Tamil Affairs

Tamil News

Latest news from and about the homeland

An open letter to Narendra Modi: Stand with Tamil Eelam
Dear Prime Minister Modi, Vanakkam. As you prepare for your upcoming visit to Sri Lanka, I write to you not just as an Eelam Tamil, but as a member of a people with deep historical, cultural, and civilisational ties to the land you lead.  The Eelam Tamils, an ancient people rooted in the north and east of the island, have long looked to India not just as a neighbour, but as a sibling…

Jaya urges Modi to secure release of 64 fishermen arrest by SL navy

Jun 24, 2014
Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Jayalalithaa urged the Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi to secure the release of 64 fishermen currently in Sri Lankan custody on Tuesday, as 11 more fishermen being detained by the Sri Lankan Navy on Monday, reports the Times of India.

Forty-six fishermen were arrested last Wednesday by the Sri Lankan Navy, whilst another seven were arrested the following day.

In her latest letter to Modi, Jayalalithaa called for a permanent solution, arguing that such a solution "lies only in [the] retrieval of Katchatheevu island".

"Until such time, the Union government must impress upon the Sri Lankan government to abstain from attacks on and abduction of our innocent fishermen on the high seas in the Palk Bay. Further, the joint mechanisms which are designed to ensure the speedy release of apprehended fishermen should be effectively activated," she wrote.

Chandrika concerned about impunity over hate crimes

Jun 24, 2014
Former Sri Lankan President Chandrika Kumarathunga called on Tuesday for an "impartial inquiry" into the recent anti-Muslim violence by Buddhist groups, expressing concern about the failure of law enforcement agencies to bring those responsible to account, reported Colombo Gazette.

“I am appalled by initial reports that the violence seems orchestrated and followed a public meeting and a provocative march by violent extremists who pursue their narrow personal goals, in the name of Buddhism. It is a matter of great concern that the law enforcement authorities have failed to deal with the hate mongering and blatant violation of the Law for nearly 18 months," she said, calling on the government "to institute an impartial inquiry into the incidents without delay and to direct the law enforcement authorities to take strict legal action against the instigators and perpetrators of this savage violence."

Mrs Kumarathunge, president of Sri Lanka from 1994 till 2005, faced extensive criticism by international human rights group for impunity and injustice over numerous incidents killings of Tamils by state forces during her long term in office.

Editor of state-owned paper calls for arrest of Al Jazeera journalist

Jun 24, 2014

The editor of the Daily News, a paper owned by the Sri Lankan state, has called for the arrest of Al Jazeera journalist Dinouk Colombage, for his coverage of recent violence by Sinhalese against Muslims, reported The Australian.

Rajpal Abeynayake took to Twitter to accuse Colombage of inciting religious tension through his coverage of the violence in Aluthgama, which left 3 Muslims and one Tamil dead, after attacks by Sinhala mobs.

“Lock up this scum to save lives” Abeynayake sid in one tweet, linking to Colombage’s own Twitter page, before tweeting that the journalist and other media were “twitter murderers” who “incited” the violence.

 

 

The editor mentioned President Rajapaksa, his son Namal and Consul-general to Australia, Bandula Jayasekara, in many of his tweets, in one of which he described the journalist as a “Twitter murderer sicko scumbag”.

Monk arrested for ‘staging attack’ after Aluthgama violence

Jun 24, 2014

A monk was arrested on his release from hospital, for the “staging” of his attack and abduction, police in Colombo said.

Watareka Vijitha was found beaten, naked and tied up, after he campaigned against the anti-Muslim violence in southern Sri Lanka.

Police afterwards claimed that the monk’s injuries were self-inflicted using keys and blades.

Campaigners and UK Parliamentarians call for repeal of Sri Lanka's terrorism laws

Jun 24, 2014

Parliamentarians and campaigners held a discussion at the Houses of Parliament in Britain on Tuesday, where campaigners highlighted Sri Lanka's repressive Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA), which has been used to arbitrarily arrest and detain individuals for years.

