Tamil Affairs

Tamil News

Latest news from and about the homeland

Tamil residents, landowners and activists in Maruthankerni have halted a land survey linked to an attempted acquisition reportedly for Sri Lankan military purposes in Vadamaradchi East. The move, which took place in the Maruthankerni area of the Jaffna district, drew strong opposition from the landowner and local residents, who warned that handing land to the Sri Lankan military could lead to…

UN still “concerned” for displaced Tamils

Welcoming the announced closure of Menik Farm camp the United Nations has stated that they remained concerned for the last remaining families who cannot return to their homes.

The UN’s Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs released a statement today with Sri Lanka co-ordinator Subinay Nandy saying,
“there are still some people who are unable to return to their homes and a solution urgently needs to be found”.

A Sri Lankan minister’s wisdom

Sri Lankan Minister Wimal Weerawansa has again attacked Google, this time blaming it for the current upheaval and protests against the anti-Islam movie.

Weerawansa said Google was responsible for the circulation of the video and that US authorities use the search engine to ‘suit their whims and fancies’, according to the Daily Mirror.

Government funds new chapters for Mahavamsa

The Sri Lankan Treasury has announced that they have allocated supplementary funds to help finance new chapters in the Buddhist chronicle, the Mahavamsa.

The new chapters are set to include 3 dedicated to President Mahinda Rajapaksa, more than any of the predecessors in the text, according to reports. One official reportedly said earlier this year,

Keppapulavu IDPs appeal for international intervention to go home

Tamils from Keppapulavu who were moved out of the Cheddikulam IDP camp by the military this weekend, have appealed to the international community to intervene and allow them to go their original homes, reported TamilNet.

Although the government has proclaimed that there are now no IDPs, many of those who were supposedly 'resettled' have not been allowed to return to their homes, but have instead been moved on to effectively another camp.

Brazil army chief meets Gota

The Chief of Staff of the Brazilian Army has met with Defence Secretary Gotabaya Rajapakse in Colombo on Monday.

General Joaquim Silva E Luna led a delegation of high ranking military officials from the Brazilian military.

According to defence.lk the General and the Defence Secretary discussed ‘matters of bilateral relevance and mutual interests’.

Independent report accuses UN of complicity in covering up war crimes

An independent report compiled from the accounts of twelve United Nations humanitarian workers during the last phases of the war  accused the United Nation’s  of inaction, failure to speak out and willingness to comply with the Sri Lankan government’s rights violations. The report, published on TamilNet, was written by Julian Vigo, an independent volunteer that was not politically or economically tied to any organisation, who had never visited Sri Lanka. Identifying some of the twelve witnesses by name, the report described how the witnesses “resigned their posts, stating they could no

India to support UNHRC on war crimes

India has stated that it will back the United Nations Human Rights Committee when they visit Sri Lanka to investigate allegations of war crimes and crimes against humanity during the final phase of the armed conflict in 2009.

According to Union Minister of State for PMO V Narayanasamy, India would give its full backing to the UN, and he further reportedly stated that Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh would not allow human rights violations to take place in any part of the world.

Frontier India quoted Narayanasamy as saying,

US Colombo embassy to close early due to protests

The US embassy in Colombo has announced it will be closed from 9:30am on Monday due to anticipated protests against the anti-Islam movie that has sparked protests worldwide and led to the deaths of US embassy officials in Libya.

The embassy urged US citizens to avoid travelling near the embassy on Monday and to be cautious around protestors.

Australia removes family reunion concessions

The Australian government announced that the family reunion concessions for asylum seekers arriving by boat, will be removed.

The minister for Immigration and Citizenship, Chris said in a statement:

“These changes will remove the incentive for people to travel to Australia by boat with the intention of bringing out their families on humanitarian visas,”

No more IDPs proclaims SL

The Sri Lankan military - in charge of resettlement - announced that there would be no further IDPs as all Tamils had been 'resettled', on Sunday. 

The Security Forces Commander Boniface Perera said, 

"A total of 1,186 people from 361 families -the last of a group of more than 300,000 displaced during the war in the north - will leave the Vavuniya Manik Farm to their original places of residence in the Mullaitivu district today,”