• Eelam Refugees in Tamil Nadu blocked from observing Maaveerar Naal

    Nov 30
    Eelam Tamil refugees at a camp in  Thoppukollai, Tamil Nadu, were blcked from observing a day of remembrance on November 27th, with Indian police pre-emptively arresting 84 people last week.

    The refugees protested against the decision to block and religious ceremonies being performed on the 17th of November, by the camp authorities.
  • Maaveerar Naal remembrance event held in Indonesian prison
    Tamils being detained in a prison in Indonesia held a remembrance event to mark Maaveerar Naal on the 27th of November, reports Pathivu.

    Inmates lit candles and laid flowers in remembrance of those who gave their lives for the Tamil struggle.
  • Presidential candidate Sirisena signs MoU with opposition parties

    The common opposition candidate for next month’s presidential elections, Maithripala Sirisena, has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with several parties and civil society groups.

    The signing, under the patronage of member of the Buddhist clergy, Maduluwawe Sobitha, took place earlier today in Colombo.

    Former president Chandrika Kumaratunga Bandaranaike, UNP leader Ranil Wickremasinghe and Democratic Party chief Sarath Fonseka were amongst the signatories who signed the MoU.

    See full text of the MoU here.

    Sirisena began his election campaign on Sunday, with a rally in his constituency of Pollonurawa, alongside Wickremasinghe.

  • BBS denies backing Mahinda

    The Bodu Bala Sena’s General Secretary Galagoda Gnanasara denied that the organisation had decided to support President Mahinda Rajapaksa in next month’s presidential elections.

    Speaking to media on Monday, Gnanasara said the BBS never stated that it would support the incumbent or his government.

    “What we have stated is that there is an international conspiracy to destroy Sri Lanka and we have stressed the need of defeating that. It is the people who should make the final decision. We are only raising awareness on the conspiracy,” Gnanasara said.

    Only last week Gnanasara pledged “unconditional support” to the president.

  • Maithripala signs MoU with JHU

    President Rajapaksa's former coalition partner, the Jathika Hela Urumaya (JHU) has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the opposition candidate for the forthcoming presidential election, Maithripala Sirisena, reported Colombo Gazette.

    The JHU had put forward some proposals to the opposition candidate, which were rejected by Mahinda Rajapaksa, causing the party run by Buddhist monks to leave the ruling UPFA coalition.

    Earlier today Sirisena signed an MoU with other opposition parties, including the UNP.

  • Western countries want to bring dummies into power - Mahinda

    Sri Lanka's President Mahinda Rajapaksa claimed today that western countries were intent on bringing dummies into power around the world, adding they were trying to do the same in Sri Lanka, reported the DailyMirror.

  • Common opposition candidate's 'trilingual policy'...


    At the common opposition candidate's inaugural rally in Polonaruwa, efforts to portray a 'trilingual policy' failed as the main sign on stage read with multiple errors in Tamil.

    The sign should have read: ஒரு வானத்தின் கீழ் ஒரே விளை நிலமாக எமது நாடு.

  • Maaveerar Naal observed across Europe

    Dortmund, Germany

    Maaveerar Naal was commemorated by Tamils across mainland Europe, with families gathering in various cities to remember their dead.

    We've included a selection of photographs European cities below.

  • Australia govt 'willfully blind' to SL crimes says Tamil Refugee Council
    The Tamil Refugee Council (TRC) condemned the Australian government's handing back of 38 asylum seekers to Sri Lanka this week, after 37 were arrested by authorities.

    "The Australian government knows what is happening there, yet it remains willfully blind to all these crimes. Only two years ago the Australian government representative at the UN Human Rights Council asked Sri Lanka to stop torturing and disappearing its own citizens. Yet it remains happy to send back people fleeing this torture and murder," said the TRC spokesperson, Trevor Grant.

    "This entire operation further enhances Australia's growing global reputation as a selfish country that couldn't care less about its international obligations, as defined by its signature on the Refugee Convention," he added.

  • Sri Lanka will not 'dance to tune of outsiders,' says Rajapaksa
    Sri Lanka's president Mahinda Rajapaksa announced that the country would not succumb to foreign pressure, whilst speaking at Temple Trees at a meeting of the Fiscal Officer's Union this weekend.

    “We cannot allow this country to go backwards,” said Mahinda Rajapaksa.
  • SLMC meets Mahinda Rajapaksa to discuss presidential elections
    The Sri Lankan Muslim Congress (SLMC) held talks with the Sri Lankan president in an attempt to decide who it will support at the upcoming January presidential elections, reports Colombo Gazette.

    Concerns over the function of the Eastern Provincial Council were raised at the meeting and the two parties have agreed to hold further talks.
  • Over 1,400 families displaced by floods in Mannar

    The District Disaster Management Group announced 1,428 families have been displaced due to floods in Mannar, reports Uthayan.

  • Maaveerar Naal commemorated in Canada
    Canadian Tamils gathered in Toronto, Markham, to commemorate Maaveerar Naal.

  • Former SL military general to face arrest and trial for crimes against humanity
    A retired Sri Lankan army general, allegedly responsible for mass extrajudicial killings of Tamil civilians found in the Chemmani mass graves in the North-East of Sri Lanka, is expected to come under pressure to be prosecuted for crimes against humanity in South Africa.

    South African activists and lawyers, using a recent constitutional court affirmation extending South Africa’s universal jurisdiction laws to "ensure that perpetrators of international crimes committed by foreign nationals" are held accountable, are likely to push for the arrest and trial of Srilal Weerassoriya, who reportedly arrived in South Africa to attend a Military Christian Fellowship conference on Sunday.

    The move comes after activists and lawyers worked on a 2 year informal fact-finding mission to document the Sri Lankan army general’s involvement in extrajudicial killings in the North-East during the 1990’s which have been linked to several mass graves found in the region.

    The Chenmai mass graves were first discovered after a Sri Lankan soldier, charged of raping and murdering a Tamil teenager in July 1998, revealed the whereabouts of a mass grave site where he had been tasked with burying over 400 bodies.
  • Sinhala Buddhist organisation backs Rajapaksa

    Ravana Balaya, a Sinhala Buddhist organisation, announced that it will be supporting incumbent Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa, at the forthcoming presidential elections, on Sunday.

    ColomboPage reported that the announcement was made at the annual Ravana Balaya congress that was held in Colombo. The leader of the organisation, Buddhist monk Iththakande Saddhathissa, reportedly vowed to defeat opposition candidate Maithripala Sirisena, stating that his candidacy was an attempt to cause division amongst Sinhala leaders.

    The announcement follows another Sinhala Buddhist group, Boda Bala Sena, pledging their “unconditional support” to Mahinda Rajapaksa. See more here.

    Also see more of Ravana Balaya's activities in the past year in our earlier posts:

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