Tamil Affairs

Tamil News

Latest news from and about the homeland

""
In Pictures - Colonel Shankar memorial sports tournament 2026 held in Switzerland
  A memorial sports tournament commemorating Colonel Shankar, the Special Commander of the Tamil Eelam Air Force (Sky Tigers) who was killed in an attack carried out by Sri Lankan deep penetration forces in Ottusuddan, Mullaitivu, on 26 September 2001, was held in Switzerland on 7 June 2026. Organised by the Sports Division of the Swiss Tamil Coordinating Committee, the event took…

Former LTTE cadre detained in Jaffna by Sri Lanka's anti-terror officers

Sep 25, 2015
A 42 year old former LTTE cadre was detained by Sri Lanka's Terrorism Investigation Division on Wednesday in Jaffna.

The man, Markandu Nevinathan, left the LTTE in 1997 and then went on to live in Kodikaamam, where he got married and had four children.

The TID officiers arrived from Colombo and detained him, before transferring him to Colombo's TID "fourth floor" office, notorious for its use of torture.

Sri Lankan president's son joins official delegation to UN

Sep 25, 2015
Daham Sirisena seated behind President Maithripala Sirisena at the UN in New York

Sri Lanka's president Maithripala Sirisena took his son to the UN General Assembly on Friday, despite being elected on a pledge to break away from the nepotism of the previous Rajapaksa regime.

His son, Daham Sirisena, sat with the official government delegation at Sri Lanka's desk, and later accompanied the delegation to Mr Sirisena's meeting with the Indian prime minister, Narendra Modi.

UK welcomes Sri Lanka's cooperation on resolution

Sep 25, 2015
The UK welcomed the Sri Lankan government's cooperation in tabling a resolution calling for accountability and justice for mass atrocities during the final stages of the armed conflict in 2009 at the UN Human Rights Council on Thursday.

"Warmly welcome #SriLanka cooperation on resolution tabled in Geneva yesterday.  Another step closer to addressing legacy of conflict. #HRC30" the UK's minister of state at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, Hugo Swire tweeted on Friday.

Jaffna Uni remembers Thileepan

Sep 25, 2015

Students at the University of Jaffna held a memorial event on the 28th death anniversary of hunger striker Lt Col Thileepan.

The event was held at a secret location on Saturday evening.

Sri Lanka resolution marks step towards credible justice with international involvement – John Kerry

Sep 24, 2015
The consensus resolution tabled on Sri Lanka to deal with the findings of the UN report into Sri Lanka's mass atrocities marks an important step “toward a credible transitional justice process, owned by Sri Lankans and with the support and involvement of the international community,” said the US Secretary of State in press release on Thursday.

Full press brief produced below.

Ranil says biggest issue facing Sri Lanka has been removed, resolution mandates domestic mechanism

Sep 24, 2015


Sri Lanka's prime minister Ranil Wickremesinghe said that the resolution to be co-sponsored by Sri Lanka at the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva later this month would mandate a "domestic mechanism".

Speaking at the 50th anniversary event of CIMA in Colombo on Thursday evening, after the draft text of the consensus resolution was released, Mr Wickremesinghe told audiences that the world had accepted Sri Lanka's expressed commitment to democracy.

"We will no longer have to face the pressures we have been facing for the past five or six years, the world has accepted the fact that we are building a democratic society," Mr Wickremesinghe was quoted by the Daily FT as saying.

Stating that the government had reached a compromise with the United States to include "Commonwealth and foreign judges and lawyers" instead of "international judges", Mr Wickremesinghe said the domestic mechanism "will certainly have the help of not only Sri Lankan but also Commonwealth and foreign judges and lawyers. But all that has to be authorised by Sri Lankan law."

Jaya urged to hold all party meeting on Sri Lankan war crimes

Sep 24, 2015
The chief minister of Tamil Nadu, Jayalalitha was on Thursday urged to hold an all-party meeting on ensuring an international inquiry into the allegations of war crimes in Sri Lanka.

In an open letter to Ms Jayalalitha, the PMK leader, Anbumani Ramadoss said, "with Modi being expected to return to India, after his US trip, on September 28, arrangements should be made on that day for a meeting with him. Sri Lankan Tamils will get justice only when parties in Tamil Nadu stand in unison and represent in one-voice."

“Only if leaders in Tamil Nadu keep forget their differences and work together will the Sri Lankan Tamils get justice,” he added.

LSSP rejects OISL report

Sep 24, 2015
Sri Lanka's Lanka Sama Samaja Party (LSSP) rejected the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) Investigation on Sri Lanka (OISL) stating that it would not support any outside intervention.

“We shall support all genuine efforts made by the present Government to achieve reconciliation and national unity, provided no outside interference is permitted. The taking of action against those guilty of alleged war crimes is an internal matter that we are capable of handling. If the need for any foreign assistance should arise it could be sought by us at our discretion. It must not be thrust on us as is being attempted by the UNHRC. Therefore, we reject both the content of the report and the manner of its preparation by the Office of the High Commissioner on Human Rights (OHCHR),” the LSSP secretary said in a statement on Friday.

Sri Lanka to establish ‘independent trustworthy local mechanism’ says Ranil

Sep 23, 2015
Sri Lanka’s prime minister expressed his government’s aim to “establish an independent, trustworthy and enforcing local mechanism to investigate, maintain justice and equity, and to compensate, making sure that such unpleasant incidents will never happen again,” in a parliamentary speech on Wednesday.

Sri Lanka confident of Chinese and Indian support for domestic probe

Sep 23, 2015
The Sri Lankan government on Wednesday said that it is confident of support from China, Russia and India for a domestic inquiry to investigate crimes detailed by the UN in the OHCHR Investigation into Sri Lanka (OISL), despite the OISL recommending a hybrid special court to be established with significant international involvement.

"The resolution to be brought tomorrow will be for a domestic mechanism. We have the support coming from China, Russia and India they all agree for the local mechanism," Sri Lanka's cabinet spokesperson, Rajitha Senaratne was quoted by PTI as saying the night before a resolution on a criminal investigation is tabled before the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva.

Speaking in parliament earlier that day, the prime minister, Ranil Wickremesinghe said that the government aims to “establish an independent, trustworthy and enforcing local mechanism to investigate, maintain justice and equity, and to compensate, making sure that such unpleasant incidents will never happen again".

Sri Lankan president's son joins official delegation to UN
UK welcomes Sri Lanka's cooperation on resolution
Jaffna Uni remembers Thileepan
Sri Lanka resolution marks step towards credible justice with international involvement – John Kerry
Ranil says biggest issue facing Sri Lanka has been removed, resolution mandates domestic mechanism
Jaya urged to hold all party meeting on Sri Lankan war crimes
LSSP rejects OISL report
Sri Lanka to establish ‘independent trustworthy local mechanism’ says Ranil
Sri Lanka confident of Chinese and Indian support for domestic probe
Sri Lankan navy arrests a further 6 Tamil Nadu fishermen
Sri Lankan president's son joins official delegation to UN
UK welcomes Sri Lanka's cooperation on resolution
Jaffna Uni remembers Thileepan
Sri Lanka resolution marks step towards credible justice with international involvement – John Kerry
Ranil says biggest issue facing Sri Lanka has been removed, resolution mandates domestic mechanism
Jaya urged to hold all party meeting on Sri Lankan war crimes
LSSP rejects OISL report
Sri Lanka to establish ‘independent trustworthy local mechanism’ says Ranil
Sri Lanka confident of Chinese and Indian support for domestic probe
Sri Lankan navy arrests a further 6 Tamil Nadu fishermen