• Vendors who hoard rice face ‘stern action’ warns government

    Aug 29

    The Sri Lankan government announced that rice millers who hide stock face ‘stern action’ as it set a deadline for all vendors to submit details of their stock.

    Private mills and stores will be raided after the September 15th deadline to search for hidden stocks, with the government warning those traders who they claim are trying to inflate rice prices.

    The government earlier set prices for rice, with the Consumer Affairs Authority having so far raided 400 vendors who had sold goods at higher than the set limit.

    Meanwhile Sri Lanka is set to import some 100,000 tons of rice from Bangladesh, Pakistan and Vietnam, with Sri Lanka’s Finance Ministry forecasting that 15 per cent of the paddy harvest will be lost this year due to drought.

  • Army intruder caught by locals in Kurunagar
    A Sri Lankan army soldier was apprehended by locals, after he entered a house in Jaffna's coastal suburb of Kurunagar on Wednesday night, reports
  • Military threats call off prayers for Vali North displaced
    Prayers organised for those displaced in Valikaamam North were called off this week after organisers received threats from military personnel, warning them there would be "consequences" if they went ahead with the prayers, Uthayan reports.
  • Police block protestors in Vavuniya on International Day of the Disappeared

    Hundreds of Tamils were blocked from delivering a petition in Vavuniya on Saturday, marking the International Day of the Disappeared.

    Relatives of disappeared from across the Northeast attended an event at Vavuniya Urban Council, before a protest march towards the Government Agent offices at Vavuniya Kachcheri but police stopped the protestors from proceeding, saying that they did not have permission, sources at the scene told the Tamil Guardian.


  • Prayers held in Thirukketheswaram for disappeared
    Families of the disappeared held prayers on Friday at Thirukketheswaram temple, lighting candles in memory of their missing loved ones.

    The prayers, organised by the Youth Network, was attended by over 300 people from Vavuniya, Mannar and Mullaitivu, reports Uthayan.

    "Five years on since the armed conflict ended, but a normal situation has not returned yet. Many problems, such as human rights violations, land issues, disappearances related problems, political issues and economic issues remain unsolved," said organisers.

    "We are disappointed after believing in many politicians, government organisations and commissions. Who should we say our problems to? Who is going to solve it?" asked the families.

  • UN Sec Gen alarmed by rising level of attacks against religious minorities in Sri Lanka
    Buddhist communities in Sri Lanka and Myanmar “are being swept up by a rising tide of extremist sentiment against other groups,” said the United Nations Secretary General.

    See full statement here.
  • Sri Lanka should immediately release fishing boats – Tamil Nadu

    Tamil Nadu has reiterated its demand for the immediate release of its fishing boats held by Sri Lanka.

    Speaking during the first India-Sri Lanka Joint Committee (JC) meeting on fisheries in New Delhi, Tamil Nadu’s Fisheries Secreteary S Vijayakumar reiterated the state’s “firm commitment” to the restoration of traditional fishing rights of Tamil fishermen, including fishing unhindered in the Palk Strait.

    The Government of India should not treat the International Maritime Boundary Line (IMBL) with Sri Lanka as settled, since the constitutional validity previous agreements have been challenged on “extremely valid and legal grounds” by Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa in the Supreme Court of India, he said according to The New Indian Express.

    The Indian delegation was led by Dr Raja Sekar Vundru, Joint Fisheries Secretary, and Sri Lanka was led by Nimal Hettiarachchi, Director General of the Department of Fisheries and Agricultural Resources.

  • Basil blames NPC for lack of development
    Sri Lanka's Economic Development Minister Basil Rajapaksa blamed the Northern Provincial Council (NPC) for the lack of development in the area, stating that the government's development plan had slowed down since the NPC took charge, reports The Hindu.

    “They have not done anything yet,” he told reporters, adding that the NPC should use the powers at hand before demanding more devolution.

    His comments are at stark odds with those from within the NPC however, who have increasingly criticised the government's restrictions and withholding of funds.

    Earlier this year the Chief Minister of the Northern Province, C.V. Wigneswaran slammed President Rajapaksa's failure to uphold pledges made to the NPC.

