Tamil Affairs

Tamil News

Latest news from and about the homeland

As Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi departed Sri Lanka earlier this month, New Delhi’s media was already hailing the visit as a diplomatic triumph. A raft of development projects had been announced and a significant new defence pact between the two governments signed. Images broadcast showed Modi beside a smiling Sri Lankan president Anura Kumara Dissanayake, arms raised aloft in symbolic…

Without changes to the ‘letter or spirit’- Tamil Nadu’s BJP leaders demand implementation of 13th Amendment

Meeting with India’s Foreign Minister, S Jaishankar, in New Delhi, several BJP officials from Tamil Nadu, including the President of Tamil Nadu’s BJP branch, K. Annamalai, have urged India to press for the full implementation of the 13th amendment in Sri Lanka without change to the letter or spirit.

TNPF urges USA support for federal solution and establishment of international criminal tribunal

Ahead of Sri Lanka’s 75th Independence Day, Tamil National People’s Front leader Gajendrakumar Ponnambalam, has written and met with US Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs, Victoria Nuland, and stressed the need for a federal solution.

US Ambassador meets with Tamil and Muslim leaders to discuss political solution to ethnic conflict

Ahead of Sri Lanka's 75th Independence Day, US Ambassador to Sri Lanka, Julie Chung, and Under Secretary Victoria Nuland,  met with Tamil and Muslim political leaders to discuss reconciliation and a political solution to Sri Lanka's history of ethnic conflict.

On Twitter the Ambassador tweeted:

Tamil diaspora groups ask Canadian Parliament to bring Sri Lankan officials to international courts

Tamil diaspora groups are asking Ottawa to bring Sri Lankan officials to international tribunals.

Earlier this month the Canadian government imposed sanctions on four Sri Lankan state officials. This includes two of Sri Lanka's former presidents, Mahinda Rajapaksa and Gotabaya Rajapaksa, as well as two former Sri Lankan soldiers.

Ottawa sanctioned the four high-ranking officials for alleged human rights violations during the Island's 26-year conflict.

New Malden celebrates Tamil Heritage Month

 

Photo credit: Andy Sillett

Marking Tamil Heritage Month and Thai Pongal, British Tamils held a vibrant festival in the streets of New Malden within the borough of Kingston.

Last year, Tamil Heritage Month was introduced to Britain's capital city through the London Assembly and is being marked by boroughs across the capital with significant Tamil communities.

A veiled threat and more empty promises – Wickremesinghe vowed he ‘will never betray the Sinhala nation’

Speaking before Sri Lanka’s All-Party Conference, Sri Lankan President Ranil Wickremesinghe maintained a “middle position” on the 13th amendment is no longer tenable and stressed that “either we ought to get rid of the 13th amendment or should implement it”.

Batticaloa Journalists commemorate Black January

Tamil journalists in Batticaloa gathered to mark "Black January", an event designed to speak out against the Sri Lankan state's acts of intimidation, murder and enforced disappearance against journalists.

A peaceful protest was held in front of the monument of the deceased journalists located in Gandhi Park in Batticaloa district,

China to offer Sri Lanka a 2-year debt moratorium

In a letter sent to the finance ministry on 19 January, the Export-Import Bank of China offered Sri Lanka a two-year debt moratorium.

The bank also stated that it would support Sri Lanka's efforts to secure a $2.9 billion dollar loan from the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

Earlier this month a group of 182 development experts and economists called on creditors to cancel Sri Lanka's debt in order for the island to move forward with restructuring its economy.

Eric Cantona’s kung fu kick and the Tamil connection

Eric Cantona will forever be a Manchester United legend. But it’s not the 82 goals or the four league titles that leave the fiery forward endeared in the hearts of many United fans. Instead, it is a single moment on 25 January, 1995, when Cantona launched his infamous ‘kung-fu’ kick on a football hooligan at Selhurst Park. Twenty-eight years later, it remains one of the most extraordinary moments in the history of British sport.

Jaffna Tamils observe 'Black Week' ahead of Sri Lanka's independence day

Ahead of Sri Lanka's 75th Independence Day, Jaffna Tamils have commenced observing "Black Week" in protest of the Sri Lankan government.