Tamil Affairs

Tamil News

Latest news from and about the homeland

Hundreds march in Kilinochchi against limestone, sand mining and wind turbines
A protest march was held last month opposing limestone excavation, mineral sand mining and a proposed wind power project across the villages of Veravil, Valaipadu, Ponnaveli and Kiranchi, in the Poonakary Divisional Secretariat division of Kilinochchi. The demonstration was organised against plans to establish wind power stations and to carry out mineral sand and limestone extraction in the…

Sri Lanka’s president calls on Rajapaksa to not damage chances of SLFP victory

Aug 13, 2015
Sri Lanka’s President Maithripala Sirisena reiterated that former president Mahinda Rajapaksa would not be appointed as prime minister if the Sri Lanka Freedom Party wins the upcoming elections and called on him to refrain from splitting the party.

In a 5 page letter sent to Mr Rajapaksa, Sirisena criticised the former president’s conduct and asked him not to allow rifts in the party, calling on Rajapaksa to give the party the opportunity to win a majority in elections.

‘Separatist forces are destabilising the country’ claims Rajapaksa

Aug 13, 2015
Former Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa  claimed Sri Lanka was under threat from “separatist forces” as he urged voters to go to the polls and vote for him at the general election.

In an interview with The Island, Mr Rajapaksa, who is the UPFA prime ministerial candidate, claimed that “today, we don’t have a stable government, national finances are in a major crisis and separatist forces are once again destabilising the country”.

“This is an election that will decide the entire future of our country both in economic and political terms,” he said, adding “everyone should cast his or her vote at this election because so much is at stake”.

Mr Rajapaksa went on to slam the United National Party who accused him of giving money to the LTTE, by stating that the UNP had given money and weapons to the LTTE in 1990. “The fact that president Premadasa gave money and even weapons to the LTTE is an established fact,” he said.

He went on to say “later the leaders of the UNP tried to hand over the entire North and East to the LTTE on a platter by signing the 2002 Ceasefire agreement”.

His comments came as he signed an agreement with 130 civil society organizations on Wednesday, who pledged to back him.

TNPF calls for internationally mediated political solution acknowledging 'two sovereign nations' in one country

Aug 13, 2015
The Tamil National People’s Front election manifesto, released on 02 August, called for a “durable” federal political solution to the ethnic conflict in Sri Lanka that was formed through a new constitution that acknowledged the existence of two sovereign nations in one country.

Highlighting the party's view on the importance of a “internationally mediated process” to achieve a federal solution between two sovereign nations, the manifesto said,

“Achieving a federal solution via devolution would only amount to a power sharing mechanism., and therefore can be arbitrarily eliminated by the Sinhala nation in the future by creating a new unitary constitution. Instead a federal system created jointly by two sovereign nations cannot be unilaterally eliminated by one nation alone. This will be a durable solution.”

The manifesto outlined the TNPF's intention of working with the experts and civil society organisations “both at home and in the diaspora” to achieve its pledges.
 
Extracts of the manifesto are reproduced below.

‘No room for LTTE regrouping’ warns government minister

Aug 13, 2015
The Jathika Hela Urumaya General Secretary and Sri Lankan government minister Champika Ranawaka warned there was no room for the LTTE to regroup on the island, stating that “national security” would be maintained.

“We will not leave room for democracy to be threatened,” said the minister. “We are actually going through a new stage of democracy in the country and we will not allow that process to be harmed. We give a firm assurance on National Security,” he said.

Ranil rules out federalism for Sri Lanka

Aug 13, 2015
Sri Lankan Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe ruled out implementing federalism in Sri Lanka, as he denied having shown favour to “pro-LTTE groups”.

Farmers protest in Jaffna after 90% of new posts go to Sinhalese

Aug 13, 2015
Photographs Tamil Guardian

Farmers in the North protested on Wednesday after it emerged that 90% of new posts for agricultural research assistants in the province went to Sinhala people.

Of the 361 available appointments, 332 have been filled by Sinhala people.


Chief Buddhist monks from across the world slam UNP for 'Eelam poster'

Aug 12, 2015
High ranking Sinhala Buddhist monks from across the world have criticised the United National Party for endangering "national security", over an election poster in Jaffna which features one of their candidates alongside a map of Tamil Eelam.

Speaking at a press conference in Narahenpita in the South of the island, Buddhist monks from the US, Singapore, Australia and India slammed the UNP for allowing the poster to be distributed.

