• IMF warns Sri Lanka on foreign borrowing

    Aug 09

    The International Monetary Fund has warned Sri Lanka over its increasing foreign debt, which has been growing year-on-year, according to the latest figures.

  • Body found in Kilinochchi

    The body of a male has been found in Visvamadu, Kilinochchi, reported Uthayan.

    Local police recovered the body, which remains unidentified, on Sunday morning and brought it to Kilinochchi Hospital.

  • Bishop of Mannar refuses to participate in Sri Lanka's domestic inquiry on missing persons
    The Bishop of Mannar in a letter to the Presidential Commission on Missing Persons said he would not contribute to the commission due to Sri Lanka’s historic failure of domestic inquiries in addressing injustices faced by Tamils.
  • Australia's 'cruel' asylum seeker policy slammed by over 190 experts
    Over 190 individuals and organisations have signed a statement condemning Australia's asylum seeker policy, demanding the government adopt alternative solutions consistent with the Refugee Convention.

    The Guardian reported that the 190 experts, which included leading human rights lawyers, religious leaders and refugee advocates, accused both major political parties of “wilfully and deliberately” pursuing harmful policies against asylum seekers.

    The statement accused the Australian government of “pursuing a policy of detention for asylum-seekers, both adults and children, in spite of clear evidence that it causes psychiatric disorders, self-harm and suicide”, “engaging in forced deportations to situations of danger with confirmed fatal outcomes” and “encouraging racist media coverage.”

  • 1 injured in attack by unidentified men on motorcycles in Jaffna

    A 26-year-old man has been injured and admitted to hospital after being attacked by four unidentified men near his home in Jaffna, reports Uthayan.

    Ranjan Ramanan, was attacked by his house in the Mayilani region of Jaffna Thondamanaaru, by four men on motorcycles.

  • Attack in Amparai leaves 9 men and women injured


    Photograph: Battinews

  • Tamil Nadu students protest against pro-Sri Lanka films

    Updated 20:45 BST

  • 9 Eelam Tamil asylum seekers arrested by Indian police
    Indian security forces arrested nine Eelam Tamil refugees Friday, who were allegedly attempting to flee the country from the town of Oriyur in Ramanathapuram district of Tamil Nadu, reports The Hindu.

    “They were to be illegally ferried to Australia when police arrested them,” the Police Superintendent was quoted by the paper as saying.
  • Government withholding funds to Northern Province says Chief Minister
    The Chief Minister of the Northern Province, C.V. Wigneswaran said the government was withholding funds, whilst publicly announcing it had been delivered.
  • Second Tamil student at Sabaragamuwa University arrested by TID

    Sri Lanka’s Terrorist Investigation Division (TID) has detained another Tamil student from Sabaragamuwa University, following his discharge from hospital where he was receiving treatment after being attacked.

    Santhirakumar Sutharshan from Muhamalai was arrested on his return to the university hostel by Sri Lanka’s TID. The student had been receiving treatment at Balangoda and Ratnapura after he had been attacked on Sunday.

    Following Sutharshan’s arrest, his parents were told that he had been sent to the infamous 4th floor of Sri Lanka's Criminal Investigation Department in Colombo.

    Another Tamil youth, second-year student Yoganathan Nirojan, was arrested on Tuesday and is also being detained at the 4th floor.

    See more the Uthayan here.

  • Sri Lanka and Bahrain look to bolster economies
    A meeting discussing joint cooperation between Sri Lankan investors and the Bahrain Chamber of Commerce and Industry (BCCI) was held Friday in Beit Al-Tejjar, reports the Colombo Gazette.
  • British officials met Sri Lankan military advisers shortly after 70,000 Tamil civilian deaths in May 2009
    The Police in Northern Ireland (PSNI) held a meeting between British officials and a Sri Lankan military adviser a month over 70,000 Tamil civilians were killed in the Sri Lankan government’s final onslaught in May 2006, reports The Guardian.

    A freedom of information request resulted in UK government lawyers confirming  that no official minutes were taken during the meeting, in Belfast between the two parties.

    A researcher from the pressure group Corporate Watch, who submitted the Freedom of Information (FOI) request raised questions over Britain’s demeanour with the Sri Lankan government after May 2009.

    Speaking to The Guardian Phil Miller said,

    “We are being kept in the dark about what went on at this Belfast meeting. Did Britain raise any concerns about Sri Lanka’s massacre of Tamils before it let the PSNI continue its role as ‘critical friends’ with Colombo?”

    Yasmine Ahmed, from Rights Watch UK, said

    "The British public has a right to know the nature and extent of UK government cooperation with and support to the Sri Lankan government during a period of brutal violence and severe human rights abuses against the Tamil population."
  • Chief Monks urge BBS and government ministers to make amends
    Chief Prelates urged the Bodu Bala Sena (BBS) to resolve its differences with government ministers through dialogue during a meeting in Kandy on Friday.
  • Rajapaksa accuses UN organisations of 'deliberate' violations of principles of justice
    The Sri Lankan President accused United Nations organisations of ‘deliberate’ violations of fundamental principles of justice and rule of law, reports the Colombo Page.

    Addressing the opening ceremony of the Third South Asia Judicial Roundtable on Environmental Justice, on Friday, Rajapaksa said,
  • Lawyers for families of disappeared request further excavations of Mannar mass grave

    Lawyers representing families of disappeared Tamils have filed an application in court, requesting further excavation of a mass grave that was unearthed in Mannar in December last year, reports BBC Tamil.

    The remains of at least 80 people were excavated from the mass grave in Thirukketheeswaram, with many of the wounds discovered on the bodies believed to have been caused by gunshots. Both the Bishop of Mannar and the Tamil National Alliance called for an international investigation into the mass grave site.

    The Sri Lankan courts approved the request for further excavations, and also ordered an affidavit from the Mannar regional chair person, who stated that there were no records of a cemetery in the area, to be produced before them.

    See more from BBC Tamil here.

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…