Tamil rights

Image: Sri Lanka’s Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa wearing a protective mask gestures at his party candidates as he arrives at a campaign rally ahead of country’s parliamentary election, in Homagama, Sri Lanka, July 22, 2020. REUTERS/Dinuka Liyanawatte. Sri Lanka’s upcoming parliamentary elections will serve as an indicator of the island’s future political direction, potential executive […]

Devotees will be required to present proof of identity to enter the Nallur Kandasamy temple in Jaffna, the Sri Lankan police announced as the temple’s annual festival – thiruvizha – begins. “All arrangements for the festival have been completed. All devotees visiting the temple will only be authorised to enter the temple by showing a piece of […]

The Court of Appeal today overturned a life sentence handed in to a former LTTE cadre turned university lecturer for his alleged role in forced- conscription of a girl to the organization and ordered to release him after the Attorney General (AG) department sought a fresh probe. An appeal against the life sentence imposed by […]

If Tamils demanded devolution then “a river of blood will flow in the North and East,” warned a group of extremist Sinhala Buddhist monks as they reacted to the release of the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) manifesto. “Devolution means secession,” said the monks, in remarks reported by Kalaikathir. “It means a separate state. A solution […]

TNA releases 12-point election manifesto Says constitutional arrangement on federal model meets legitimate aspirations of Tamil people Advocates power-sharing as they existed earlier in a unit of merged North and East Will continue to advocate for an independent international mechanism for justice and accountability Party will continue to challenge rapid remilitarisation of democratic space The […]

Image courtesy of NYT: GR surrounded by military & political bodyguards  (Eranga Jayawardena/AFP) Gotabaya Rajapaksa has been winner on four counts out of five in the public relations domain. He has come off champ in the fight against Corona, he is applauded for cracking drug trafficking and clobbering cartels, people approve of his intervention to […]

Image: Shanmugam Thavaseelan. Sri Lankan police have summoned Tamil Guardian’s Mullativiu correspondent Shanmugam Thavaseelan for questioning. The journalist is being summoned with regards to an incident on June 16, where allegedly intoxicated Forest Department officials assaulted at least three Tamil men. The incident occurred after the owner and driver of a vehicle in Mullaitivu was […]

Image courtesy of Tamil Guardian. In July 1995 the St. Peter and Paul Catholic Church in Navaly, Jaffna, was filled with displaced Tamils seeking refuge and safety from the war. People in Navaly, including members of the church youth club, were helping the displaced by providing them with food and setting up temporary toilets. According […]

File photo of Sri Lankan military patrol. Sri Lankan security forces have arrested more than a dozen Tamil youth on charges of attempting to “regroup the LTTE,” as a military crackdown took place in the North this week. Amongst those arrested is a 17-year-old Tamil child, reports the Sunday Times. ( See the story below) […]

When globalisation was the dominant concept for looking at the world, pandemics were discussed as a global security issue. The objective was to see how pandemics have an impact on global security, and how to prepare for them. Now that one is happening, it is interesting to look at the response. It is clear that […]

Image@ At the second meeting of the Buddhist Advisory Council, Gotabaya Rajapaksa appointed the Task Force led by Secretary Defense . In a letter to President Rajapaksa,  R. Sampanthan, leader of the Tamil National Alliance says that “In its composition, the  Presidential Task Force for Archeological Heritage Management in the EASTERN PROVINCE, is Pan Sinhala. […]

The recently established task force, for the survey and preservation of archaeological sites, in the eastern province of Sri Lanka, is a worthwhile endeavour as the preservation of a peoples’ cultural heritage is an important one. The implementation of this project requires a proper understanding of the historical background in which these structures, i.e. Buddhist […]

The Sri Lankan government has blocked access to renowned Tamil news website Sankathi24.com, as the state continued with its tightening of the Tamil press. The website – www.sankathi24.com – became inaccessible for those on the island on May 28th last month, with no warning or explanation given by the Sri Lankan state. “No reasons were given,” said Seraman, […]

Image: Army Commander visited violently anti-minority monk Amapitiye Suman on his trip to East. “We’ll leave behind an iron scrap And the hollow, mocking laugh of generations.” – Tadeusz Borowski (Wherever the earth) While the world struggles with the Wuhan-born COVID-19 pandemic, the Chinese government has taken a great leap towards Hong Kong. Beijing has […]

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 […]