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'How can we trust them?' - Sri Lankan minister ignores families of the disappeared at Chemmani

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Tamil Affairs
‘Before we too pass away’ - Tamil families appeal to UN over Chemmani mass graves
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Tamil Affairs
Chemmani excavations pass grim milestone with 405 remains identified
Tamil Affairs
As Burnham eyes Number 10, British Tamils face a largely untested record
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Tamil Affairs
STF officers filmed assaulting woman during Kilinochchi arrests of children and elderly

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‘Before we too pass away’ - Tamil families appeal to UN over Chemmani mass graves
The Association for Relatives of the Enforced Disappeared in the North-East (ARED) has appealed to the United Nations to ensure an international investigation into enforced disappearances and mass graves across the Tamil homeland, including the ongoing excavations at Chemmani, where more than 380 human skeletal remains have been uncovered.
Chemmani excavations pass grim milestone with 405 remains identified
The excavation of the Chemmani mass grave entered the 30th day of its third phase on Sunday, with seven sets of human skeletal remains exhumed and a further eleven sets newly identified at the site. A total of 405 sets of skeletal remains have now been identified during the excavation process. Of these, 377 sets of remains have been exhumed so far.
As Burnham eyes Number 10, British Tamils face a largely untested record
As Andy Burnham emerges as the frontrunner to succeed Keir Starmer as Labour leader and British prime minister, British Tamils are weighing a record on Tamil justice that is far thinner than the outgoing premier's, yet not quite the blank slate it might first appear.
STF officers filmed assaulting woman during Kilinochchi arrests of children and elderly
Footage from in Umaiyalpuram, Kilinochchi, shows officers of Sri Lanka's Special Task Force (STF) assaulting a woman during a confrontation with residents, after which fourteen Tamil civilians, among them young children, schoolgirls and elderly residents, were remanded, in an operation that began over alleged illegal sand mining.
Keir Starmer, British Tamils and the promises still unmet
Keir Starmer's announcement that he will resign as Labour leader, and remain in Downing Street only until his successor is chosen, brings to an end a premiership that began on the back of some of the strongest pledges a British party leader had ever made to Tamils.
Suresh Sallay's wife alleges surveillance of children, seeks independent probe
The wife of former State Intelligence Service Director Major General (Retired) Suresh Sallay has lodged a complaint with Sri Lanka's National Authority for the Protection of Victims of Crime and Witnesses, alleging that her children were subjected to surveillance by an individual believed to be linked to the Criminal Investigation Department (CID). According to Ada Derana, Manori Sallay stated in her complaint that a man dressed in civilian clothing had repeatedly monitored her and her two children. She alleged that the same individual followed her 17-year-old daughter and 22-year-old son when they visited the Colombo National Hospital on Friday to inquire about their father's condition.
Fifty years on, Jaffna conference reaffirms the Vaddukoddai call for self determination
The Vaddukoddai-50 Ezhuchi (Resurgence) Conference was held at the Thanthai Selva Auditorium in Jaffna on Saturday, marking fifty years since the 1976 Vaddukoddai Resolution, in which the Tamil political leadership first declared the goal of an independent, sovereign state of Tamil Eelam.
Shritharan takes Tamil grievances to the BJP's Tamil Nadu leadership
The leader of the Ilankai Tamil Arasu Kachchi (ITAK) and parliamentarian Sivagnanam Shritharan met the Bharatiya Janata Party's Tamil Nadu state president, Nainar Nagenthran, in India on Friday, during a three-day visit in which discussions centred on the political and livelihood challenges facing Tamils in the North-East of Sri Lanka.
The arithmetic of a grave
This week, the number of skeletal remains uncovered at Chemmani reached a stark record of 387. With that figure, a patch of earth on the edge of Jaffna town became the largest mass grave ever uncovered on the island, surpassing the 376 remains recovered at Mannar. Recent days alone have seen the bodies of several children exhumed, alongside beads and bangles. These are the contents of the largest crime scene in the Tamil homeland, being catalogued one body at a time.
Activists protest mineral sand mining threatening East coast
Environmentalists and civil society activists protested at Galle Face in Colombo on 17 June against proposed heavy mineral sand mining along the eastern coastline from Oluvil to Pothuvil, warning that the project threatens the land, fisheries and livelihoods of Tamil and Muslim communities across the Eastern Province.

