Tamil Affairs

Tamil News

Latest news from and about the homeland

A protest march was held last month opposing limestone excavation, mineral sand mining and a proposed wind power project across the villages of Veravil, Valaipadu, Ponnaveli and Kiranchi, in the Poonakary Divisional Secretariat division of Kilinochchi. The demonstration was organised against plans to establish wind power stations and to carry out mineral sand and limestone extraction in the…

‘Sinhala only’ flags raised in Kandy ahead of Sri Lankan swearing in ceremony

'Sinhala only' lion flags were pictured flying alongside Buddhist flags in Kandy today, as the town prepares for the swearing-in of Sri Lanka’s newly appointed ministers at the ‘Temple of the Tooth’, in what looks set to be another Sinhala Buddhist ceremony.

A militarised festival in Jaffna as Nallur Thiruvizha gets underway

Sri Lankan troops have been deployed at the Nallur Kandasamy Temple in Jaffna this week, as the temple’s annual festival – thiruvizha – began last month.

Tamil mother passes away after 13 year quest to find her son

Another parent who was involved in a series of protests by the families of the disappeared has passed away in Mullaitivu.

Sri Lankan police arrest ten Tamils in Jaffna

Based on a tip-off that a youth group in Araly, a town north of Jaffna, was in possession of guns and swords, Sri Lankan police conducted a search in the town yesterday and arrested at least ten people.

The initial search yielded an indigenous gun and a sword in an area that is reportedly populated by Tamil youngsters. The police confiscated the weapons and arrested two persons in relation to the incident. The arrested have been detained in the Vaddukoddai Police Station and are reportedly being interrogated by the police. 

China congratulates 'old friend' Rajapaksa on assuming office 

Chinese Premier Li Keqiang delivered his congratulations to newly appointed Sri Lankan Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa, following the Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna’s (SLPP) election victory in parliamentary elections last week, as Beijing looks to expand ties with the regime.

Former TNPF candidate seriously injured by paramilitary sword attack

<p>The Tamil National People's Front's (TNPF) Amparai District candidate, Kokularaj, was attacked with swords by men from the paramiltary Karuna group shortly after midnight, the TNPF <a href="https://twitter.com/TnpfOrg/status/1292978589672054784?s=20">tweeted</a>.&nbsp;</p> <p>Kokularaj has been admitted to hospital with serious injuries.&nbsp;</p>

Tamil parties appoint National List MPs

The two leading Tamil nationalist parties in the North-East announced the appointment of parliamentarians through Sri Lanka’s National List, as the new parliament gets ready to convene later this month.

The Tamil National People’s Front (TNPF) appointed its General Secretary Selvarajah Kajendren.

Kajendren is a former MP and veteran Tamil activist, who was first elected in 2004. In 2010, he and other parliamentarians left the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) to form the TNPF.

Sri Lanka’s ministers to be sworn in at Buddhist temple

Sri Lanka’s newly appointed ministers are to be sworn in at the ‘Temple of the Tooth’ in Kandy this week, in what looks set to be another overtly Sinhala Buddhist ceremony for Sri Lankan politicians.

No political solution on offer as Rajapaksa speaks on ‘urgent priorities’ in North

Sri Lanka’s newly-appointed prime minister Mahinda Rajapaksa claimed that his government had done a “great deal” for the Tamil people during his previous tenure, as he spoke of livelihoods and irrigation for the Northern Province but not of devolution.

"A great deal was done under difficult circumstances [in the Northern Province] during the tenure of my last government,” claimed Rajapaksa in an interview to Frontline magazine. “This work, which was unfortunately disrupted in the last few years, will be resumed and expedited.”