Tamil rights

Image: Memorial stones for the Tamil victims of the war and dead LTTE career. July 2017, Mullivaikal.© sunanda deshapriya සුනන්ද දේශප්‍රිය Today we commemorate all those lives that we lost during the war, especially the tens of thousands of Tamil lives that were taken by horrific atrocities perpetrated during the final phase of the war […]

Image courtesy of www.epilepsy.com. (Press release/GTF) The Global Tamil Forum (GTF) joins Tamils worldwide in commemorating the 11th anniversary of the end of civil war in Sri Lanka. The final phase of the war is one of the most brutal in recent history and mass atrocity crimes were systematically committed against the Tamil people. It […]

R.Sampanthan. My attention has been drawn to the interview said to have been given to the media by Mr. M. A. Sumanthiran, President’s Counsel, former Member of Parliament Jaffna District, and Spokesman for the Tamil National Alliance. Mr. Sumanthiran has been frank and forthright in his answers to questions that have been asked with the […]

Image: President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, second from left, has been accused of war crimes from his time as defense secretary, when he oversaw the last bloody years of the country’s civil war.Credit…Dinuka Liyanawatte/Reuters. By Maria Abi-Habib and Dharisha Bastians. Rights groups accused President Gotabaya Rajapaksa of taking advantage of the global chaos to free a soldier convicted of killing […]

In a meeting with the Netherlands Ambassador Ms. Gonggrijp, Mr. Sampanthan Leader of the Tamil National Alliance has pointed out that “The UNHRC resolution was based on promoting reconciliation accountability and human rights in Sri Lanka. If we are to achieve lasting peace in this country, all three aspects must be addressed”. The Ambassador has […]

Sri Lanka’s unilateral withdrawal from Resolution 30/1 is a clear rejection of human rights and accountability and displays total disregard for UN Member States Sri Lanka is unwilling & unable to hold state officials accountable for heinous violations of int’l human rights & humanitarian laws. Reason-it is the state itself that committed these heinous crimes”— […]

Image: Defence Secretary Maj. Gen. (Retd) Kamal Gunaratne and visiting Zambian Army Chief Lt. Gen. W.M Sikazwe. Defence Secretary Maj. Gen. (Retd) Kamal Gunaratne has told the visiting Zambian Army Chief Lt. Gen. W.M Sikazwe that although the Sri Lankan military had completely defeated LTTE terrorism militarily 10-years ago, the challenge of defeating its separatist […]

Just two days after the meeting with  Rep. Ami Bera assured that the United States in Colombo, TNA has met with visiting United Kingdom Parliament Member, the Rt. Hon the Lord Malcolm Bruce PC and emphasised that need for finding a political solution to the ethnic conflict of the country. In response Lord Malcolm Bruce  […]

In a meeting with the Tamil National Alliance today in Colombo, Rep. Ami Bera assured that the United States will do all things possible to ensure that the Government of Sri Lanka delivers on its commitments to the International Community. Rep. Ami Bera  is a Member of Congress and Chairman, House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on […]

Image:A woman holds a picture of a missing relative at a protest calling for investigations into enforced disappearances, Colombo, Sri Lanka, February 14, 2020.  © 2020 AP Photo Rajapaksa Government Should Uphold Commitments to UN Rights Council says HRW. (New York) – Sri Lankan security forces and intelligence agencies have intensified surveillance and threats against families of victims […]

“Let me bow before you my country, where It is ordained that none will walk the streets with his head held high.” Faiz (Let me bow before you) On the 72nd anniversary of Sri Lanka’s independence, President Gotabaya Rajapaksa conferred the rank of major general on 17 brigadiers. The list included Deshapriya Gunawardane, the commanding officer […]

(Suhasini Haidar/The Hindu) Sri Lankan Prime Minister seeks delay in debt payment. Sri Lanka wants India to allow debt repayments by Colombo to be deferred for three years, visiting Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa said in order to help the country deal with its massive debt burden. The issue was at the top of the agenda […]

Image: Sri Lankan traditional dancers perform during an event to mark the anniversary of country’s independence from British colonial rule in Colombo, Sri Lanka, Tuesday, Feb. 4, 2020. (AP Photo/Eranga Jayawardena) The 72nd Independence Day celebrations took place this year at the Independence Square under the auspices of President Gotabaya Rajapaksa. Those interested in national […]

Image: For the first time since 2016, there will be no Tamil national anthem at the 72nd Independence Day celebrations in Sri Lanka(AFP). (Press Trust of India/Colombo) The then Sri Lankan government in 2015 started including the Tamil national anthem as a means of achieving reconciliation with the Tamil minority community. For the first time […]

Leaflets threatening to kill seven Tamil journalists were left at the Batticaloa Press Club and a nearby bus stop in Batticaloa, a city in the Eastern Province of Sri Lanka. The International Federation of Journalist (IFJ) and its affiliates Sri Lankan affiliate, the Federation of Media Employees’ Trade Union (FMETU) condemn the threat and urge […]

