Tamil Guardian
Categories Politics, culture, Sri Lanka, Tamil
Founded 1998
Website https://www.tamilguardian.com

Tamil Guardian is an online, English language news site based in London. Published internationally for over 20 years, the media site was originally published as a print broadsheet newspaper in English from the UK and Canada.

The publication supports the creation of Tamil Eelam as an independent state.

It has run op-eds from several political figures including from the Tamil National Alliance, the leader of the Labour Party Ed Miliband and the British Prime minister David Cameron.[1][2][3][4][5] The Tamil Guardian has also carried out interviews with celebrities such as Academy Award and Grammy Award nominated artist M.I.A.,[6] several Tamil politicians[7] and activists and senior US and British[8] officials. Writers and editors at the Tamil Guardian have provided commentary to several news outlets around the world on Sri Lankan and Tamil political and cultural affairs.

History

The Tamil Guardian was first published in London.

In 2011, the print edition of the newspaper ceased and the media outlet moved entirely online, publishing news on its website, as well as its various social media platforms.[citation needed][9][10]

Political views

The Tamil Guardian continues to support the creation of Tamil Eelam as an independent state after the end of the Sri Lankan civil war, perhaps through democracy.[11]

One Sri Lankan journalist accused the website of a being a news front of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), in an article published in 2000. No evidence of any link to the LTTE has since been provided.[12][better source needed] The publication commemorates the death of LTTE cadres[13] and advocates for Sri Lankan military deoccupation.[14]

Threats and intimidation

Throughout its history the Tamil Guardian correspondents have faced threats from Sri Lankan security forces. In January 2020, the paper's Batticaloa-based correspondent was harassed by the Sri Lankan security forces and arrested after reporting on alleged corruption against a local government official.[15]

In April 2019, another correspondent was summoned for questioning by Mullaitivu police, after the Sri Lankan navy filed a complaint against him for reporting on a disappearances rally in the district.[16][17][18]

In October 2018, a Jaffna-based correspondent was the target of harassment and intimidation by security forces, ever since he was summoned for questioning at TID headquarters in Colombo. Reporters Without Borders (RSF) called on the Sri Lankan authorities to end the harassment stating it was on "entirely spurious grounds".[19]

References

  1. ^ Kerry McCarthy MP (4 March 2014). "David Cameron must now deliver on his pledge for international investigation into Sri Lanka's war crimes". Tamil Guardian. Retrieved 25 August 2018.
  2. ^ "Tamil Guardian website hacked". Tamilnet. 17 May 2001. Retrieved 9 November 2014.
  3. ^ "Tamil Guardian Interview with Mr. Anton Balasingham". www.sangam.org. Retrieved 9 November 2014.
  4. ^ "Sri Lanka revokes human rights experts' visas ahead of Commonwealth summit". The Telegraph. 8 November 2013. Retrieved 9 November 2014.
  5. ^ "Why I am attending CHOGM – David Cameron". David Cameron. Tamil Guardian. 7 November 2013. Retrieved 9 November 2014.
  6. ^ ""As an artist I'm still dealing with being a refugee" - Interview with M.I.A. | Tamil Guardian". www.tamilguardian.com. Retrieved 15 April 2021.
  7. ^ "Tamil leaders talk politics - Interview with Gajendrakumar Ponnambalam | Tamil Guardian". www.tamilguardian.com. Retrieved 15 April 2021.
  8. ^ "'Sanctions on Sri Lankan war criminals are a no brainer' - Interview with Sir Ed Davey | Tamil Guardian". www.tamilguardian.com. Retrieved 15 April 2021.
  9. ^ "Tamil Guardian". Twitter. Retrieved 15 April 2021.
  10. ^ "Tamil Guardian". www.instagram.com. Retrieved 15 April 2021.
  11. ^ "The struggle endures". Tamil Guardian Editorials. 26 October 2025. Archived from the original on 1 January 2026. Retrieved 1 January 2026. Instead, the rise in participation reflects a deeper, enduring appeal of Tamil nationalist politics [...] What the Tamil nation was demanding at the polls, and what it has demanded for decades, was a path towards freedom from repression. If granted the smallest glimpse of normalcy, the Tamil people have demonstrated yet again they will seize it to express their political will [...] In doing so, they affirm the Tamil nation's right to exist and determine its own future.
  12. ^ Ranatunge, Dushy. "Human rights groups and LTTE fronts". The Island. Archived from the original on 29 June 2020. Retrieved 26 June 2020.
  13. ^ "Let us remember". Tamil Guardian Editorials. 2 November 2025. Archived from the original on 1 January 2026. Retrieved 1 January 2026. Among a calendar marked by massacres and mourning, November 27 holds a sacred place. It commemorates the death of the first cadre of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), marking a decisive juncture in the long struggle for self-determination. Like days of remembrance in other nations across the globe, it is a time to reflect on the sacrifice made for its freedoms [...] Remembrance cannot be dictated by the state. Every nation has the right to honour its fallen. The Tamil nation is no exception. And it must be free to do so how it sees fit.
  14. ^ "No end to occupation". Tamil Guardian Editorials. 26 October 2025. Archived from the original on 1 January 2026. Retrieved 1 January 2026. The people of the Tamil homeland know what genuine change looks like. It is not the closure of a single military post or the shifting of a few troops to another region. It is the complete withdrawal of the Sri Lankan military from their lands, the end of Sinhala-Buddhist colonisation, and the restoration of the Tamil nation's right to live freely in its own homeland. Until that happens, no amount of government spin can disguise the reality. The occupation of Tamil Eelam endures.
  15. ^ "Sri Lankan police threaten family of Tamil Guardian correspondent with arrest warrant | Tamil Guardian". www.tamilguardian.com. Retrieved 15 April 2021.
  16. ^ https://srilankabrief.org/2019/04/tamil-guardian-correspondent-summoned-by-sri-lankan-police/ Archived 3 June 2020 at the Wayback Machine
  17. ^ "Sri Lanka". United States Department of State. Retrieved 15 April 2021.
  18. ^ "Alarming resurgence in Sri Lankan police attacks on Tamil journalists | Reporters without borders". RSF. 4 June 2019. Retrieved 15 April 2021.
  19. ^ "Tamil reporter harassed by Sri Lanka's anti-terrorism police | Reporters without borders". RSF. 24 October 2018. Retrieved 15 April 2021.


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