Tamil Affairs

Tamil News

Latest news from and about the homeland

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Vavuniya High Court freezes governor's removal of mayor
The Vavuniya High Court has issued an interim order suspending the gazette through which the Northern Province governor removed the Vavuniya mayor, S. Kandeepan, from office, freezing the decision that had triggered protests across the town. The order was made on Friday, when the court took up a writ application filed by Kandeepan challenging the governor's move. Speaking to reporters…

Sinhalese becoming a minority warns SL Minister

Aug 20, 2014
The Sinhala community will become a minority in Sri Lankan within a century warned the Sri Lankan minister Champika Ranawaka, the Asian Mirror reports.

"It will take another 160 years to double the population of the Sinhalese in Sri Lanka," said Ranawaka, the minister for technology and research, and leader of the government's coalition partner, the JHU.

Warning that the population rates amongst different ethnicities was asymmetrical, he stated that the growth of the Sinhala population was slowest.

His comments echo that of Minister Mervyn Silva who said in June that the "Sinhala race is rapidly becoming a minority".

Sinhala settlements intended to destroy Tamil nation – TNA

Aug 20, 2014
The TNA’s Selvam Adaikkalanathan said that the continued settling of Sinhalese in Tamil areas is intended to destroy the Tamil nation.

The MP said that Sinhala families are being settled in many Tamil villages in Vavuniya and that these government-assisted activities are intended to change the demographic make-up of the local population, accusing the government of only looking to benefit their own community, the Uthayan reported.

Sri Lanka owes $2.6 billion to one Chinese bank

Aug 20, 2014

The Sri Lankan government has borrowed $2.6 billion from China’s state-owned Exim Bank, between 2009 and 2013, reports Ceylon Today.

Deputy Minister of Finance and Planning, Dr. Sarath Amunugama said in parliament yesterday that the money was used for various development projects on the island, including Hambantota Port, Katunayake Expressway, Norochcholai Coal Power Plant, Railway projects, Northern Province electricity and road development projects, Southern Expressway and electricity projects in the Uva and Eastern Provinces.

Diaspora and foreign states are threats to country – Sri Lanka’s UN rep

Aug 20, 2014

Sri Lanka’s permanent representative to the UN in Geneva Ravinath Ariyasinha has highlighted the Tamil diaspora as a potent danger to the country and accused western countries of turning a blind eye to their activities.

“While we have defeated the LTTE in Sri Lanka, the organization, its ideology and its operations are very much alive in a number of western countries. Immediately, this remains a challenge to speeding up the pace of reconciliation in Sri Lanka, and eventually, a potent danger to Sri Lanka as a rising nation,” Aryasinha said while speaking at the Sri Lankan Army’s Defence Seminar 2014.

“Even as most countries have acted with understanding and have respectfully shared concerns and been able to contribute to the processes of reconciliation in a tangible manner, unfortunately particularly a few Western countries fuelled by political motivations and electoral compulsions have continued to relentlessly pursue Sri Lanka," he added.

TNA MP condemns government for arrest of Tamil students

Aug 20, 2014
Tamil National Alliance MP Suresh Premachandran has slammed the Sri Lankan government for the arrests of Tamil students at Sabaragamuwa University, following an attack at the Southern university earlier this month.

Premachandran stated that "everyone is aware of the incident at the Sabaragamuwa University,” adding, “The police spokesperson has told the media that he tied his hands to his back himself and self-harmed.”

Commenting on the arrest of the second Tamil student, Uthayan quoted Premachandran as going on to say,
"Fellow student Yoganathan Nirojan, from Vavuniya was arrested for visiting the injured student, and he has been released on bail by Colombo Magistrate court. Is meeting a fellow student a crime? Do the police not see it as a humanitarian norm? Why was he arrested? All activities of police have political influences."

Sri Lanka should cooperate with UN inquiry – Ban Ki-moon

Aug 19, 2014

The UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon asked Sri Lanka to cooperate with the inquiry, led by the High Commissioner for Human Rights.

Speaking at the UN’s daily press briefing, his spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric said the Secretary General “fully supports” High Commissioner Navi Pillay and commended the leadership she demonstrated “to assist Sri Lanka in advancing accountability and reconciliation”.

