• DAP slams 'cruel and inhuman' deportation from Malaysia

    May 29
    Malaysia’s opposition Democratic Action Party (DAP) has slammed the deportation of three Tamil men to Sri Lanka as “most unacceptable”, warning that the men face torture in Sri Lanka.

    DAP vice-chairman M Kulasegaran said earlier,
  • Malaysian deportations leave Tamil refugees in a state of fear

    Tamil refugees have been left in a “state of fear” after Malaysian authorities deport three Tamil men to Sri Lanka last week and announce investigations into all refugees in the country under the premise of links to terrorism.

    “Anything can happen at any time”, a Tamil refugee in Malaysia, Selvan (not his real name), told Tamil Guardian over the phone from Kuala Lumpur.

    Over 6,000 Tamil refugees in the country were now living in fear that they too could be deported to Sri Lanka, said Selvan, fearing torture and violence at the hands of the Sri Lankan government on return.

    “There are children, elderly, pregnant women, young people among us… The Malaysian government are treating us like illegal immigrants. We are from Mullivaikal, from the final battle [and] we came here injured”, he said, adding that the fear of being sent back to Sri Lanka was lingering over all those that escaped.

    “The fear that we didn’t have there, we now have on Malaysian soil… we don’t know what will happen next," Selvan added.

  • In Memoriam - Songs from the Purananuru - Song 192
    As May draws to an end, and Tamils remember their loved ones, killed as the armed conflict ended in 2009, we publish the last in our collection of selected Poems from the classical Tamil anthology, the Purananuru (the 400 Puram poems).

    Song 192 - Kaniyan Poonkunran sings
    Tinai – Potuviyal (General heroism)
  • UN 'deeply concerned' over Malaysian deportations
    The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees has said it is “deeply concerned” over the fate of three Tamil men deported from Malaysia and forcibly returned to Sri Lanka warning that they are at risk of “serious harm”.

    The three men were last reported as being held by the Terrorist Investigation Division in Kilinochchi.
  • Parliamentary Select Committee only way forward insists Govt
    Despite insistence from the newly elected Indian Prime Minister that a political solution to the ethnic conflict must go beyond the 13th Amendment, the Sri Lankan government said today that a Parliamentary Select Committee would address the matter and determine the way forward, reports the Island.
  • TNA welcomes 'astounding' Jayalalithaa victory
    The Tamil National Alliance has written to the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu Jayalalithaa, congratulating her on election victory and welcoming her continued concern regarding the Tamil question on the island, earlier this week.

    The letter, sent earlier this week, called the AIADMK victory “an astounding achievement and is indicative of the influence which you [Jayalalithaa] have the capacity to wield”.
  • India should own up to its responsibility and facilitate war crimes investigation'
    India should facilitate a UN investigation into war crimes in Sri Lanka said Amnesty International India's Advocacy Co-ordinator, in a piece published in the Economic Times.

    Raghu Menon, in his piece 'Sri Lanka: sifting through the killing fields', noted the Sri Lankan government's “aggressive campaign” against accountability and called on India to take the lead on delivering justice.

    Menon stated,
  • Arrest by military fails to halt landgrab protest in Kilinochchi

    A protest against landgrabs by the Sri Lankan military, organised by the Tamil National People’s Front and the All Ceylon Tamil Congress, concluded earlier today in Kilinochchi, despite the detention of the party’s regional coordinator last week by the Sri Lankan army.

    Protestors called for the release of Thangavel Jegatheeswaran, who was arrested after defying threats by army officials, who demanded that this demonstration be cancelled.

  • Malaysia must do 'all it can' to ensure safety of deported refugees – HRW
    Human Rights Watch has called on Malaysian authorities to assure the safety of three men who were arrested and forcibly deported from the country and sent to Sri Lanka this week.
  • 77 Tamils arrested since March in government crackdown
    Sri Lankan security forces arrested 77 Tamils since March of this year, as part of a crackdown across the North-East, reported the Jaffna daily newspaper the Uthayan.

    The arrests have taken place from the 6th of March, under the government premise that the suspects are working on the regrouping of the LTTE.
  • Malaysia has 'colluded with mass murderer' says NGO coalition
    The Hindu Rights Action Force, a coalition of religious non-governmental organisations in Malaysia has condemned the arrest and deportation to Sri Lanka of three Tamil refugees, accusing the government of colluding with a mass murderer.

    Hindraf national chairman P Waythamoorthy stated,
  • MoD rejects Tamils' claim to land in Kilinochchi
    Sri Lanka's Ministry of Defence rejected demands made by demonstrators in Kilinochchi day who were calling for their land to be returned to them, stating that the land did not belong to the people.
  • Buddhist monks take over Religious Affairs Ministry
    Buddhist monks occupied the Ministry of Religious Affairs today, staging a sit down protest inside the building against the recently formed police unit dedicated to dealing with religious affairs, reported Al Jazeera.
  • Eastern Provincial Council members commemorate May massacre

    Members of the TNA in the Eastern Provincial Council have marked the 5th anniversary of the Mullivaikal massacres in 2009, reported the Uthayan.

    The TNA councillors wore black shawls during the EPC’s monthly meeting earlier today, while paying respect to those that died in the war.

  • Army applies for more land acquisitions in North-East

    The Sri Lankan Army made 22 applications for land acquisitions in the Jaffna district, said Chief Minister CV Wigneswaran according to Uthayan.

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