Tamil Affairs

Tamil News

Latest news from and about the homeland

Sri Lanka's parliament on Tuesday approved a further extension of the country's state of public emergency, with all seven votes against the measure cast by Tamil Members of Parliament. The motion was passed by 135 votes in favour and seven against, a majority of 128. The seven MPs who opposed the extension were Gajendrakumar Ponnambalam, Sivagnanam Shritharan, K. Kodeeswaran, G. Srineshan, T.…

TNA ‘exploiting’ Koslanda tragedy – Sri Lankan minister

Sri Lanka’s Disaster Management Minister Mahinda Amaraweera said that those orphaned in the Koslanda landslide will not be given to the Northern Provincial Council, after they expressed concern that the children would lose their Tamil identity if left in the hands of the Sri Lankan government.

Gotabaya appointed head of dual citizenship body

Sri Lanka’s Defence Secretary Gotabaya Rajapaksa has been appointed the head of the committee which grants dual citizenship, Minister Dilan Perera told parliament on Tuesday, according to Lankasri.

Foreign citizens wishing to apply for Sri Lankan nationality in addition to their existing passport can provide their details to the committee, who will make the final decision.

US warns Sri Lanka over intimidation

The United States has warned Sri Lanka over its attempts to silence those who cooperate with the UN on the OHCHR Investigation in Sri Lanka (OISL).

The US Ambassador to the UN Human Rights Council Keith Harper said in a tweet that attempts at intimidation to those individuals were an attack on the UN.

Sri Lanka has warned against submitting evidence to the OISL and has arrested one individual who was collecting information for submission to the inquiry.

LTTE ‘continues violent, unlawful activities’ – India

An Indian tribunal at the high court in Delhi, looking into the ban on the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, heard that the organisation continued to be active in a manner detrimental to India, reported PTI.

Leading UNP members will join ruling party says Minister

Sri Lankan government Minister Lakshman Yapa Abeywardena stated that several leading members of the opposition United National Party will be crossing over to join the government, following the recent budget proposals.

Abeywardena made the claim at the ruling Sri Lanka Freedom Party headquarters on Wednesday. ColomboPage reported the minister as saying “The opposition is breaking into pieces and the government is getting stronger.”

OISL ‘flawed procedure’ unacceptable – GL Peiris

Sri Lanka’s Minister of External Affairs GL Peiris expressed his “deepest displeasure” at recent comments by a spokesperson for the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, who said that submissions of evidence to the OHCHR Investigation in Sri Lanka, which are received after the deadline, will not necessarily be refused.

During a meeting with the heads of missions and representatives of the main countries involved in the OISL, including the High Commissioner of Australia and the deputy country director of the UNDP, Peiris “expressed strong displeasure at the selective and biased approach followed where the investigation determines the nature of the information they wish to receive”, an MEA statement said.

TNA should be banned - Deputy Minister

The Deputy Labour Minister Sarath Weerasekara has called for the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) to be banned.

Sinhala colonisers settle in Northern village renamed after Namal Rajapaksa

Sinhala families have been colonising a Tamil village in the North which has now been renamed after the Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa's son, said JVP MP Vijitha Herath in parliament this week.

The families, from Rajapaksa's home town of Hambantota, have been gifted an acre of land each, said Herath.

Furthermore, the village that they have settled into has now been renamed 'Namalgama' said the MP, after Namal Rajapaksa son the president and current MP for the ruling alliance.

Amnesty International welcomes UN Human Rights Committee observations on Sri Lanka

Amnesty International has welcomed the concerns the UN Human Rights Committee raised on Sri Lanka regarding ongoing human rights abuses and impunity in its fifth periodic report last month.

“The UN Human Rights Committee review of Sri Lanka has once again highlighted the vast disconnect between Sri Lanka’s promises to Sri Lankan citizens and the UN to improve human rights protection in the country and to tackle the grave reality of ongoing abuse and impunity,” said Amnesty International in a statement last week.

Amnesty International went on that say that it “welcomes the Committee’s far-reaching recommendations to address these problems and calls on authorities to move swiftly to fully and effectively implement them.”

“The Committee clearly saw through the government’s repeated denials and empty promises,” added the non-governmental organisation.

India gives 'unstinted support' to death row fishermen

The Indian government has offered its “unstinted support” to the five Tamil Nadu fishermen who have been sentenced to death by a Sri Lankan court last week.

India's External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Syed Akbaruddin said India's High Commissioner to Sri Lanka Yash Sinha visited the fishermen, who are currently being held in Welikada prison in Colombo, on Monday.

"He (Sinha) assured them of unstinted support and cooperation of government of India in ensuring that their case receives the utmost attention. He also assured them that the government will make all efforts to secure their early release and repatriation to India," said Akbaruddin.

The comments come as the families of the five fishermen met with Union Minister Nitin Gadkari.

"We will study the matter in detail and hold discussions with officials and later discuss it in the cabinet,” said Gadkari, adding that he would convey the families' messages to External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj and Prime Minister Narendra Modi.