Girl raped by soldier in Mannar

Aug 19, 2014
A Sri Lankan army soldier has sexually assaulted a Tamil girl in Mannar, the Uthayan reports.

The incident occurred when the girl went to buy rotti (flat bread) at a shop run by the army, by the army camp.

Locals report seeing the girl being taken into bushes by the soldier.

A case has been filed at court, with a court order having been issued for the soldier's arrest. The officer in charge has also been requested to attend court.

The girl, who has not been identified, has been admitted to Vavuniya Hospital following her ordeal.

Modi to meet TNA delegation

Aug 19, 2014
A delegation of the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) will be travelling to New Delhi to meet with the Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on August 23, The Hindu reports.

The delegation will be headed by the TNA leader R. Sampanthan, and will include five senior members.

According to the paper, the delegation will also meet with India's External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj and the National Security Advisor Ajit Doval, as well as the possibility of a meeting with the Tamil Nadu Chief Minister, Jayalalithaa.

Indian Prime Minister to discuss solution to fishermen issue

Aug 19, 2014
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi is holding a meeting tomorrow to explore a solution to the repeated arrests of Indian fishermen by the Sri Lankan Navy, according to reports.

A senior government official told PTI,
"The PMO has called a meeting tomorrow to deliberate on India-Sri Lanka fishermen issues like illegal poaching and welfare of Indian fishermen among others."
Frequent attacks on Indian fishermen by the Sri Lankan Navy has led to the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu Jayalithaa writing several letters to the Prime Minister, expressing her concern and calling for a “strong and robust" response to the arrests.

The Prime Minister's announcement that he will discuss the issue comes as 11 fishermen associations in Tamil Nadu declared they would “lay siege” to Pamban road, which connects Ramneswaran to mainland India. The fishermen are protesting against the continued detention of Indians by the Sri Lankan government and demand that their boats, which the Sri Lankans are refusing to release, be given back to them.

See more from the Hindu here.

Suicide rate in Jaffna increases since end of armed conflict

Aug 19, 2014
The number of suicides in Jaffna has increased since the end of the armed conflict in May 2009, according to statistics compiled by the Professor of Psychiatry at Jaffna University.

Data gathered by Dr Daya Somasundaran showed that in 2009, when the armed conflict was at its peak, the suicide rate in the Northern Tamil peninsula was 15 per 100,000. However, since the armed hostilities ended, the suicide rate has risen sharply to 25 per 100,000 in 2011. The figure dipped slightly in 2012, but by 2013, was back at its highest level.

The New Indian Express that Dr Somasundaran said during the war there was “a strong social support system” as “under the Lankan military siege, civilians clung together”. Since the end of the fighting though, “social cohesion and social support systems began to wear thin as families got splintered.”

Somasundaran reportedly went on to add that collective rehabilitation was needed for the Tamil population, since they experienced the trauma of war as a collective. Acts such as mourning, he added, had to be done collectively.
Sinhala settlements intended to destroy Tamil nation – TNA
Sri Lanka owes $2.6 billion to one Chinese bank
Diaspora and foreign states are threats to country – Sri Lanka’s UN rep
TNA MP condemns government for arrest of Tamil students
Sri Lanka should cooperate with UN inquiry – Ban Ki-moon
Girl raped by soldier in Mannar
Modi to meet TNA delegation
Indian Prime Minister to discuss solution to fishermen issue
Suicide rate in Jaffna increases since end of armed conflict
LTTE groups' encouraging students to protest says Gotabhaya
Sinhala settlements intended to destroy Tamil nation – TNA
Sri Lanka owes $2.6 billion to one Chinese bank
Diaspora and foreign states are threats to country – Sri Lanka’s UN rep
TNA MP condemns government for arrest of Tamil students
Sri Lanka should cooperate with UN inquiry – Ban Ki-moon
Girl raped by soldier in Mannar
Modi to meet TNA delegation
Indian Prime Minister to discuss solution to fishermen issue
Suicide rate in Jaffna increases since end of armed conflict
LTTE groups' encouraging students to protest says Gotabhaya