• Keppapulavu IDPs appeal for international intervention to go home

    Tamils from Keppapulavu who were moved out of the Cheddikulam IDP camp by the military this weekend, have appealed to the international community to intervene and allow them to go their original homes, reported TamilNet.

  • Brazil army chief meets Gota

    The Chief of Staff of the Brazilian Army has met with Defence Secretary Gotabaya Rajapakse in Colombo on Monday.

    General Joaquim Silva E Luna led a delegation of high ranking military officials from the Brazilian military.

  • Independent report accuses UN of complicity in covering up war crimes
    An independent report compiled from the accounts of twelve United Nations humanitarian workers during the last phases of the war  accused the United Nation’s  of inaction, failure to speak out and willingness to comply with the Sri Lankan government’s rights violations. The report, published on TamilNet, was written by Julian Vigo, an independent volunteer that was not politically or econom
  • India to support UNHRC on war crimes
    India has stated that it will back the United Nations Human Rights Committee when they visit Sri Lanka to investigate allegations of war crimes and crimes against humanity during the final phase of the armed conflict in 2009.
  • US Colombo embassy to close early due to protests

    The US embassy in Colombo has announced it will be closed from 9:30am on Monday due to anticipated protests against the anti-Islam movie that has sparked protests worldwide and led to the deaths of US embassy officials in Libya.

    The embassy urged US citizens to avoid travelling near the embassy on Monday and to be cautious around protestors.

  • Australia removes family reunion concessions

    The Australian government announced that the family reunion concessions for asylum seekers arriving by boat, will be removed.

    The minister for Immigration and Citizenship, Chris said in a statement:

  • No more IDPs proclaims SL

    The Sri Lankan military - in charge of resettlement - announced that there would be no further IDPs as all Tamils had been 'resettled', on Sunday. 

    The Security Forces Commander Boniface Perera said, 

  • Documentary highlights human rights abuses in Sri Lanka
    A new documentary has underlined the state of human rights abuses faced by Tamils in Sri Lanka demonstrating the persecution they are fleeing from on the island, reported Australia’s current affairs programme Lateline.
  • Finalise road map with TNA, India tells SL

    India has urged Colombo to discuss and finalise a credible road map for the devolution of power with the TNA, during the Sri Lankan President's visit to the country.

    Asserting that such a move would send a 'positive signal' ahead of the UN Human Rights Council in March, the Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh stressed the importance of converting past discussions into firm action.

  • Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister tells SL to treat Tamils equally

    Amidst protests against President’s Mahinda Rajapasa’s visit to Madhya Pradesh, Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan, said it was expected that Sri Lanka treated Tamils equally to clear doubts in the minds of people in both nations.

  • TNA complains about continued discrimination to UN officials

    The visiting delegation from the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights was told of continuing discrimination at the hand of Sri Lankan authorities during a meeting with the TNA on Friday.

    In a statement the TNA said they discussed disappearances, accountability and resettlement issues with Hanny Megally, the head of the Asia, Pacific, Middle East and Africa branch of the OHCHR.

  • Tamil protesters in Vanni intimidated by SL military

    Photograph posted on Twitter by @rkguruparan

    Hundreds of Tamil protestors who had gathered outside the district secretariat in Mullaitheevu, demanding resettlement in their village of Keappa-pulavu on Thursday, were faced with intimidation by the Sri Lankan military.

    Protesting for over one and a half hours the demonstrators demanded for the occupying military to leave their homeland.

    Shouting, “We want our homeland, let the military quit our homeland”, the demonstrators held banners reading, "Keappa-pulavu is our village, SL army quite today! Let us go back and resettle."

    As the protest got underway, the civil society activist, Guruparan Kumaravidvel, reported via Twitter, that there was a heavy Sri Lankan Army intelligence presence. Shortly afterwards, he reported that the TNPF's General Secretary's car had been attacked whilst returning from the protest on Ottuchuttan Road, and the vehicle carrying the TNPF leader Gajendrakumar Ponnambalam was also attacked near Theravil on the way back from Mullaitheevu.

    Photograph posted on Twitter by @rkguruparan

  • TNA meet UN Human Rights officials

    The visiting delegation from the UN Office of the Human Rights Commissioner today met with members of the TNA reports Uthayan.

  • Buddhist monks protest against human rights team visit

    Buddhist monks led 300 protesters from the office of the Jathika Hela Urumaya (JHU) or National Heritage Party to demonstrate opposite a local UN office, reports the Associated Press.

  • Sunday Leader editor sacked ‘for criticising Rajapakses’

    The editor of The Sunday Leader Frederica Jansz has been sacked after the new owner of the paper said articles in the paper were too critical of the president and his family.

    The Sunday Leader is one of the few newspapers in Sri Lanka openly critical of the government and has previously been the target of violence, including the assassination of its previous editor, Lasantha Wikramatunge.

Subscribe to Tamil Affairs