Tamil Affairs

Tamil News

Latest news from and about the homeland

Trilingual inscription in Tamil, Chinese, and Persian recognised by UNESCO
A rare trilingual stone inscription featuring texts in Tamil, Chinese, and Persian has been added to the UNESCO Memory of the World Register. The tablet, dated 15 February 1409, was discovered in 1911 in Galle, on the southern tip of the island, by a British engineer H.F. Tomalin. It is thought to have been installed by the famed Chinese admiral Zheng He during one of his voyages across the…

Sri Lankan Minister admits military deserters involved in crime wave, 1,700 arrested

Apr 9, 2025
Sri Lanka’s Minister of Public Security and Parliamentary Affairs, Ananda Wijepala, has announced that approximately 1,700 individuals who deserted the Sri Lankan armed forces have been arrested in a major crackdown on organised crime and illegal arms, with authorities acknowledging that many of those involved in criminal activity are former members of the military.

Eight arrested for illegal fishing in Mullaitivu as local fishermen demand action

Apr 9, 2025
Eight individuals have been arrested for engaging in illegal fishing activities off the coast of Mullaitivu over the past two days, amid growing concern from local fishermen about the continued degradation of their livelihoods and marine resources in the region.

‘We do not care’ - Dissanayake defends probe into Rajapaksa grandmother

Apr 9, 2025

Sri Lankan president Anura Kumara Dissanayake has defended an ongoing corruption investigation involving an elderly female relative of the Rajapaksa family allegedly connected to a high-profile corruption case, declaring that no one, regardless of age, will be exempt from scrutiny if they are implicated in the misuse of public funds.

TELO accuses Sri Lankan government of continuing destructive sand mining in Mannar

Apr 9, 2025
Daniel Vasanth, the Mannar District Organiser of the Tamil Eelam Liberation Organisation (TELO), has accused the Sri Lankan government and the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP)-led administration of continuing environmentally destructive mineral sand excavation projects in the Mannar district, despite promises to halt such activities.

Militarisation of worship: army presence at Maavittapuram temple raises eyebrows

Apr 9, 2025
Sri Lankan military presence at Maavittapuram temple’s Kumbhabhishekam sparks concerns over growing militarisation of Tamil religious spaces

Pillayan arrested over ‘abduction and disappearance’ says Sri Lankan police

Apr 9, 2025

Sivanesathurai Chandrakanthan, commonly known as Pillayan, former State Minister and leader of the Tamil Makkal Viduthalai Pulikal (TMVP), has been arrested by the Criminal Investigations Department (CID) for an ‘abduction and disappearance’, said Sri Lankan police today.

Pillayan was taken into custody in Batticaloa yesterday and is currently being transported to Colombo for further questioning. 

Muslim youth detained under PTA released ahead of EU delegation visit, says Sri Lankan MP

Apr 9, 2025

Sri Lankan opposition MP Harsha de Silva has claimed that the recent release of a 22-year-old youth detained under the draconian Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA) was timed to coincide with the upcoming visit of a European Union delegation.

Sri Lankan president writes to Trump, as US president mocks world leaders

Apr 9, 2025
Amid mounting pressure over the United States’ imposition of sweeping tariffs, Sri Lankan President Anura Kumara Dissanayake wrote to Donald Trump this week, as the US president bragged of how world leaders were “kissing my a**” in appeals to reduce the levies

‘If Prabhakaran were here, he would have opposed sanctions against me,’ says Karuna

Apr 9, 2025

Pro-Sri Lankan government paramilitary leader Vinayagamoorthy Muralitharan, widely known as Karuna Amman, has claimed that the UK’s sanctions against him are politically motivated and driven by elements within the Tamil diaspora.

 In a recent interview with BBC Tamil, the former paramilitary leader and deputy minister rejected allegations of human rights abuses and accused the British government of acting under pressure from the British Tamil diaspora.

Sri Lankan government refuses funding for Chemmani mass grave excavation, court told

Apr 9, 2025
Excavation efforts at a cemetery in Chemmani, Jaffna, where human skeletal remains were recently uncovered, have stalled due to a lack of Sri Lankan government funds, the Jaffna Magistrate’s Court was told on Friday.
Sri Lankan Minister admits military deserters involved in crime wave, 1,700 arrested
Eight arrested for illegal fishing in Mullaitivu as local fishermen demand action
‘We do not care’ - Dissanayake defends probe into Rajapaksa grandmother
TELO accuses Sri Lankan government of continuing destructive sand mining in Mannar
Militarisation of worship: army presence at Maavittapuram temple raises eyebrows
Pillayan arrested over ‘abduction and disappearance’ says Sri Lankan police
Muslim youth detained under PTA released ahead of EU delegation visit, says Sri Lankan MP
Sri Lankan president writes to Trump, as US president mocks world leaders
‘If Prabhakaran were here, he would have opposed sanctions against me,’ says Karuna
Sri Lankan government refuses funding for Chemmani mass grave excavation, court told
Sri Lankan Minister admits military deserters involved in crime wave, 1,700 arrested
Eight arrested for illegal fishing in Mullaitivu as local fishermen demand action
‘We do not care’ - Dissanayake defends probe into Rajapaksa grandmother
TELO accuses Sri Lankan government of continuing destructive sand mining in Mannar
Militarisation of worship: army presence at Maavittapuram temple raises eyebrows
Pillayan arrested over ‘abduction and disappearance’ says Sri Lankan police
Muslim youth detained under PTA released ahead of EU delegation visit, says Sri Lankan MP
Sri Lankan president writes to Trump, as US president mocks world leaders
‘If Prabhakaran were here, he would have opposed sanctions against me,’ says Karuna
Sri Lankan government refuses funding for Chemmani mass grave excavation, court told