Jaffna Monitor - Unafraid and Unbowed

Government Reinstates QR Fuel Pass System, but Registration Remains Incomplete

COLOMBO — March 15 — The government on Sunday reinstated the National Fuel Pass (QR code) system, requiring motorists to present a registered QR code in order to obtain fuel at filling stations, as authorities move to regulate distribution and maintain supply stability. The Ministry of Power and Energy said the measure came into effect at 6:00 a.m. on March 15, and that fuel will not be issued at any station without a valid QR code linked to a registered vehicle. The system, first introduced d

Our Reporter

Mar 15, 2026 — 3 min read

ITAK Leadership Moves to Distance Itself From Controversial Resolution

March 2026 Monitor Memo

Our Reporter

Mar 14, 2026 — 3 min read

Northern Council’s Letter Backing U.S. War Effort Raises Questions for ITAK

JM Exclusive March 2026

Our Reporter

Mar 12, 2026 — 5 min read

Dutch Ambassador Says Russia Tried to Censor Ukraine War Photos in Sri Lanka

Exclusive Interview March 2026

Our Special Correspondent

Mar 11, 2026 — 3 min read

Russia Defends Objections to Ukraine War Photos at Colombo Exhibition

COLOMBO — March 11, 2026 Russia’s ambassador to Sri Lanka has defended Moscow’s objections to photographs depicting the war in Ukraine that are currently displayed at an international photojournalism exhibition in Colombo, telling Jaffna Monitor that the images present a “biased and anti-Russian narrative.” In written comments to Jaffna Monitor, the ambassador said the photographs featured in the World Press Photo Exhibition 2025 ignore atrocities, which he says were committed by Ukrainian for

JM Exclusive March 2026

Our Reporter

Mar 14, 2026 — 3 min read

Voice of Tigers: The Rebel Radio That Echoed Through Sri Lanka’s War

By: M.R. Narayan Swamy Bettering the proverbial cat, the Tamil Tigers radio had two dozen lives! From its rudimentary beginnings in Jaffna, the Voice of Tigers (VOT), or Puligalin Kural, grew into a powerful radio station that broadcast news and other programmes in Tamil from the dense forests of Sri Lanka. The station chronicled the war fought by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), albeit with an inherent bias favouring the Tamil guerrillas, till May 2009 when the Sri Lankan m

Guest Column March 2026

M.R. Narayan Swamy

Mar 14, 2026 — 6 min read

“Sri Lanka Now Has No Foreign Policy,” Former Foreign Minister G.L. Peiris Says

COLOMBO, Sri Lanka- Former Foreign Minister G. L. Peiris delivered a blistering indictment of the Sri Lankan government Wednesday, accusing it of abandoning the nation's economic interests and diplomatic standing in the wake of the torpedoing of the Iranian warship IRIS Dena, declaring that the country now "has no foreign policy whatsoever." Speaking at a joint opposition media briefing on Wednesday, Mr. Peiris described the sinking of the IRIS Dena as an unprecedented event since World War II,

Monitor Memo

Our Reporter

Mar 12, 2026 — 5 min read

The Meccan Shawl

Translated from the original Tamil short story makkattuc cālvai (மக்கத்துச் சால்வை) from the eponymous 1992 collection of short stories by S.L.M. Hanifa. The original collection is available at noolaham.org. If you have any questions, please contact ez.iniyavan@gmail.com. “Thambi! Mammanifā, do you remember me, son? That day, your wāppā and everyone else remained mum. You were a little boy. But you spotted it like a vigilant crow. You shouted as if you were raise the alarm.” “He is hit, he i

March 2026 Story

Eḻuttukkiṉiyavaṉ

Mar 11, 2026 — 10 min read

Unafraid and Unbowed

Archbishop, Archbishop, why hast thou forsaken us in our hour of sorrow and slaughter?