The Mahanayake of Singapore and Chief Incumbent of the Bellanwila Rajamaha Vihara in Colombo Dhammarathana Nayaka slammed the incident as a "a serious threat to national security”.

“The reconciliation process that was moving forward smoothly in the aftermath of defeat of the LTTE,” claimed the monk. “It is the duty of UNP leader Ranil Wickremesinghe to explain to the nation what really is happening and what his party’s position on the issue is,” he said.

"There was security in the country before January 8th,” he said, after former president Mahinda Rajapaksa was ousted and Maithripala Sirisena came to power. “Today the country is unstable."

The Mahanayake of the US and Chief Incumbent of the Dhammavijaya Vihara in Los Angeles Aggmahapanditha Walpola Piyananda Nayaka agreed with his fellow monks, saying, the “majority of Lankan Sangha community living abroad are worried about the situation at home in the post January 8th period”.

Ranil says torture report will be addressed after OISL report is released

Aug 12, 2015
Sri Lankan Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe said that reports of torture of Tamils under the island’s new government, as detailed by the charity Freedom From Torture in a report today, would be addressed after the UN Human Rights Council session in September.

Speaking to Reuters, Mr Wickremesinghe was asked about the latest report by Freedom From Torture, which detailed the ongoing torture of Tamils by Sri Lankan security forces.

"All this will be addressed after the final report of the U.N. Human Rights Commission will be made available," said Mr Wickremesinghe.

UNP candidate vies for Tamil votes in Jaffna

Aug 11, 2015

The United National Party candidate for Jaffna Vijayakala Maheswaran has released a poster with her photo appearing alongside the image of a Tamil Eelam map, as part of her campaign ahead of next week’s parliamentary elections.

Earlier she had declared that if elected, Ms Maheswaran would allow Mahatma Gandhi’s 1927 visit to Jaffna to be commemorated in the North-East.

The Indian leader visited the peninsula on the 26th and 27th of November, coinciding with important dates in the Eelam Tamil calendar - the leader of the LTTE Velupillai Prabhakaran's birthday on the 26th and the national day of remembrance Maaveerar Naal on the 27th of November.

 

SLMC leader says TNA manifesto is not ‘private conviction’ of leaders

Aug 11, 2015
The leader of the Sri Lanka Muslim Congress (SLMC) stated that the pledges contained in the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) manifesto does not reflect the thoughts of the party’s leadership, reports the Sunday Times.

Rauf Hakeem said the TNA manifesto was made up of “political postures”, adding “they are not the private convictions of their leaders”.

“At polls time they need to go back to their ideological positions,” he added.  Mr Hakeem continued to say the southern electorate “should not buy into this” and concluded the TNA “would be practical”.

Meanwhile Mr Hakeem said his party was opposed to a merger of the Northern and Eastern province as outlined in the 13th Amendment. “How can it be achieved?” questioned the SLMC leader, stating “we are opposed to the merger”.

His comments directly contradict remarks made by the SLMC General Secretary Hasan Ali who said just weeks ago, “We welcome the stance of the Tamil National Alliance in its election manifesto to create a home land of Tamil speaking people, by re-merging the North and East.”
‘Separatist forces are destabilising the country’ claims Rajapaksa
TNPF calls for internationally mediated political solution acknowledging 'two sovereign nations' in one country
‘No room for LTTE regrouping’ warns government minister
Ranil rules out federalism for Sri Lanka
Farmers protest in Jaffna after 90% of new posts go to Sinhalese
Chief Buddhist monks from across the world slam UNP for 'Eelam poster'
Ranil says torture report will be addressed after OISL report is released
UNP candidate vies for Tamil votes in Jaffna
SLMC leader says TNA manifesto is not ‘private conviction’ of leaders
‘International scrutiny’ and ‘pressure’ required to tackle ethnically biased centralisation in Sri Lanka says ICG
‘Separatist forces are destabilising the country’ claims Rajapaksa
TNPF calls for internationally mediated political solution acknowledging 'two sovereign nations' in one country
‘No room for LTTE regrouping’ warns government minister
Ranil rules out federalism for Sri Lanka
Farmers protest in Jaffna after 90% of new posts go to Sinhalese
Chief Buddhist monks from across the world slam UNP for 'Eelam poster'
Ranil says torture report will be addressed after OISL report is released
UNP candidate vies for Tamil votes in Jaffna
SLMC leader says TNA manifesto is not ‘private conviction’ of leaders
‘International scrutiny’ and ‘pressure’ required to tackle ethnically biased centralisation in Sri Lanka says ICG