Posts Categorized: Diaspora

Fundraising for Tamil Chair at Harvard University

http://www.harvardtamilchair.com/ Harvard University has endorsed the idea of a Tamil Chair in their Department of South Asian Studies. The following note, was part of a letter received from Harvard University: “We are very pleased to convey to you our desire to support the establishment of the first Sangam Professorship in Tamil Studies at Harvard University…. Read more »

Many Sri Lankan Thamils Now Feel Pessimistic

Sri Lankan Government Should Not Succumb to Empty Threats by Sinhalese Extremists The Commissioner of Human Rights Council Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein visited Sri Lanka on February 05, 2016.  Apart from meeting the President, Prime Minister, the Opposition Leader and others he also visited the North to see at first hand the post-war situation there. The government is… Read more »

A New Reality for the Tamil People in Sri Lanka?

Sri Lanka appears to be a country in transition.  Some amongst us question the sincerity of the government or the impact these purported changes will have on the Tamil community; how far and deep these changes are to address the long-standing Tamil national question?  Considering the historic trust deficit the Tamil community has on the… Read more »

Wiki: Tamil Americans

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tamil_Americans Tamil Americans From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Tamil Americans Ananda Coomaraswamy Sendhil Ramamurthy Kamala Harris Indra Nooyi Aziz Ansari Sundar Pichai Total population (132,573 (2010 US Census)[1]) Regions with significant populations Central New Jersey New York City Long Island Languages Predominantly: Tamil American English Minority: Other Indian Languages French Sinhala Religion Predominantly: Hinduism Minority:… Read more »

Tamils Need to Act Now

by Naga Narendran, December 27, 2015 The history and the sorry saga of the Tamils of the North-East of Sri Lanka in the last 60 years demands high level of vigilance, to be aware of the extent of progress being made and its context. Broken promises of the past require the people to be far… Read more »

CTC Calls on GoSL to Release Tamil Political Prisoners

CTC calls on the Sri Lankan government to uphold promise to release Tamil political prisoners The Canadian Tamil Congress (“CTC”) is deeply concerned that the Sri Lankan government has failed to uphold its promise to Tamil political prisoners that it would review their cases and ensure their release by December 15, 2015. CTC is dedicated… Read more »

Tribute to Dr. Ananthan Satchi

Satchi Memorial Final Dear Tamil Americans, On Friday November 27th we lost one of our founding members, Dr. Ananthan Satchi. Born in 1939 and raised in Malaysia, he received his medical degree from the University of Colombo. He moved to the United States in 1971 and worked as an Anesthesiologist until his retirement. Since forming the… Read more »

Tamil Political Prisoners Must be Released Immediately

Photo credit: Lakruwan Wanniarachchi/AFP/Getty Images Tamil political prisoners must be released immediately (WASHINGTON, DC; October 23, 2015): Tomorrow marks the 15th anniversary of the Bindanuwewa massacre, in which over 27 Tamil political detainees were killed by a Sinhala mob in a premeditated attack. Sinhalese villagers stormed the Bindanuwewa detention center in the south of Sri… Read more »

Inescapable Truth

The adoption of a UNHRC consensus resolution on the UN report into Sri Lanka’s atrocities (OISL) has been welcomed by many as the first step in a long process to move Sri Lanka towards an era of justice and reconciliation through genuine accountability, together with the Sri Lankan foreign minister, Mangala Samaraweera’sopening address to the… Read more »

Role of UN and International Community in Sri Lanka

by Sarava Kanesathasan, ‘The Island,’ Colombo, September 20, 2015 To its credit, it was the US that initiated the international accountability process in Sri Lanka through the 2014 UNHRC resolution which called for an international investigation by the Office of the UN High Commissioner (OISL Report). That resolution was preceded by five years of failure… Read more »

A Deflated US Resolution & Tamils’ Quest for Justice and Accountability.

In conclusion, it is plain truth that unless Sri Lanka musters the political will and determination, shedding its majority dominant thinking and implements the mentioned encouraged fitting and just proposals fully and fairly, chances of true reconciliation will be a distance dream “Sowing the seeds for further conflict” as stated by the Commissioner.

The role of UN and Security Council is no less important. The UN and Security Council failed to stop the war and protect the Tamils by exercising their right under the RTP doctrine. If they fail again to uphold accountability and mete out justice, their credibility and relevance is at stake and will be open to question.

USTPAC Calls for Speedy Implementation of Transitional Justice Mechanism

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Human Rights Council Adopts Landmark Resolution on Sri Lanka USTPAC calls for speedy implementation of transitional justice mechanism Washington, DC – (October 2, 2015): The UN Human Rights Council adopted a resolution on Reconciliation, Accountability and Human Rights in Sri Lanka yesterday. With the Report of the OHCHR Investigation on Sri Lanka… Read more »

Sri Lanka’s Intervention at UNHRC Informals

Intervention-by-Ambassador-Ravinatha-Aryasinha-at-the-First-informal-session-on-the-Draft-resolution-on-Sri-Lanka It was pointed out that all these mechanisms will be evolved and designed by a wide process of consultations with all stakeholders including victims, communities, political parties, civil society representatives, the military, the High Commissioner and his office, bilateral partners, relevant international organizations as well as members of the diaspora who wish to be… Read more »

US Stand on Sri Lanka Perverts International Justice

AT the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) in Geneva next week, the US is to sponsor a resolution on war crimes in Sri Lanka, in collaboration with the Colombo government. This is despite wide recognition that Sri Lankan leaders are implicated in these war crimes. The resolution is said to ask for a domestic… Read more »

Promise of Justice

The visit by senior US officials, Nisha Biswal and Tom Malinowski this week, and the US’ endorsement of a domestic process of accountability into mass atrocities committed against the Tamil people during the end of the armed conflict in 2009 has been met with a sense of relief by the Sri Lankan government and was… Read more »

Joint Letter to UNHCHR re OISL Recommendations

Joint Letter to HC Zeid_August18 2015 August 18, 2015 Dear Sir, OHCHR INVESTIGATION ON SRI LANKA [OISL] We, the undersigned representatives of the Tamil Diaspora, in exile from the island of Sri Lanka[1] , and Tamils from all around the world, would like to express our gratitude to you and your office on the task… Read more »

TAPI Press Release re Elections

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Tamils Welcome Free, Fair Parliamentary Elections in Sri Lanka Prime Minister, Ruling Coalition Win Parliamentary Election WASHINGTON, DC (August 20, 2015) – Monday’s election in Sri Lanka saw President Sirisena, Prime Minister Wickremesinghe of the UNP and the UNFGG alliance win the parliamentary election, thereby allowing them to form a national government… Read more »

CTC Statement on Elections

For Immediate Release August 18, 2015 Canadian Tamil Congress Congratulates the Tamil National Alliance The Canadian Tamil Congress (CTC) congratulates Mr. R. Sampanthan and the Tamil National Alliance on their resounding election victory in the Northern and Eastern Provinces of Sri Lanka. The Tamil people have given the TNA, and its leader Mr. R. Sampanthan,… Read more »