Last Updated:24.07.2008

Sri lankan Govt. welcomes Manmohan’s victory

The Sri Lankan Government said yesterday that the stabilization of the Indian Government would be advantageous to Sri Lanka’s ongoing military exercise. Commenting on the Indian Government led by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh winning the trust vote in the Lok Sabha on Tuesday, SLFP General Secretary and senior Minister Maithripala Sirisena told a media conference that Sri Lanka was happy about the outcome. Minister Sirisena said that had the Indian Government been defeated, there would be instability not only in India but also in the entire South Asian region.Read More

TN Police break LTTE supply chain

The Q Branch of the Tamil Nadu police on Tuesday busted a major LTTE procurement network, seizing five imported Yamaha outboard motors with a 40-horse-power capacity each.Read More

US Tamils to hold Black July rally, vigil

People For Equality and Relief in Lanka (PEARL), an advocacy group composed of over 1,800 Americans concerned about the crisis in Sri Lanka, is organizing a protest rally and vigil in Washington DC on Thursday at 12 pm to remember the victims of Black July 1983, an ethnic pogrom, where organized mobs backed by the Sri Lankan government killed approximately 3,000 Tamil civilians, displaced several thousand Tamils and destroyed over $300 million worth of Tamils’ property.Read More

For the sake of future operations
 
The Indian Navy is in Sri Lanka with a strong force that includes the elite Black Cat Commandos for the SAARC Summit. Indian PM Manmohan Singh is to arrive in the island in two days.Read More

Representatives of European parliament meet JVP Leaders

A European parliamentary delegation headed by Jonathan Evans met leaders of the JVP including the its Leader Somawansa Amarasinghe at the JVP Head Office at Pelawatta today (22nd).  The political situation in the country and the democratic process was discussed while special attention was drawn to the 17th amendment to the Constitution. As a party that mediated in bringing forth the 17th amendment, the JVP would always endeavor to get it implemented said Mr. Amarasingehe.Read More

National Post Editorial Board: Sri Lanka’s ‘Black July’ riots, 25 years later, and the rise of the Tamil Tigers

Twenty-five years ago this week, as many as 1,000 Sri Lankan Tamils were killed in what came to be known as the “Black July” riots. Majority Sinhalese nationalists, including Buddhist monks, went door-to-door in Sri Lankan citiesRead More

“We want Tamil Eelam” – British Tamils Chant at the Candlelight Vigil

Over two thousand people, largely Tamils turned up with a relatively short notice outside the British Parliament last night (23 July 2008) between 8 pm and 10 pm holding candles to mark respect and as remembrance of over 3,000 TamilsRead More

Sri Lankan families count cost of war 

It was 25 years ago this week that a minor insurgency in Sri Lanka began to turn into a full-scale civil war. An attack by Tamil Tiger rebels in the north sparked rioting across the country targeting members of the Tamil minority. The events came to be known as Black July. More than 70,000 people have died in the conflict. Now the army says victory is finally in sight. In recent weeks the pace of the advance has quickened, but the Tigers deny they are facing defeat. The army is recruiting hard, especially from rural areas. Not long ago the Defence Ministry sent out a text message to mobile phones nationwide.Read More