Organised by the Tamil Information Centre, the event was chaired by British Parliamentarian Paul Burlow. Speakers included Member of Parliament Edward Davey, Yolanda Foster from the South Asia desk at Amnesty International, Dr Andy Keef, the Clinical Directer at Freedom From Torture,  Alan Keenan Senior Analyst and Sri Lanka Project Director at the International Crisis Group and Kulasegaram Geetharthanan, a human rights lawyer.

UN rights chief announces inquiry panel, to investigate despite SL rejection

Jun 24, 2014

The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Navi Pillay, Wednesday, announced further details of the UNHRC mandated probe into rights violations and wartime atrocities in Sri Lanka, noting that the investigation would continue regardless of Sri Lanka's cooperation with UN.

The investigation will consist of 3 appointed experts, Mr Martti Ahtisaari, Ms Silvia Cartwright, and Ms Asma Jahangir, that will work with a team of 12 investigators. The experts will provide an advisory role, guidance and advice as well as independent verification throughout the process.

Details of the experts reproduced below:

Dead body of Jaffna youth found along coast

Jun 23, 2014


Photograph: Uthayan

28-year-old Murukesupillai Nimalraj has been found dead in Jaffna this morning, reported the Uthayan.

Sri Lanka’s Scapegoat for its Own Terror'

Jun 23, 2014
J. S. Tissainayagam

Sri Lanka is using the mask of ‘counterterrorism’ to hide its own terror, whilst increasingly becoming a hub for international crime, said award-winning exiled Tamil journalist J.S. Tissainayagam in a piece for Foreign Policy.

Tissainayagam, a former a Nieman Fellow at Harvard Univeristy, said that by continuing to paint itself as a victim of terrorism, Sri Lanka “absolves itself of its own inaction if not outright compliance with exporting terrorism”.

Whilst Sri Lanka may continue to claim the alleged revival of the LTTE as a reason for receiving international assistance, Tissainayagam argues that meanwhile, with government and military involvement, the island has become a hub for international crime.

Madras High Court orders reinstatement of arrest warrant for Sri Lankan minister

Jun 23, 2014
A Madras high Court, Monday ordered a notice to recall a non-bailable warrant that was issued against a current Sri Lankan Minister Douglas Devananda.

In November 1986, Devananda, who was then a part of the Eelam People’s Revolutionary Front paramilitary group, was charged alongside nine others for opening fire on civilians in Tamil Nadu’s capital Chennai.

See full report here.

Large scale campaigns are being organised for 'minor incidents' – Rajapaksa

Jun 23, 2014
The Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa criticised recent protests, stating that "large scale operations are organised for even the most minor incidents", reports Colombo Telegraph.
 
“During the conflict period, the LTTE killed people irrelevant of their ethnicity. Certain groups that didn’t dare stage a single hartal campaign during the LTTE period have now started them. Large scale hartal campaigns are organised for even the most minor incidents," he said, speaking yesterday after Muslim protests against the BBS across the island, whilst not stating which protests he was referring to. 

Chandrika concerned about impunity over hate crimes
Editor of state-owned paper calls for arrest of Al Jazeera journalist
Monk arrested for ‘staging attack’ after Aluthgama violence
Campaigners and UK Parliamentarians call for repeal of Sri Lanka's terrorism laws
UN rights chief announces inquiry panel, to investigate despite SL rejection
Dead body of Jaffna youth found along coast
Sri Lanka’s Scapegoat for its Own Terror'
Madras High Court orders reinstatement of arrest warrant for Sri Lankan minister
Large scale campaigns are being organised for 'minor incidents' – Rajapaksa
US concerned over Sri Lanka's categorical refusal to work with inquiry
Chandrika concerned about impunity over hate crimes
Editor of state-owned paper calls for arrest of Al Jazeera journalist
Monk arrested for ‘staging attack’ after Aluthgama violence
Campaigners and UK Parliamentarians call for repeal of Sri Lanka's terrorism laws
UN rights chief announces inquiry panel, to investigate despite SL rejection
Dead body of Jaffna youth found along coast
Sri Lanka’s Scapegoat for its Own Terror'
Madras High Court orders reinstatement of arrest warrant for Sri Lankan minister
Large scale campaigns are being organised for 'minor incidents' – Rajapaksa
US concerned over Sri Lanka's categorical refusal to work with inquiry