Tamil Affairs

Tamil News

Latest news from and about the homeland

Con City - Thieves and scorpions
The dark comedy genre has been in vogue in the Tamil industry for a while now. Producer turned first time director Harish Durairaj initiates his filmography with the crime-comedy ‘Con City’ starring Arjun Das, Anna Ben, Yogi Babu and Vadivukkarasi as a motley crew family unit of scammers. The film is a family entertainer full of twists and turns which is an enjoyable experience overall. …

Jaya urges Modi to ensure release of fishermen arrested by SL navy

May 30, 2016
The chief minister of Tamil Nadu, J Jayalalitha has written to the Indian prime minister, Narendra Modi requesting his intervention in securing the release of seven Tamil Nadu fishermen who were arrested by the Sri Lankan navy on Tuesday.

"Sri Lankan Navy has escalated the frequency and magnitude of instances of abduction of our fishermen and the seizure of their boats and fishing equipment over the last two years," Ms Jayalalitha said in a letter. See more here.

JVP unhappy about progress on KP investigation

May 30, 2016
The Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) said it was unhappy about progress made on the government's investigation of the former LTTE member, Kumaran Pathmanathan, known as 'KP'.

Lawyers representing the JVP MP Vijitha Herath made a submission to the Court of Appeals urging him to be arrested under the Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA) and for an investigation to be conducted into Mr Pathmanathan's involvement with the LTTE, Colombo Page reported.

See more here.

EU to prioritise implementation of UNHRC resolution in Sri Lanka development strategy

May 30, 2016

The Working Group on Co-operation under the framework of the European Union –Sri Lanka Joint Commission is to set priorities to assist Sri Lanka in the areas of accountability, transitional justice, resettlement and durable solutions reports Xinhua news.

Tamil NGO worker arrested by TID in Kilinochchi

May 30, 2016

Updated 06:54 GMT

Another Tamil man was arrested by the Terrorism Investigation Department (TID), who accused him of plotting to restart the LTTE.

Father of two Sankaralingam Sasikaran, 30, was arrested on Monday evening in Kilinochchi and taken to the 2nd floor of the TID headquarters in Colombo, according to his wife.

Mr Sasikaran, originally from Sinnaoorani, Batticaloa, was living in Bharathipuram, Kilinochchi, where he was employed by a local NGO, which worked with war-affected households and providing education to children.

SLMC leader says Eastern CM should apologise

May 29, 2016
The leader of the Sri Lankan Muslim Congress, Rauf Hakeem, has called for the Eastern province's chief minister, Nazeer Ahamed to apologise unconditionally for telling a navy officer at an event in Sampur on May 20 to "just get out from here".

Mr Hakeem, whose party represents the chief minister, said some parties would take political advantage of such incidents.

"We should not get caught in the attempts of some parties ready to create rifts," he was quoted by Colombo Page as saying.

"We buried the demons during the last general election. We should find ways to not to let them resurrect," he added.

Sri Lankan army says ammunition found in Kilinochchi well

May 29, 2016
The Sri Lankan army announced it would be launching an investigation after ten claymore mines, 42 mortar bombs and 65 hand grenades were found in an abandoned well in Kilinochchi.

The army spokesperson, Brigadier Jayanath Jayaweera said it was likely to have been hidden during the armed conflict by the LTTE.

See here and here.

Murdered Tamil journalist Aiyathurai Nadesan remembered in Batticaloa

May 29, 2016
The 12th anniversary of assassinated Tamil journalist Aiyathurai Nadesan was observed today in Batticaloa The remembrance ceremony was organized by the Eastern Provincial Journalists Federation and Jaffna Press Club.
Photograph:Tamil Guardian


Mr Nadesan, commonly known as ‘Nellai Nadesan,’ was shot dead by a paramilitary group when he was on his way to his office in 2004. As a profile journalist and a columnist, he worked for local Tamil dailies and international news agencies.

Sri Lankan soldiers oversee another Hindu ceremony in HSZ

May 29, 2016

Sri Lankan troops oversaw a Hindu ceremony at a temple located within the Palali High Security Zone (HSZ) in Jaffna on Sunday, as Tamil devotees were allowed in to pray.

The Sri Lankan military organised transport in and out of the Manampirai Pillayar Temple and escorted civilians around the site, situated within the Palali Army Cantonments.

Sri Lankan president defends land releases with talk of bolstering security

May 28, 2016
Sri Lanka’s president has defended the small scale release of land held by the military to their rightful Tamil owners in the North-East by pledging that national security “has been further strengthened”.

Speaking to a gathering of the Sri Lankan community in Japan, Maithripala Sirisena emphasised that “the national security of Sri Lanka has been further strengthened and it has not weakened in any way,” according to the President’s official media division.

He also “vehemently rejected the claims by some websites that the Government is betraying the security forces,” it reported.

Defending the release of land by his government in the Tamil North-East, the president assured the crowd that he has taken "every step" to ensure the national security. "There is no threat whatsoever,” he said. “We have taken every step to ensure the national security."

Mr Sirisena was responding to a question from the audience, with regards to criticism he has received for releasing the land – an issue that has seen dozens of protests by Tamils in the North-East in this year alone.

"They (the Tamils) have waited not one or two years but 27 years to get their lands back," Mr Sirisena said.

No foreign involvement in war crimes probe - Ranil

May 28, 2016

The war crimes mechanism mandated by a UN resolution last October will not include foreign participation, despite the binding resolution's call for international involvement in any accountability mechanism.

JVP unhappy about progress on KP investigation
EU to prioritise implementation of UNHRC resolution in Sri Lanka development strategy
Tamil NGO worker arrested by TID in Kilinochchi
SLMC leader says Eastern CM should apologise
Sri Lankan army says ammunition found in Kilinochchi well
Murdered Tamil journalist Aiyathurai Nadesan remembered in Batticaloa
Sri Lankan soldiers oversee another Hindu ceremony in HSZ
Sri Lankan president defends land releases with talk of bolstering security
No foreign involvement in war crimes probe - Ranil
Eastern province CM says everyone should apologise
JVP unhappy about progress on KP investigation
EU to prioritise implementation of UNHRC resolution in Sri Lanka development strategy
Tamil NGO worker arrested by TID in Kilinochchi
SLMC leader says Eastern CM should apologise
Sri Lankan army says ammunition found in Kilinochchi well
Murdered Tamil journalist Aiyathurai Nadesan remembered in Batticaloa
Sri Lankan soldiers oversee another Hindu ceremony in HSZ
Sri Lankan president defends land releases with talk of bolstering security
No foreign involvement in war crimes probe - Ranil
Eastern province CM says everyone should apologise