Statement of urgent public importance pertaining to the Bungalow of the Leader of the Opposition and other matters related thereto. Dear Hon. Speaker, You recognized me as the Leader of the Opposition of the Sri Lankan Parliament in September 2015. At that time, for over twenty years, as a Member of Parliament, I had been […]

(New York) – Respect for fundamental human rights in Sri Lanka is in serious jeopardy following Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s election as president in November 2019, Human Rights Watch said today in its World Report 2020. Rajapaksa, along with his brother Mahinda Rajapaksa, who was named prime minister, were implicated in numerous human rights violations during their previous years in […]

The Sri Lankan government is reportedly set to release a soldier who was sentenced to death over the massacre of eight Tamil civilians, according to an opposition parliamentarian who applauded the move. “Now we have got information that the government has taken measures to release 34 members of the intelligence and Sunil Ratnayake, as mentioned […]

“If we lift the hideous rags of History, we find this: hierarchy versus equality and order versus liberty.” – Éric Vuillard (The Order Of The Day) The indications are clear, as are the implications. Gotabaya Rajapaksa, elected on a Sinhala-Buddhist supremacist platform intends to rule as a Sinhala-Buddhist supremacist president. For the first time in […]

Why no overtures will be made to Tamils and Muslims by the SLPP until after the parliamentary elections. (Daily Express) The ruling Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP), whose Presidential candidate Gotabaya Rajapaksa won the November 16 election without the support of the minority Tamils and Muslims, and is still to reach out to them in any […]

Image: TNA parliamentary group led by its leader R.Sampanthan meeting former president M. Sirisena to discuss issues related to devolution of powers. (file) ” The last 30 years have seen the country making such positive efforts towards resolving issues that have plagued it since Independence by meaningfully acknowledging the plural nature of our polity. We […]

Image: A Sri Lankan Tamil refugee cleans utensils outside her house in a refugee camp in Perambalur district, about 250km (155 miles) from Chennai [File: Nathan G/EPA] Nearly 100,000 Sri Lankan refugees living in India are not eligible for citizenship under a new law, sparking concerns they may be forced to return to the island nation they […]

A Sri Lankan brigadier who motioned death threats to Tamil protestors in London last year has been found guilty by a British court of violating the Public Order Act, after a protracted legal battle. Westminster Magistrate’s Court upheld a previous ruling that Sri Lanka’s Brigadier Priyanka Fernando “is  not  protected  by  diplomatic  immunity”, despite pleas […]

Leader of the Tamil National Alliance R.Sampanthan has told Ambassador Alaina B. Teplitz that although the TNA is prepared to work with the economic development initiatives of the government which are beneficial to the people it  will not surrender the interest and the rights of our people at any point. He has further said that […]

Speaking at the press conference today held in New Delhi on the visit of Sri Lanka President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, Prime minster of India has said that ” I am confident that the Government of Sri Lanka will carry forward the process of reconciliation, to fulfill the aspirations of the Tamils for equality, justice, peace and […]

Sri Lanka Brief Presidential Election Update No 02. Polarised vote The president elect Gotabaya Rajapaksa (GR) of SLPP and Sajith Premadasa (SP) of NDF respectively received 52.25% & 41.99 of the total votes polled in the presidential election held on 16 November 2019.  This numbers could be misleading. The result shows unprecedented level of polarisation […]

Image: Gotabaya Rajapaksa met with  India’s external affairs minister S. Jaishankar on 20 Nov 2019. The Indian government expects Sri Lanka’s new government led by President Gotabaya Rajapaksa to take forward the process of national reconciliation in order to meet the aspirations of the Tamil minority for “equality, justice, peace and dignity”. This was the […]

Image: Sri Lanka’s President-elect Gotabaya Rajapaksa waves at his supporters as he leaves, after the presidential swearing-in ceremony in Anuradhapura, Sri Lanka November 18, 2019. Photo: Reuters/Dinuka Liyanawatte. As was widely predicted, Gotabaya Rajapaksa, of the Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP), decisively won Sri Lanka’s presidential election on November 16. His opponent, Sajith Premadasa, of the United National Party […]

People’s democratic choices must be accepted, says the senior Tamil leader. Meera Srinivasan./The Hindu. It is unfair to attribute a “racist” dimension to the Tamil vote in Sri Lanka’s presidential election, according to senior Tamil leader R. Sampanthan. His remark comes a day after the results of the country’s biggest election were declared. The winner […]

The people have spoken. President-elect Gotabaya Rajapaksa has been given a mandate by the people to govern the country for the next five years. The Elections Commission, public employees, Police and the voters deserve credit for the conduct of a free and fair Presidential Election where a record number turned out to exercise their franchise. […]