  • Government evading talks says TNA
    The Tamil National Alliance (TNA) MP M.A. Sumanthiran said the Sri Lankan government was evading the political question by stating false claims of LTTE links.

    "The Government is now saying it cannot hold talks with the TNA because we are representatives of the LTTE. The Government is trying to evade resolving the Tamil issue citing these false claims," he told a press conference on Thursday.

    "We do not have any hidden agenda. We strongly believe a solution to the issue in a united country and we do not want a separate state,” Sumanthiran said.

  • ICRC says missing in Sri Lanka must not be forgotten
    The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) urged the international community not to forget missing persons worldwide, including those in Sri Lanka.

    "States have an obligation under international humanitarian law to take all feasible measures to clarify the fate and whereabouts of people who have gone missing and to inform their families accordingly," said the vice-president of the ICRC, Christine Beerli.

    Stating that the ICRC was working on the cases of 52,000 missing persons worldwide, staff member Marianne Pecassou said:

    "This figure is just the tip of the iceberg, since these cases are only the ones brought to the attention of the ICRC by relatives. We know that many more people remain unaccounted for around the world."

  • Sri Lanka to strengthen defence cooperation with Pakistan

  • Sri Lanka looks to make political solution for Tamils irrelevant - TNA tells India
    Sri Lanka is working to make a political solution for Tamils irrelevant by breaking the linguistic and cultural contiguity in the North-East by militarisation and resettlement of Sinhalese families, the leader of the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) told Indian press on Wednesday.

    “Their objective is also to change the composition and change the cultural and linguistic identity of Tamil regions. The most urgent need is that this should end. It is their hope that if they continue with this, a political solution for Tamils will be irrelevant, a solution would become redundant and they can have their own way,” said R Sampanthan.

    Sampanthan’s comments come after the TNA delegation travelled to India to hold talks with Prime Minister Modi regarding the plight of Tamils in Sri Lanka.

  • Dead body recovered from lagoon in Eastern Province
    The body of a 66-year old man was recovered from Santhiveli Lagoon in Eravoor this week, reports Eastern Province-based website Batti news.

    Arumugam Sithamparampillai had left his home in Santhiveli on Tuesday to attend to his livestock in a neighbouring village. His body was discovered later that evening floating in the lagoon by his son, who had gone out to fish.
  • Minister Bernier celebrates Tamil business success in Canada


    Canada's Minister of State for Small Business and Tourism, Maxime Bernier, celebrated the success and entrepreneurial spirit of the Tamil community in Canada, highlighting their contributions to the Canadian economy.

    As part of the Canadian federal government’s pre-budgetary consultations Minister Bernier met with representatives of the Canadian Tamils' Chamber of Commerce (CTCC) in Toronto on Wednesday.

    “I can see they have a huge impact, like other small business owners, they’re the true Canadians," Minister Bernier told the Tamil Guardian following the meeting.

    “They’re very good entrepreneurs, it’s a plus for us as Canadians to have these entrepreneurs with us,” said the minister, who was     Canada's foreign affairs minister during the end of the armed conflict in Sri Lanka. 

  • UK country guidance on ‘Tamil separatism’ highlights human rights violations by Sri Lanka

    The UK Home Office issued a new asylum country guidance report on ‘Tamil Separatism’ on Thursday, drawing on several reports detailing human rights violations by Sri Lanka against Tamil separatists and people that are perceived to be.

Subscribe to Tamil Affairs

Most-Read Articles

Senior Buddhist monk from Anuradhapura remanded over sexual abuse of minor
A senior Sri Lankan Buddhist monk and chief prelate of the Anuradhapura Atamasthana,…
Velupillay makes history as first Tamil at a FIFA World Cup
Photograph: @Socceroos Nishan Velupillay has been selected in Australia's squad…
17 years today - A massacre in Mullivaikkal
To mark 17 years since the Sri Lankan military onslaught that massacred tens…
In Pictures - Tamil Genocide Remembrance Day commemorated in Mullivaikkal
All photographs by Uthayarasa Shalin Thousands of Tamils gathered at Mullivaikkal…
Tamil rapper arrested for ‘terrorism’ over TikTok video
A Tamil rapper from Kilinochchi has been arrested and remanded under Sri Lanka's…