BTF News
British Tamil Orgs write to the Home Secretary and the Secretary of State for Foreign & Commonwealth Affairs
A joint letter to the Home Secretary and the Secretary of State for Foreign & Commonwealth Affairs as this matter is directly relevant to both of those offices. As you may be aware, organisations supporting this request were formed in response to the worsening humanitarian crisis
Sri Lanka’s Defence Attaché Brigadier Priyanka Fernando threatened to kill the British Tamil protesters
The British Tamils Forum sincerely thank the members of APPG for Tamils, Rt. Hon Joan Ryan MP, Siobhain Mcdonald MP, Paul Scully MP and Sir Ed Davey MP for writing to the Foreign Secretary Rt Hon Boris Johnson MP calling to withdraw diplomatic papers and remove Sri Lanka’s Defence Attaché Brigadier Priyanka Fernando from the UK. We are yet to see any action by our government for that call.
Tamil Diaspora Organizations call for action on the eve of Sri Lanka’s 70th Independence Day
On February 4 Sri Lanka marks its 70th year of independence from Britain. Historically, this day has been a painful one for the Tamils both who live in Sri Lanka and those who have been forced into exile by discrimination and anti-Tamil violence. Tamil dignitaries and politicians did not attend the ceremonies celebrating the event from 1972 to 2014 in protest for the exclusion of the Tamil population from the political, economic, and cultural life of the country and the elimination of protections for non-Sinhalese Buddhist communities left embedded in the constitution at independence.
Tamil Thai Pongal celebrations at the House of Parliament.
For the first time in the history of the British parliament, Tamil Thai Pongal day was celebrated at the Jubilee Room, House of Parliament, Westminster, London, SW1A 0AA on the 17th of January 2018.This celebration was jointly hosted by the All Party Parliamentary Group for Tamils (APPG T) and the British Tamils Forum (BTF).
Paul Scully MP’s Thai Pongal 2018 Wishes
A few thousand Tamils across Sutton will be getting ready to celebrate their harvest festival along with millions of Tamils in Sri Lanka, South India and across the world. As chairman of the All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) for Tamils, I will continue to shine a light on the ongoing issues in Sri Lanka. In the meantime, I wish you all a very happy Thai Pongal.
7th year Mullivaikkal Genocide Remembrance Day was held on 18th May 2016, in London
The British Tamil people gathered again in large numbers to remember and reflect their kith and kin who were massacred in a genocide by the Sri Lankan state and to demand for justice from the International Community. As in the past six years, the commemoration event, co-ordinated by British Tamils Forum in the UK, brought together British Tamil people to
British Tamils reiterate call for UK Government to boycott CHOGM in Sri Lanka
In a recent meeting with Rt. Hon Alistair Burt MP – the Foreign Office Minister responsible for South Asia, British Tamils expressed their disappointment at the Prime Minister David Cameron’s decision to visit Sri Lanka in November 2013, for the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM). In the meeting, which was facilitated by the British Tamils Forum, Tamil representatives from a number of Tamil groups based in the UK explained to the minister the reasons why the UK Government should reconsider its decision to attend CHOGM in Sri Lanka. They further reasoned that this Commonwealth summit in Sri Lanka would be against the fundamental political values of the Commonwealth and the Commonwealth charter signed by the Queen on Commonwealth Day this year. The delegation explained the culture of impunity, lack of accountability and continuing structural genocide against Tamils in Sri Lanka ‐ describing both historical and current events and discussing their moral and legal ramifications. They criticised the UK’s role in the failure to protect Tamils in 2009 and the failure to bring Sri Lanka to account ever since – a failure that sets the conditions for continued abuses with impunity by the Sri Lankan state. The Minister was sympathetic to the concerns expressed by the Tamil representatives but differed on the suggested course of action to address these concerns. The delegation also pointed out to the minister the failure of the UK’s strategy: soft diplomatic engagement and influence has still not delivered justice to the victims though the war ended over four years ago. The Minister, in his response declined the delegation’s suggestion for a boycott or venue change for
Campaign Launch Invitation – Unlock the Concentration Camps in Sri Lanka & Mass Protest
100th Day behind barbed wire Unlock the Concentration Camps in Sri Lanka Campaign Conceptual Launch Event Invitation Thursday 27th of August 2009 From 4:00 PM to 6:00 PM At Portcullis House House of Parliament (Adjacent to Westminster Station) Mass Protest to Free the illegally detained Tamils from Camps Friday 28th of August 2009 From 11:00 AM to 4:00
(21 May 2009) Latest news on helping Tamils in Sri Lanka – Siobhain McDonagh MP
Earlier today, I raised Sri Lanka again during Business Questions in the House of Commons, calling for a Parliamentary debate about the lack of independent monitors in the refugee camps. This is what I said: “Siobhain McDonagh (Mitcham and Morden) (Lab): Today’s edition of The Times reports that despite the desperate conditions in Sri Lanka, the last remaining independent organisation,
Situation Update and APPG-T Press Statement on Srilanka
Dear Zarifmo/Eve, The Sri Lankan Forces have intensified attacks on the ‘Safe Zone’ over this weekend. On Saturday, 25 April, the Sri Lankan military ran 25 sorties and dropped more than 30 bombs on the ‘Safe Zone’ killing over 170 people, including more than 40 children, injuring over 190 others. Today, Sunday 26 April, the Sri Lankan Army ran a