Tamil righs

Distraught Sri Lankan pilgrims after the attacks. Firstpost The attack on Sri Lankan pilgrims in Tamil Nadu is the awful fallout of competitive grandstanding on the ‘Tamil cause’ by politicians in the state. Historically, the Tamil issue in Sri Lanka has been cynically used by virtually every political outfit in Tamil Nadu as populist rhetoric […]

Embarking from Vellapallam, India. By JIM YARDLEY VELLAPALLAM, India — Drifting on the strait between India and Sri Lanka, an Indian fisherman named Sakthivel cowered in his boat. A Sri Lankan naval officer, who took the man’s photograph, delivered a warning: If we find you in Sri Lankan waters again, you will never leave.   In […]

Media release: Sri Lanka  /July 13, 2012                                                                                The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) joins partner organisations in the South Asia Media Solidarity Network (SAMSN) in calling on the Sri Lanka’s authorities to guarantee the safety of journalist Shantha Priyadarshana Wijesooriya, target of an attempted abduction in Sri Lanka’s capital, Colombo, on July 5, 2012. […]

”We the undersigned, political and civil society leaders and activists,  assembled today in Colombo carefully analyzed the grave situation that has developed immediately after the death of the above named prisoner early yesterday, have unanimously decided to forward following demands to Your Excellency’s immediate attention and anticipate positive response to ease the crisis: ” (copy […]

The chairman of the Kaaraitheevu Divisional Council (Piratheasa Chapai) who was elected on the ticket of Tamil National Alliance (TNA) to the civic council, has been threatened in Sinhala by telephone on Thursday, according to a complaint made at Chammaanthu’rai Police station, sources in Ampaa’rai said. He would have to face serious consequences if he […]

The people of Vali North say that they intend resettling in the land grabbed by the forces, with holding white flags. The displaced people expressed their intention to the TNA parliamentarian Vinayagamoorththy and have demanded co-operation from the TNA parliamentarian as people’s representativeThe security forces have acquired the coastal village of Myliddy as a high security […]

By Dr. Ajith C. S. PereraOn 27th April last year, the Supreme Court of Sri Lanka paved the way for a formidable and sustainable national economy and an enhanced human rights image – two imperative needs to take Sri Lanka to the next higher level. Accessibility is an inherent right of everyone that can empower ALL […]

The Tamil National Alliance (TNA) has softened its stance on its long standing demand for the re-merger of the northern and eastern provinces, and has instead noted that the modalities for such a merged unit could be discussed subject to the interests of the Muslim community, informed sources said today.  The TNA handed over its […]

 by Jehan PereraThe dominance of national security considerations in the actions of the government have been highlighted again in the hundreds of detentions that have taken place in recent days in the East, especially in the Trincomalee area.It is reported that most of those detained have been released after being screened by the security forces. […]

By Col. R. Hariharan May Day celebrations in Sri Lanka this year saw an unusual sight. R Sampanthan, the septuagenarian leader fighting for Sri Lanka Tamil rights and president of the Tamil National Alliance (TNA), standing shoulder to shoulder with the United National Party (UNP) leader Ranil Wickremesinghe, waved a Sri Lanka flag to the […]

The popular emotion among the Tamils and the parties representing them in Sri Lanka was that a political solution to the ethnic crisis should be found within the framework of an united Sri Lanka (SL), CPM Member of Parliament T K Rangarajan said here on Sunday.Rangarajan was part of the Parliamentary delegation that visited the […]

The Indian delegation of Members of Parliament, which arrives here on April 16, will have an opportunity to speak to all groups of Tamils in Sri Lanka – those in the Northern Province, Eastern Province, in the hills, and in Colombo. Led by the Leader of Opposition in the Parliament, Sushma Swaraj, the delegation arrives […]

The decapitation of two more statues held in esteem by Tamil nationals has been reported in Jaffna. An unidentified group that entered two Hindu temples (Kovils) in the Jaffna district yesterday night had broken the heads of two statues of the Vel carts. It is the statues in the Kopay Karanpitu Pillayar temple and of the […]

The political dialogue between the government and the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) has hit a fresh snag with MP Suresh Premachandran suggesting third party mediation for talks.Mr. Premachandran told the Daily Mirror that he requested both the government and his party to give serious thought to his suggestion if they were genuinely interested in evolving […]

Krishna makes one claim, Peiris another, President yet another; confusion confounded UPFA allies JHU and NFF oppose extra powers while TNA also goes here and there When President Mahinda Rajapaksa chose to celebrate Thai Pongal, the widely observed Hindu harvest festival, it was one day too late.The event was observed last Sunday by Hindus worldwide […]

