kajendren was also assaulted by Sri Lankan police, and a further eight worshippers were arrested during the incident. The eight who were...
British Tamil teenager Amuruthaa Surenkumar made history as the first professional Tamil cricketer to represent the English national team last week, making her debut in an under-19 match against Sri Lanka.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has sparked off a decades-old row around Katchatheevu island, after he labelled the release of documents on the 1974 decision to hand the territory to Sri Lanka “eye opening and startling!”. “New facts reveal how Congress callously gave away Katchatheevu,” tweeted the Indian Premier.
Sri Lanka is spending Rs. 4 Billion per year to jail more than 30,000 individuals, despite the maximum capacity of its prison being only 12,000, State Minister of Justice and Prison Affairs Anuradha Jayaratne admitted to reporters in Colombo last month, stating his government was now looking into enacting house arrests instead. “There has been a focus on exploring the house arrest concept as an alternative to traditional punishment periods,” said Jayaratne. “Minister of Justice, Wijedasa Rajapakshe has obtained cabinet approval for this initiative, which is now in the process of being...
International fast food chain McDonalds announced that it will close all branches with its franchise partner in Sri Lanka, following reports of a failure to adhere to international hygiene standards.
A Sri Lankan minister said his government would consider hiring hangwomen for executioner posts for the first time in its history, if the order to execute was given by the president.
A family of four Eelam Tamils including two children from the same family reached Dhanushkodi, Tamil Nadu after undertaking a journey by boat from Mannar to seek refuge in Tamil Nadu. Muruganandan, was accompanied by his wife Rita Mary, and their two children from Thiruketheeswaram Mannar District, the four of them had undertaken a journey by boat until they were rescued by the Indian Coast Guard from Mandapam, in Ramanathapuram. Muruganandan had told officials who boarded them onto a hovercraft vessel and taken to Dhanushkodi that he was barely able to afford a single meal and could not find...