Tamil Affairs

Tamil News

Latest news from and about the homeland

A fisherman in Keppapulavu, Mullaitivu, was assaulted during a visit by Sri Lanka’s Fisheries Minister, Ramalingam Chandrasekaran, as tensions flared during the Minister’s local government election campaign on 24 April. Chandrasekaran, who was touring the North-East with National People’s Power (NPP) candidates, visited Keppapulavu where he met with representatives of the Keppapulavu Fishermen…

Vavuniya residents remember Semamadu massacre

 

An event was held in the Vavuniya village of Semamadu to remember a massacre by the Sri Lankan army in 1984.

Twenty-eight Tamil men and boys in Semamadu were woken up from their sleep and rounded up by the army, taken away in military vehicles never to be seen again, assumed to have been massacred.

Student leaders released on bail after three months in detention

Sri Lankan student leaders Wasantha Mudalige, the convener of Inter University Students’ Federation and Galwewa Siridhamma Thero, the convener of Inter University Bhikku Federation have reportedly been released on bail after being detained under the draconian Prevention Terrorism Act (PTA) for over three months. 

Sri Lankan navy arrest 20 asylum seekers

 


The Sri Lankan navy arrested 20 asylum seekers who were reportedly fleeing the island by boat on Monday. 

The 20 asylum seekers who were on board the fishing vessel, were detained in the seas east of the Foul Point, Trincomalee after a tip off was received by the navy.

Othiyamalai massacre of 32 Tamils by Sri Lankan military remembered

The massacre of 32 Tamils in Othiyamalai, Mullaitivu by the Sri Lankan army in 1984 was remembered last week. 

Maaveerar Naal - a nation's uprising

Last week, thousands of Tamils, from the political strongholds in Jaffna, the militarised heartlands of the Vanni, to the allegedly contested territories of Amparai, lit up destroyed LTTE cemeteries to pay tribute to those who laid down their lives in the armed struggle. Since 2016, when Tamils reclaimed the Kanagapuram Thuyilum Illam in Kilinochchi to hold Maaveerar Naal publicly for the first time since 2012, when Tamil students were beaten by the Sri Lankan army for attempting to mark the day, the commemorations have been growing in scale each year, disrupted only by the lockdowns of the global pandemic. This year was the largest yet, with events reported in at least thirty locations across the eight districts of the North-East.

Harrow Arts Centre calls for creative submissions from Tamil community

Harrow Arts Centre, the prestigious heritage building in the London borough of Harrow will be hosting an exhibition to mark Tamil Heritage Month 2023.

For the exhibition which "aims to creatively explore the rich heritage of the Tamil community", the arts centre is calling on members of the Tamil community to submit artwork which creatively expresses their heritage and culture.

In it's callout the centre says:

We welcome all art forms including creative writing, poetry, textiles, illustration, painting, photography, and ornamental (small scale) sculpture.

Democracy, the economy and climate change - Sri Lanka’s foreign minister meets with US Secretary of State

Approaching Sri Lanka’s 75h Independence Day, Sri Lanka’s Foreign Minister, Ali Sabry, met with US Secretary of State, Anthony Blinken where the US reaffirmed its support for Sri Lanka amidst its ongoing economic crisis and stressed the need for economic and political reforms focused on “transparency, inclusion and good governance”.

DSP - An uninspired cop's tale

Vijay Sethupathi films tend to be a 50:50 deal for me. He is either a part of some of the best Tamil films in recent history or run-of-the-mill, unoriginal template masala films. Unfortunately, DSP falls in the latter category.

Human rights, rule of law & reconciliation are key to a stability and democracy' - US Ambassador meets with TNA MPs

Meeting with Tamil National Alliance (TNA) MPs, U.S. Ambassador to Sri Lanka, Julie Chung, emphasised that "advancing human rights, rule of law & reconciliation among all communities" is key "to a stable and democratic Sri Lanka".

Jaffna Tamils chase out land surveyors

Responding to continued military land grabs, Jaffna Tamils chased out official land surveyors, which had planned to hand over 11 acres from Karainagar, belonging to 44 families, to Sri Lanka's army.

“We live in rented houses without our own land and depend on rain and water. They are trying to give land to the army without considering our condition. We strongly condemn this," a demonstrator told journalists.