• Unidentified persons shoot dead social service worker in Batticaloa

    May 26
    A group of unidentified persons on motorcycles shot and killed a social service worker in Batticaloa, reports the Uthayan.

    Sachithanantham Mathidevan, a 46 year old worker at the Navithanveli Regional Secretariat Office was shot inside his house by the unidentified group. He died on the way to Kaluvanchikudi Hospital, where his body is currently being held.
  • Petition handed to Sri Lankan president demands immediate release of Jaffna students

    The chief minister of the Northern Province, members of parliament, school students and teachers jointly presented a petition to Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena, calling for the immediate release of students who were arrested in Jaffna earlier this month.

    The petition, delivered to Mr Sirisena as he visited the Jaffna Vembadi women’s higher secondary school, contained the names of students arrested by Sri Lankan police for allegedly participating in a protest against the rape and murder of a Tamil schoolgirl.

    Mr Sirisena told the audience that he “will take actions to investigate this matter soon” adding that those who were proven to be innocent would be released.

  • Sri Lankan minister warns against misusing media freedom
    Sri Lanka’s finance minister warned journalists on the island from abusing the apparent environment of media freedom that he claimed was in place under the current government.

    Daily Mirror said Ravi Karunanayake stated stories should not be written to fulfil “certain agendas” and quoted the minister as saying, “attacking us through the media is fine but they should not be used to harm the economy of the country". "Recently, there were several misleading articles published by media against the finance ministry," he added. 

    The minister’s comments came at an event in Colombo hosted by the finance ministry and mass media and the information ministry, launching a programme to provide motorcycles and houses to journalists at subsidised prices.
  • USAID opens roof fabrication plant in Ampara

    The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) opened a roofing factory in Ampara on Wednesday.

  • BBS calls for ‘rules and regulations’ to encourage Sinhalese population growth
    The general secretary of the Bodu Bala Sena said his organisation would put forward policies to ensure the growth of the Sinhalese population on the island.

    Daily Mirror reported Galagodaaththe Gnanasara Thera as saying he had a “vision of making rules and regulations” as there were several areas of the island that had a lower population of Sinhalese people.
  • India bans film on murdered Tamil journalist
    India’s Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) has banned a film about murdered Tamil journalist Isaipriya, on grounds that it may damage relations with Sri Lanka, reports the Hindu.
  • Bodu Bala Sena chief arrested in Sri Lanka
    The head of Buddhist nationalist organisation Bodu Bala Sena (BBS) has been arrested in Sri Lanka, reports the Daily Mirror.
  • Sri Lankan army teaches Tamil women about ‘personal hygiene’

    The Sri Lankan military hosted an event earlier this month to “educate” the women of Kilinochchi about personal hygiene, reports the Sri Lankan army.

  • Sirisena visits Jaffna after protests over school girl rape
    2nd lead
    Photograph Tamil Guardian


    The Sri Lankan president, Maithripala Sirisena visted Jaffna on Monday following last week's protests over the rape and murder of a school girl in Pungudutivu.

  • Wigneswaran tells Sri Lankan president North's needs are greatest
    The chief minister of the northern province, C V Wigneswaran told the Sri Lankan president on Tuesday that the north had much greater needs than the rest of the island and therefore much more financial resources should be allocated to it compared to other provinces.

    Mr Wigneswaran asked the president, Maithripala Sirisena, this whilst he visited Jaffna on Tuesday following sustained protests over the rape and murder of school girl in Pungudutivu.

    The development needs of the north were three to four times greater, Mr Wigneswaran added.

  • Family of Vithiya face ongoing harrassment

    The family of murdered schoolgirl S Vithiya have said that they are experiencing ongoing harassment and have requested to be relocated.

    Vithiya’s mother and brother told Sri Lankan president Maithripala Sirisena during his visit that they feared for their safety and wished to be moved.

  • Sri Lankan CID officers probe 'anti-national' groups in Jaffna
    Criminal Investigation Division (CID) officers arrived in Jaffna on Saturday to probe whether protests over the rape and murder of a Pungudutivu school girl involved "anti-national groups" who were trying to destablise the Jaffna peninsula, the Sunday Times reported.

    Vithiya, who went missing after school on May 13, was found dead with her hands and feet tied to logs the next day. Arrests have been made regarding the incident as demonstrations were held across the North-East, demanding prompt action against the perpetrators.

    Peaceful protests calling for those responsible to face justice turned violent on Wednesday, as distrust and scepticism over whether the Sri Lankan police and legal system would ensure justice increased, following the escape of one of the suspects to Colombo. The suspect was later found and returned to Jaffna police station.

  • Still no ray of light for Tamils despite new Sri Lankan government says Trinco bishop
    The Bishop of Trincomalee, Rt Rev Dr Kingsley Swampillai, said that despite the new government that came to power in Sri Lanka there was "still no ray of light" for Tamils seeking a solution to the islands ethnic conflict.

    “Although the Tamils have been waiting for a solution to relieve their plight for a long time, there is still no ray of light in this regard,” Bishop Swampillai said in an interview to TamilNet this week.


  • Profiles of May 2009: Kumaran
    The following account is based on interviews to Tamils Against Genocide. Personal details of Kumaran (not his real name), place names and dates have been changed to protect his identity.

     Illustration Keera Ratnam


    When Kumaran wakes up in the room he has been given by the Home Office, it takes him a few minutes to adjust to his present surroundings. Sleepless nights, recurrent nightmares and depression help contribute to this disorientation. He feels an overwhelming sense of claustrophobia, of the walls moving in, caging him once again. His room, his present day cage, reminds him of the cell he had been kept prisoner in for two years. It is difficult for him to differentiate between the nightmares of his sleep and his present reality. For Kumaran, life in his room in the UK is one of living torture: uncertainty and threat of deportation mirror the uncertainty and fear which shadowed him when locked away for so many months. For Kumaran the years ahead seem to hold nothing but ceaseless striving: to reconcile the trauma of his past with the relative security of his present.

  • Cameron discusses reconciliation progress with Sri Lankan PM
    The British prime minister, David Cameron, discussed progress on reconciliation with the Sri Lankan prime minister, Ranil Wickremasinghe on Monday, as he congratulated Mr Cameron on his electoral victory.

    In tweet this morning, Number 10 said: "PM congratulated by PM Wickremesinghe of Sri Lanka on election. Discussed progress on reconciliation & agreed to build bilateral relations."

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