The organizer of Ilangkai Thamizh Arasuck Kadchi (ITAK) in Jaffna City and a former representative of Jaffna University Student Union, Mr. Arnold, has been reported missing after being invited to Colombo by someone. He has been allegedly abducted and subjected to investigations by the Criminal Investigation Department of the Sri Lankan Police in Colombo, informed […]

India’s respected newspaper “The Hindu” has experienced a change at the Editorial helm with the Editor in Chief Narasimhan Ram stepping down with effect from January 19th 2012.  The Hindu’s national bureau chief Siddharth Varadarajan has succeeded him as Editor. “The Hindu” dubbed as the “Mount Road Mahavishnu” by some of its detractors is regarded […]

The JVP in a media release states people in Sri Lanka should come to know regarding the solution for the national question put forward by the President and the Government not through the foreign minister of India. It states the President and the government had made irresponsible statements at various instances regarding the national question […]

 JHU’s Patali Champika Ranawaka has said that time has come for Sri Lankans to rise up against western countries who are trying to create havoc in the island.  He was addressing a recent seminar on the LLRC report.  Mr. Ranawaka said India nor any western nation believed Sri Lanka would win the war, and after […]

NfR Sri Lanka, a network of Sri Lankan journalists and human rights defenders, strongly condemns the obstruction of the protest campaign against the disappearances in Sri Lanka by security forces without any legal ground. This blatant violation of people’s democratic rights shows that in the so-called liberated North of Sri Lanka not the rule of […]

Union of organizations against abductions and disappearance had organized an awareness program through the media of leaflets for 17th (today) in protest against the continuing abductions and disappearances.  They were stopped by the security forces at Puliyankulama this afternoon. The officers had told them that they could not be permitted to go to Jaffna and […]

. “The Government of Sri Lanka has on many occasions conveyed to us its commitment to move towards a political settlement based on the full implementation of the 13th Amendment to the Sri Lankan Constitution, and building on it, so as to achieve meaningful devolution of powers. We look forward to an expeditious and constructive […]

D.B.S.Jeyaraj – The controversial report presented by the Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission (LLRC) has evoked much interest in many different circles. It is being projected by some as Sri Lanka’s effective response to the demand for an International accountability mechanism on the one hand while others criticize it as falling far short of International […]

[TamilNet] Uprooted Tamils from the strategic Ma’nalaa’ru region in Vanni, bordering the Mullaiththeevu and Trincomalee districts, have complained that 1,500 acres of their fertile lands northwest of Kokku’laay lagoon, have not been handed over to them. The agricultural lands that belong to the Tamil civilians of Kokku’laay, Kokkuth-thoduvaay and Karainaadduk-kea’ni villages still remain occupied by […]

 Tamil National Alliance, an umbrella group of Tamil political parties, today complained to External Affairs Minister S M Krishna’s about Lankan government’s “lethargic” attitude in talks for evolving a political solution to the ethnic crisis and sought India’s help for “corrective steps”.A delegation of leaders of TNA led by its Parliamentary Party Chief R Sampanthan […]

The Sri Lankan Army has warned ex-LTTE rebels that joining any groups looking to destabilise the country will result in their arrest.  Commissioner General of Rehabilitation Major General Chandana Rajaguru, speaking to The Sunday Leader, explained that any former LTTE cadre who is found to be involved with groups looking to destabilise the country will […]

“The need for an accountability process that meets international standards while delivering on the right of victims to truth, justice and reparations (including guarantees of non-recurrence) is an urgent and important one. Given the government’s failure to institute a process that meets these benchmarks, the TNA calls on the international community to institute measures that […]

Indian External Affairs Minister Krishna’s talks with Rajapaksa assume greater significance in the light of last month’s release of the final report of the Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission (LLRC) and matters arising from it. In what was described as ‘initial comments,’ an Indian External Affairs Ministry spokesperson said among other matters that it is […]

 Javid Yusuf  – With the defeat of the LTTE in May 2009, space has opened up for consideration, in an open and dispassionate manner, of the core issues that gave rise to the conflict. However, realisation has dawned on most people that this is not merely an opportunity for such an exercise, but also that, […]

 [TamilNet] Land powers should be provided to Eastern Provincial Council in order to safeguard the traditional homeland of Tamil speaking people from being plundered by the Colombo government under the pretext of setting up army cantonments and implementing tourist and various corporate projects, councilor of the EPC from Batticaloa district R.Thurairatnam, has said. Two third […]