The arithmetic of a grave

Scared of a song

Monks above the law

FEATURES
As Burnham eyes Number 10, British Tamils face a largely untested record
Keir Starmer, British Tamils and the promises still unmet
Jailed for a song: How Sri Lanka’s PTA was turned on a Tamil rapper

Tamil News

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‘Before we too pass away’ - Tamil families appeal to UN over Chemmani mass graves

Jun 22
The Association for Relatives of the Enforced Disappeared in the North-East (ARED) has appealed to the United Nations to ensure an international investigation into enforced disappearances and mass graves across the Tamil homeland, including the ongoing excavations at Chemmani, where more than 380 human skeletal remains have been uncovered.
Chemmani excavations pass grim milestone with 405 remains identified

As Burnham eyes Number 10, British Tamils face a largely untested record
As Andy Burnham emerges as the frontrunner to succeed Keir Starmer as Labour leader and British prime minister, British Tamils are weighing a record on Tamil justice that is far thinner than the outgoing premier's, yet not quite the blank slate it might first appear.
STF officers filmed assaulting woman during Kilinochchi arrests of children and elderly
Footage from in Umaiyalpuram, Kilinochchi, shows officers of Sri Lanka's Special Task Force (STF) assaulting a woman during a confrontation with residents, after which fourteen Tamil civilians, among them young children, schoolgirls and elderly residents, were remanded, in an operation that began over alleged illegal sand mining.
Keir Starmer, British Tamils and the promises still unmet

Keir Starmer at Downing Street Thai Pongal reception with British Tamils

Suresh Sallay's wife alleges surveillance of children, seeks independent probe

Fifty years on, Jaffna conference reaffirms the Vaddukoddai call for self determination
The Vaddukoddai-50 Ezhuchi (Resurgence) Conference was held at the Thanthai Selva Auditorium in Jaffna on Saturday, marking fifty years since the 1976 Vaddukoddai Resolution, in which the Tamil political leadership first declared the goal of an independent, sovereign state of Tamil Eelam.
Shritharan takes Tamil grievances to the BJP's Tamil Nadu leadership

The arithmetic of a grave
This week, the number of skeletal remains uncovered at Chemmani reached a stark record of 387. With that figure, a patch of earth on the edge of Jaffna town became the largest mass grave ever uncovered on the island, surpassing the 376 remains recovered at Mannar. Recent days alone have seen the bodies of several children exhumed, alongside beads and bangles. These are the contents of the largest crime scene in the Tamil homeland, being catalogued one body at a time.
Activists protest mineral sand mining threatening East coast
Environmentalists and civil society activists protested at Galle Face in Colombo on 17 June against proposed heavy mineral sand mining along the eastern coastline from Oluvil to Pothuvil, warning that the project threatens the land, fisheries and livelihoods of Tamil and Muslim communities across the Eastern Province.
Bharatanatyam world record in Colombo sparks row over recognition and costs

A Guinness World Record set by nearly 5,000 Bharatanatyam dancers at Galle Face in Colombo has sparked controversy, after activists questioned why the official recognition was awarded to organisers and an overseas instructor rather than the thousands of performers who paid to take part.

UNP demands Sri Lankan seek FBI material on Easter Sunday attacks

Yoshitha Rajapaksa granted bail following Bribery Commission arrest

The Colombo Chief Magistrate’s Court has granted bail to Yoshitha Rajapaksa, the second son of former Sri Lankan president and accused war criminal Mahinda Rajapaksa, following his arrest by the Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery or Corruption.

Tamil gold held by the army for sixteen years finally weighed, court hears
The weighing of some 10,000 gold items seized by the Sri Lankan army from the Tamil homeland during the armed conflict, the bulk of them the pawned jewellery and possessions of Tamil civilians, has been completed, the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) has told a Colombo court.
NPP opposes Nagapooshani Amman statue weeks after 88-foot Buddha erected at Nainativu

Banner garlanding Jaffna MP with shoes torn down by the MP himself
A ten-foot banner depicting the Jaffna District MP Ramanathan Archchuna garlanded with footwear was erected along a main road on the outskirts of Jaffna on Friday, in a public expression of anger over his conduct, before the MP himself arrived and tore it down.
Chemmani mass grave toll reaches 366 ahead of ministerial visit
The number of skeletal remains identified at the Chemmani mass grave in Jaffna has risen to 366, as excavators uncovered further remains of children on Tuesday, at one of the largest mass graves unearthed on the island and a site long tied to the enforced disappearance and extrajudicial killing of Tamils by the Sri Lankan military.
India hands over USD 5 million defence aid package to Sri Lanka
India has handed over a consignment of military stores and a trauma care system worth more than USD 5 million to the Sri Lanka Army, deepening a defence relationship that has expanded, as the Sri Lankan military continues to occupy the Tamil homeland.
Sri Lankan authorities dig for alleged LTTE gold in Amparai but find nothing

Sri Lankan authorities carried out an excavation in the Eastern district of Amparai on Wednesday in search of weapons and gold allegedly buried by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), but no items were recovered.

