Tamil Affairs

Tamil News

Latest news from and about the homeland

Sri Lanka's Cabinet Spokesman and Minister of Media and Health, Nalinda Jayatissa, has said that the government cannot unilaterally disclose the contents of a recently signed Defence Cooperation Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with India without mutual consent from New Delhi. The agreement was signed during Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Colombo.  Responding to questions…

‘Bombs rolling in the air’ - Remembering the Navaly church massacre

On this day 28 years ago, the Sri Lankan air force dropped 13 bombs on St Peter’s Church in Navaly. More than 140 sheltering Tamils, who were encouraged by the military to seek refuge at the church, were killed on the spot.  At least 13 children were amongst the dead, with many more succumbing to injuries later as the local hospital was swamped with the wounded.

Families of the disappeared in Mannar demand justice and accountability for forcibly disappeared relatives

Tamil families of the disappeared in Mannar  held a protest today, voicing their deep-seated distrust in the Office of the Missing Persons (OMP) and the government's processes surrounding the enforced disappearances of their relatives.

13 bodies uncovered in Mullaitivu mass grave

13 dead bodies were uncovered in a mass grave in Mullaitivu during excavation efforts on the 6th of July. The remains were found in an area falling under the jurisdiction of the Kokkilai Police division.

The bodies were both female and male. They were initially discovered on 29th June by construction workers from the National Water Supply and Drainage Board prompting excavation efforts.

Mannar Court orders comprehensive report on Sathosa mass grave

The Magistrate court in Mannar has ordered a comprehensive report to be submitted on the Sathosa mass grave in the Mannar district.

Fitch rating warns of risk in Sri Lanka's domestic debt restructuring plan

Fitch Ratings have warned of continued risk despite Sri Lanka's domestic debt restructuring plan, as the agency doubts external creditors' approval.

Highlighting the risks, the agency pointed out that it is still unclear whether the government’s proposal has received the support of the country’s external creditors. “If not, the risk of further domestic debt restructuring could linger, resulting in further instability for the banking sector.”

21 Tamil Nadu fishermen sentenced to 5 years in jail by Sri Lankan courts

22 Tamil Nadu fishermen, who were arrested by Sri Lanka's Navy for alleged illegal fishing, have brought before Kayts Magistrate Court.

Whilst the Magistrate Court initially sentenced 21 of the fishermen to 18 years in jail, the Court has extended this to 21 years. This was with the exemption of a fisherman aged on 16th  on bail worth 10,000 rupees and all charges against him were dropped.

Vageeshwari Nathan, mother of Tamil political prisoner, remembered - 1 year on

The first anniversary of the death of Vageeshwari Nathan, the mother of Tamil political prisoner Parthiban Vigneshwaranathan, was commemorated on 6th July at her house in Tirunelveli.

Nathan, who passed away at the age of 77 last year, had been protesting for the release of her son for the past 28 years. The commemoration ceremony was attended by her surviving relatives, as well as members of the Voice for the Voiceless organisation. 

Protestors demand release of land in Mullaitivu

Tamil villagers in Mullaitivu are demanding release of their land by the Sri Lankan military and have marched one army camp to another in Keppapilavu.

Remembering the Black Tigers

On July 5, Eelam Tamils across the world remember and mourn the sacrifices made by the LTTE's elite women and men, the Black Tigers. “Karumpuli Naal” marks the sacrifice made by the first Black Tiger, Captain Miller, or Vallipuram Vasanthan, 36 years ago.

In 1987, he attacked a Sri Lankan Army garrison in Nelliyadi in the Jaffna district, by driving a small truck with explosives into it. Forty Sri Lankan soldiers were killed in the attack.

Black Tigers commemorated in Jaffna and Mullaitivu

'Karumpuli Naal' or 'Black Tigers Day' was marked in Jaffna and Mullaitivu today.

Black Tigers Day marks the sacrifice made by the first Black Tiger, Captain Miller, or Vallipuram Vasanthan, 36 years ago.

At the University of Jaffna, students and the general public offered flowers, lit lamps and observed a moment of silence to remember the lives of the elite force that sacrificed their lives during the armed conflict.