Skip to content
Search

Latest Stories

Sri Lanka asks departments to expedite legislations on Tamil reconciliation

The country endured a three-decade conflict, including a protracted and brutal armed conflict, between the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) and the country's armed forces

Sri Lanka asks departments to expedite legislations on Tamil reconciliation

Sril Lanka president Ranil Wickremesinghe has instructed government departments to expedite the drafting of legislation in order to implement the Action Plan for Reconciliation of Tamils in the island nation.

Sri Lanka endured a three-decade conflict, including a protracted and brutal armed conflict, between the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) and the country’s armed forces.


On May 18, 2009, a campaign by the LTTE to establish a separate Tamil homeland in the northern and eastern province of the island nation came to an end with the killing of the LTTE supremo Velupillai Prabakaran by the Sri Lankan Army.

Six years later, in 2015, the Sri Lankan government renewed its commitment to reconciliation and embarked on several initiatives for national reconciliation. The Action Plan for Reconciliation was part of the government’s need for a comprehensive national policy to resolve these prickly issues.

During a meeting last Thursday (8), Wickremesinghe sought the progress of initiatives in five key areas - legislation, institutional activities, land issues, prisoner release and power decentralisation, which were also reviewed, the president’s media division said.

The implementation of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, the establishment of a National Land Council, and the formulation of a National Land Policy were among the matters that were also discussed.

Sinhalese, mostly Buddhist, make up nearly 75 per cent of Sri Lanka’s 22 million population while Tamils make up 15 per cent. The majority hardline Buddhist clergy resisted attempts for reconciliation with the Tamil minority since 1948, when the country gained its independence from Britain.

LEAD Lanka Tamils INSET GettyImages 492567162 Tamils allege that thousands were massacred in the war that ended in 2009

The Tamils allege that thousands were massacred during the final stages of the war that ended in 2009, a charge the Sri Lankan Army denies. At least 40,000 Tamil civilians may have been killed in just the final months of the civil war, according to a UN report. Sri Lanka has been subject to the UN human rights council resolutions since 2013 calling for accountability through international investigations to the incidents of alleged war crimes.

Ousted president Gotabaya Rajapaksa was the defence secretary during the final phase of the conflict when LTTE supremo Prabhakaran was killed.

The island nation has had a long history of failed negotiations with the Tamils.

An Indian effort in 1987, which created the system of a joint provincial council for the Tamil-dominated north and east, faltered as the minority community claimed it fell short of full autonomy.

Wickremesinghe, who took over as the president last year amid the unprecedented economic crisis and political turmoil, earlier, underlined the need to fully implement the 13th Amendment to the Constitution to grant political autonomy to the minority Tamils in the country.

The 13A provides for the devolution of power to the Tamil community in Sri Lanka.

India has been pressing Sri Lanka to implement the 13A which was brought in after the Indo-Sri Lankan agreement of 1987.

More For You

US Congressman condemns attacks on Hindu temples

Suhas Subramanyam speaks during the House Oversight And Government Reform Committee meeting at the US Capitol on March 25, 2025 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Kayla Bartkowski/Getty Images)

US Congressman condemns attacks on Hindu temples

INDIAN AMERICAN Congressman Suhas Subramanyam has strongly condemned recent attacks on Hindu temples across the US, saying that every American should be able to practise their faith without fear.

Speaking on the floor of the House of Representatives, Subramanyam said: “Hate has no place in our communities, and that’s why I condemn the recent hateful attacks on Hindu temples and mandirs all across the country.”

Keep ReadingShow less
Charlie Kirk assassination: Manhunt, misinformation and a country unravelling

Charlie Kirk shot dead at Utah Valley University

Getty Images

Charlie Kirk assassination: Manhunt, misinformation and a country unravelling

Highlights:

  • Charlie Kirk, 31, shot dead at Utah Valley University during a student event; shooter still at large.
  • FBI falsely announced an arrest, later retracting the claim, raising questions about investigation handling.
  • Retired Canadian Michael Mallinson wrongly accused online as the shooter; misinformation spread rapidly on social media.
  • Security at the event was minimal, with no bag checks.

The assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk during a student event at Utah Valley University has left the nation shaken and investigators scrambling. The 31-year-old was fatally shot in the neck while answering questions under a campus tent, in what officials are calling a sniper-style attack. The shooter remains at large, and the aftermath has exposed investigative missteps, rampant misinformation, and a dangerous level of political vitriol that threatens to push an already polarised America closer to the edge.

Charlie Kirk shot dead at Utah Valley University Getty Images

Keep ReadingShow less
Prince Harry meets King after 20 months to heal rift

Prince Harry visits the Centre for Blast Injury Studies at Imperial College London, in London, Britain, September 10, 2025. REUTERS/Suzanne Plunkett

Prince Harry meets King after 20 months to heal rift

PRINCE HARRY had tea with King Charles on Wednesday (10) at their first meeting in 20 months, in what may prove a first step toward ending a much-publicised rift between father and son.

Harry, the Duke of Sussex, last saw his father in February 2024, shortly after it was announced that the king was undergoing treatment for an unspecified form of cancer.

Keep ReadingShow less
South Asian WW2 veterans

The commemoration event honoured two South Asian WW2 veterans who died this year, Havildar Major Rajindar Singh Dhatt MBE and Sergeant Mohammad Hussain.

X/@britishfuture

South Asian WW2 veterans honoured at London commemoration

TWO South Asian Second World War veterans were honoured at a commemoration event in London on Wednesday, September 10. The ceremony paid tribute to Havildar Major Rajindar Singh Dhatt MBE and Sergeant Mohammad Hussain, who both died this year.

The event, hosted by British Future and Eastern Eye with support from the Royal British Legion, also launched My Family Legacy, a project to raise awareness of South Asian contributions in the world wars and preserve family stories for future generations.

Keep ReadingShow less
Phillipson, Powell in two-way Labour deputy leadership race

Bridget Phillipson (L), Lucy Powell (Photo: Getty Images)

Phillipson, Powell in two-way Labour deputy leadership race

IT WILL be a two-way contest between education secretary Bridget Phillipson and former Commons leader Lucy Powell for the post of Labour’s deputy leader after Emily Thornberry and Paula Barker withdrew from the race on Thursday (11).

Thornberry, who chairs the Commons foreign affairs committee, had secured 13 nominations from Labour MPs while Barker, the Liverpool Wavertree MP, had 14, well short of the 80 needed to progress.

Keep ReadingShow less