The North-Eastern - Eelam Tamil magazine launched in Jaffna and Batticaloa

A new English-language print magazine has been launched in the Tamil homeland, with events in Jaffna and Batticaloa timed to coincide with the 50th anniversary of the Vaddukoddai Resolution.

World News

UN experts demand independent investigation into death of Indigenous leader in Nicaragua

Jun 16
UN human rights experts have demanded an independent investigation into the death in state custody of Indigenous Miskito leader Brooklyn Rivera, warning that his prolonged enforced disappearance and death may amount to crimes against humanity for which the Nicaraguan government bears legal responsibility.
Baloch activists accuse state-backed death squads of new killings
A fresh wave of extrajudicial killings and enforced disappearances has been documented across Balochistan this month, as Baloch rights groups recorded the recovery of several bodies of men who had earlier been forcibly taken, and appealed once more to international institutions that have largely ignored the province.
UN experts demand investigation following Israel’s killing of Lebanese journalists
Three UN experts called for a full and independent investigation following Israel's killing of three Lebanese journalists.
Sudan hospital ‘drone strike’ kills 64, including children
At least 64 people, including 13 children, have been killed in an attack on a hospital in Sudan’s Darfur region, as violence continues to devastate the already collapsing healthcare system.
FIFA fines Israel for racism and discrimination but clears settlement clubs
On Thursday, FIFA sanctioned the Israel Football Association over breaches of racism and discrimination, but cleared Israeli clubs playing in settlements.
UK jury acquits woman of terrorism charge over Hamas comments
A woman who told a protest crowd that Hamas is “fighting for freedom” has been found not guilty of expressing support for a proscribed organisation, following a closely watched case in a British court.
Two Indian journalists detained for filming docked Iranian warship
Two Indian journalists were detained for filming a docked Iranian warship in Kochi, Kerala.
Spain withdraws ambassador from Israel amid Gaza genocide and Iran war tensions
Spain has withdrawn its ambassador to Israel in the latest escalation of a deepening diplomatic dispute between Madrid and Tel Aviv over Israel’s assault on Gaza and the recent United States and Israeli attacks on Iran.
Former Syrian colonel charged with crimes against humanity in landmark UK case
A former colonel in Syria’s Air Force Intelligence has appeared before a London court charged with crimes against humanity, in what prosecutors say is the first case of its kind brought under British law.
UN peacekeepers refuse order to leave South Sudan opposition stronghold

The United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) has said it will keep its peacekeeping force in the town of Akobo despite an order by the South Sudanese military to vacate the area ahead of a planned offensive.

'India stands with Israel,' Modi says during state visit
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi concluded a two-day state visit to Israel on Thursday, bolstering cooperation in multiple areas, including defence, artificial intelligence, cybersecurity and agriculture.
'Journalists being killed in record numbers' - 129 press members killed in 2025
A record 129 press members were killed in 2025, according to the latest report by the Committee to Protect Journalists.
Scotland’s ‘independence within reach’ says first minister
Scottish independence is “within reach”, First Minister John Swinney has said, as a new poll projects the Scottish National Party just one seat short of a majority ahead of this year’s Holyrood election.
UN investigators warn RSF assault on El Fasher bears ‘hallmarks of genocide’
A United Nations fact-finding mission has determined that atrocities carried out during the siege and takeover of the Sudanese city of El Fasher bear the “hallmarks of genocide”, condemning the conduct of paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) fighters in Darfur during the ongoing conflict.
UK moves toward new law to ban Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps
As international criticism mounts over the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps' (IRGC) involvement in Tehran's fatal suppression of anti-government protests, the UK government reportedly set to introduce legislation that would enable it to officially outlaw the organisation. The action comes after the European Union made the decision last month to put the IRGC to its official list of terrorist organisations, adding groups like Islamic State, Hamas, and al-Qaeda. 
Tibetan diaspora votes worldwide for government-in-exile
Tibetans around the world began a global election on Sunday to choose a parliament and political leadership for the Central Tibetan Administration (CTA).
'Mother of all deals’ - India and EU forge landmark trade and security pact
India and the European Union have announced a sweeping free trade agreement that both sides have hailed as the “mother of all deals”, concluding nearly two decades of intermittent negotiations.
'Old world order is not coming back' - Carney calls for middle power unity at Davos
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney has warned that the global order that shaped international politics for decades “is not coming back”, urging “middle powers” to act collectively as great power rivalry intensifies.
Syrian government and SDF forces agree on four-day ceasefire
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UN court begins hearing on Myanmar Rohingya genocide case
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