Politics

Andy Burnham took office this week and appointed around his table a set of ministers whose records on Tamil rights stretch back nearly two decades. The new Foreign Secretary, Ed Miliband, argued as Labour leader that David Cameron should boycott the Colombo Commonwealth summit, writing in this publication that tens of thousands of Tamils had been killed and pledging in 2015 to "continue to push for the full and independent, international investigation" into Sri Lankas crimes. The new Defence Secretary, Wes Streeting, told a Mullivaikkal remembrance gathering that there could be no hiding plac

Sri Lankan goods entering the United States are subject to a 10% import tariff from Friday, after a last-minute regulation on forced labour moved the island out of the higher 12.5% band it had been placed in weeks earlier.

The tariff takes effect under a notice issued by the Office of the United States Trade Representative, which placed 60 trading partners in two bands. Sri Lanka qualified for the lower rate after adopting, partially implementing, or committing to enforce restrictions on imports linked to forced labour. A further 41 economies deemed not

Tamil members of parliament marked the 43rd anniversary of the Black July pogrom in parliament on Thursday, saying that although Sri Lankas political and social structures have undergone many changes over the past four decades, the losses and suffering caused by July 1983 remain an unhealed scar.

In a statement issued to mark the occasion, the MPs said the commemoration was held to remember the victims and to reflect on the lasting impact of the violence, which continues to shape the islands social and political landscape.

Shanakiyan Rasamanicka

Skeletal remains found without skulls, and a body wearing a raincoat, are among the latest discoveries at the Chemmani mass grave in Jaffna, where the number of sets of human remains identified has risen t

Uma Kumaran, the Labour MP for Stratford and Bow and the first person of Eelam Tamil heritage elected to the British parliament, has been appointed Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State in the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, becoming the first British Tamil to hold ministerial office.

The appointment was confirmed on Wednesday evening as the new prime minister, Andy Burnham, set out his ministerial team. Kumaran will also serve as an Assistant Whip. The Foreign Office is the department responsible for British foreign policy, including

Actor turned Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu Joseph Vijay has had a career spanning five decades. With each decade, the Tamil industry has watched the star grow into the political figurehead he is today. Starting as a child actor in films directed by his father SA Chandrasekar in the 1980s, Vijay pivoted to romantic lead hero roles in the 1990s and early 2000s. The early noughties and 2010s saw another pivot as the actor took on masala action films with overt political themes. Finally, the 2020s have seen a celebration of the actor’s career and his entry into politics, having garnered a huge f

British Prime Minister Andy Burnham took office this week and announced a series of ministerial changes, with several figures associated with the previous administration leaving government.

Downing Street confirmed the appointments, with a large number of the new cabinets members have addressed Tamil audiences, tabled parliamentary questions or spoken in the House of Commons on Sri Lanka over the past seventeen years.

We look back on their record below.

Ed Miliband, Foreign Secretary

Civil society representatives in Jaffna have called on the European Union to urge the Sri Lankan government to revoke the gazette acquiring 6,317 acres of land in Valikamam North, arguing that the land continues to be withheld from its civilian owners years after the end of the armed conflict.

The appeal was made in a written submission during a meeting on Tuesday between the EU Ambassador to Sri Lanka, ambassadors of EU member states and representatives of civil society in Jaffna. The delegation visited the Chemmani mass grave excavation site