"Cry aloud, spare not, lift up thy voice like a trumpet, and shew my people their transgression, and the house of Jacob their sins." - Isaiah 58:1 His Eminence Malcolm Cardinal Ranjith, Archbishop of Colombo and chief shepherd of the Catholic flock in all of Sri Lanka, has recently marked fifty years in the sacred priesthood. As the highest-ranking prelate whose dominion spans the entire island, he now stands as a mighty voice crying for justice, calling upon the nations of the earth for interv

Editorial July 2025

Kaniyan Pungundran

Jul 14, 2025 — 12 min read

Jaffna Library Burning: The Day They Burned the buddha and his dhamma

Why South Asia Reveres Books-and Fears Their Destruction Irrespective of religion, across the Indian subcontinent, books have long held an exalted status. In the indigenous spiritual traditions that emerged from this land-Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, and Sikhism-knowledge is not merely valued; it is venerated in the highest order. In homes, temples, and schools across the region, people treat books with profound reverence-never touching them with their feet, and if done accidentally, offering a

Cover Story June 2025

Kaniyan Pungundran

Jun 16, 2025 — 14 min read

Chemmani: Where Justice Was Buried

The dead do not speak - but the earth does A few years ago, I visited Cambodia. My original aim was to see the Angkor Wat temple complex. But, as always, my journalistic instincts led me deeper into rural Cambodia, where I found myself in quiet conversations with a few former soldiers of the Pol Pot regime, now living ordinary lives as toddy tappers, farmers, and small shop owners. One of them - a former henchman of the Khmer Rouge - opened up after a few glasses of toddy. In a hauntingly calm

Editorial June 2025

Kaniyan Pungundran

Jun 16, 2025 — 7 min read

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The Palestine issue and International Quds Day

Quds Day: From an Idea to an International Demand The last Friday of the holy month of Ramadan was designated as Quds Day several decades ago by the Founder of the Islamic Republic of Iran. This designation, more than being a mere political statement, was a call for the international community to pay attention to an issue that was gradually being forgotten: the displacement of a nation and the occupation of a land considered holy by the followers of three major divine religions. Today, Quds Da

March 2026 OP-ED

Dr. Alireza Delkhosh

Mar 11, 2026 — 5 min read

Malaiyaha Tamils ‘No Longer Just a Labour Community,’ TPA Leader Tells Japanese Ambassador

COLOMBO, Sri Lanka — The leader of the Tamil Progressive Alliance, Mano Ganesan, told Japan’s ambassador to Sri Lanka on Tuesday that the country’s Malaiyaha Tamil community — nearly 1.5 million people living across the plantation districts of the central highlands — should no longer be viewed solely as a labour force and must be included more directly in international development efforts. “We are no longer merely a labour community,” Mr. Ganesan said during a meeting with Japan’s ambassador, I

March 2026 Monitor Memo

Our Reporter

Mar 11, 2026 — 2 min read

A Strategic Framework for Sea Transport and Tourism in the Northern Provin

By: Jeevan Thiagarajah The High Price of Neglect For the residents of Sri Lanka’s Northern Province, the Palk Strait and the Jaffna Lagoon are not merely bodies of water; they are lifelines. The islands of Delft, Kayts, Karainagar, Pungudutivu, and Nainathivu are tethered to the Jaffna mainland by a fragile network of ferries. Every day, students, patients, and traders entrust their lives to these vessels. Yet, despite the existence of comprehensive maritime laws, the reality of compliance in

March 2026 OP-ED

Jeevan Thiyagaraja

Mar 11, 2026 — 5 min read

Sri Lanka Fuel Price Hike Defended by CPC Chief, but Data Raises Questions

COLOMBO, March 10, 2026 The chairman of Sri Lanka’s state-run Ceylon Petroleum Corporation (CPC), D.A. Rajakaruna, appeared before the media on March 10 to defend a sharp retail fuel price increase that took effect the same day. The explanation he offered centred on two claims: that global oil prices had risen “nearly 100 percent between the 1st and the 27th” of February into early March, and that a domestic panic-buying surge had drained reserves far sooner than anticipated. Both claims conta

Economics March 2026

Jaffna Monitor Economic Desk

Mar 11, 2026 — 4 min read