Colombo: Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa on Saturday said the Tamil minority now wants to live peacefully in one country and slammed the Tamil diaspora for the lack of support in his reconciliation and rebuilding efforts in the former conflict zones.
"Diaspora and the Tamil parties who foster separation still try to take the Tamil society towards destruction", he said while speaking at the Victory Day celebrations marking the fourth anniversary of the military victory over the LTTE.
Rajapaksa said that Tamils now want to live peacefully in a single country. His government had faced various machinations by way of human rights accusations. "The hidden idea was to crush us, how to make us kneel before them," he said.
Rajapaksa, paying tribute to his troops in a colourful military parade, said he would not allow the separation of the land that troops had scarificed to preserve....
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03:30 PM, May 18, 2013
Kuala Lumpur: Ahead of general elections in Malaysia, the 950,000-strong ethnic Indian community, mostly Tamils, is being wooed by both the ruling and opposition parties with catchy Tamil songs, pamphlets and online videos. Both sides are vying for the votes of ethnic Indians, which can play a crucial role in as many as 60 of the total 222 parliamentary seats, where the community makes up between 10 per cent to...
01:14 PM, Apr 28, 2013
Nagapattinam: Four fishermen from the district were allegedly attacked by Sri Lankan Navy personnel with wooden logs while they were fishing off Kodiakarai coast in a mechanised boat, official sources said here on Thursday. The fishermen, who went for fishing on Wednesday, returned on Thursday morning and have been admitted to a government hospital with injuries, they said. The fishermen, Selvam, Mariappan, Vijayakuamr and Soundirarajan of Vellapallam fishing hamlet were...
12:17 PM, Apr 11, 2013
Chennai: Union Finance Minister P Chidambaram on Sunday night slammed BJP for not supporting the UPA government's efforts to pass a resolution in Parliament on the Sri Lankan Tamils issue and rejected accusations hurled at Congress that it did not "support" the cause. Addressing a public meeting in Chennai, Chidambaram explained the initiatives the Congress took for passing a resolution in Parliament. The government convened an all-party meet to discuss...
12:27 AM, Apr 08, 2013
A group of unidentified men attacked the office of a Tamil newspaper in Sri Lanka's former war zone on Wednesday, injuring several staffers and damaging equipment at the publication known for its government criticism. ...
05:51 PM, Apr 03, 2013
Trade unions manning Sri Lanka's main port have threatened to block about $2 billion worth of imports and exports to the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu, media reports said in Colombo on Wednesday. ...
05:22 PM, Apr 03, 2013
Members of the Tamil film industry are on a one-day token fast in protest against the alleged human rights violations by the Sri Lankan government and Army. ...
11:22 PM, Apr 02, 2013
A worker of the Students Federation of India (SFI) died on Tuesday of injuries sustained during clashes with police. ...
09:21 PM, Apr 02, 2013
Members of the Tamil Film industry are on a one-day token fast in Chennai, protesting against the Sri Lankan government and the Army's atrocities on the Tamils there. Superstar Rajinikanth also showed up in solidarity, along with other stars from the Tamil film industry. ...
12:04 PM, Apr 02, 2013
Chennai: For a second time within two weeks, the Tamil film industry will join hands to observe a day long fast on Tuesday against the reported genocide of Tamils in Sri Lanka. The first fast was observed March 19 here. While the Tamil Nadu Film Directors Association (TANTIS) and Film Employees' Federation of South India (FEFSI) spearheaded the earlier fast, the 'Nadigar Sangam' - also known as South Indian Film...
10:44 AM, Apr 01, 2013
External Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid says India knows how to take pressure when it comes to its foreign policies. While speaking to Karan Thapar on Devil's Advocate, Khurshid called the Italian government sensible in connection with the marines row. Below is the full text of the transcript: Karan Thapar: Hello and welcome to Devil's Advocate. With India's foreign policy increasingly buffeted by domestic and regional politics, is the government able...
08:41 PM, Mar 31, 2013
Chennai: DMK, which quit the UPA over the Sri Lankan Tamils issue, on Sunday, slammed the Centre for adopting a 'discriminatory' approach in protecting fishermen from Tamil Nadu, who have been suffering at the hands of the Sri Lankan Navy. While the Centre initiated a series of diplomatic and legal steps when two Italian Marines killed two fishermen from Kerala, the same approach was lacking when Tamil Nadu fishermen were...
08:14 PM, Mar 31, 2013
New Delhi: Franchises with a strong Sri Lankan presence are slowly building up pressure on the Governing Council of the Indian Premier League (IPL) to shift their play-off and knockout matches out of Chennai. Four franchises IANS spoke to were confident that the issue would be sorted out by the time the Twenty20 tournament reaches its business end. Their contention is that there should be a level playing field among...
10:09 PM, Mar 30, 2013
New Delhi: The CPI on Saturday accused the government of not taking an honest position on the Sri Lankan Tamils issue and asked it respond to the resolution adopted by the Tamil Nadu assembly. "The government is not taking a forthright and honest position on the issue. The Tamil Nadu Chief Minister has been raising the matter through a series of letters to the Prime Minister, the state assembly has...
08:59 PM, Mar 30, 2013
Chennai: Terming as "ill-founded" and "motivated", charges against the Congress and the UPA Government on the Sri Lankan Tamils issue, Union Minister V Narayanasamy on Saturday alleged students were being instigated by some persons to stage agitations on the issue. India was one of the 25 countries that voted in favour of US-sponsored resolution at UNHRC against Sri Lanka where New Delhi pushed for an independent and credible probe into...
12:58 PM, Mar 30, 2013
External Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid said, "I think the Italian government has been very sensible. It took time to be persuaded. I have no problem to say that they have done a good job." ...
10:40 PM, Mar 29, 2013
New Delhi: Days after the DMK pulled out of the Centre and Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Jayalalithaa barred Sri Lankan cricketers from playing in Chennai, the Centre has taken a tough stand on politics over Sri Lankan Tamils. External Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid has rejected the Tamil Nadu Assembly resolution against Colombo. The resolution sought a separate Eelam for Sri Lankan Tamils and said Sri Lanka should not be treated...
03:08 PM, Mar 29, 2013
With the Nadigar Sangam coming together to support a noble cause, 'Thala' Ajith has decided to postpone the starting date of his next project, in lieu of the token hunger strike in support of Sri Lankan Tamils, to be held on the 2nd of April. The strike will be held inside the premises of Nadigar Sangam, with all the Kollywood actors coming together in support; even big names like Superstar...
12:04 PM, Mar 29, 2013
New Delhi: Sri Lanka Cricket secretary, Nishantha Ranatunga, on Thursday said it will not stop its players from participating in the Indian Premier League after getting assurances from the BCCI about their safety but made it clear that the SLC will not accept political interference. "I don't think Lankan players should boycott the IPL just because of political party and views. The game should be kept away from it. That...
10:21 PM, Mar 28, 2013
Colombo: Sri Lanka's nationalist parties here on Thursday appealed to the country's cricketers to boycott playing in India during the Indian Premier League (IPL) as tension simmered between Colombo and Chennai. Representatives of the National Buddhist Council and Jathika Hela Urumaya (JHU), which is part of the ruling coalition, handed over a petition to Sri Lanka's cricket governing body appealing for the boycott, reports Xinhua. "Politicians in Tamil Nadu have...
09:00 PM, Mar 28, 2013
