Jaffna Monitor - Unafraid and Unbowed

‘Why Have a Justice Minister Without Justice?’ Protesters Confront Minister at Chemmani

JAFFNA, Sri Lanka — Relatives of people who disappeared during Sri Lanka’s civil war staged a protest on Friday outside the Chemmani mass grave site, demanding an international investigation and rejecting what they described as inadequate domestic efforts to uncover the truth. The demonstration coincided with a visit by Justice Minister Harshana Nanayakkara and officials from the Office on Missing Persons to the excavation site at the Siththupathi Hindu cemetery in Jaffna, where forensic teams

Jaffna Monitor

Jun 19, 2026 — 1 min read

Archchuna Removes Slipper-Garlanded Cutout After Heated Clash With Gajendrakumar

June 2026 Monitor Memo

Our Reporter

Jun 19, 2026 — 1 min read

Court Leaves Door Open to Arrest of Gotabaya Rajapaksa in Easter Bombings Inquiry

June 2026 Monitor Memo

Our Reporter

Jun 18, 2026 — 2 min read

One Country, Different Rules: A Family Card Required Only in Sri Lanka’s North.

JM Exclusive June 2026

Our Reporter

Jun 18, 2026 — 3 min read

Physicians Question Why Sallay Was Fed Through Veins Instead of Stomach

COLOMBO — Several physicians have raised concerns about the nutritional management of Suresh Sallay, Sri Lanka’s former intelligence chief, who has been on a hunger strike since June 7 and was later admitted to the National Hospital of Sri Lanka. The physicians question the reported use of intravenous nutrition rather than feeding through his digestive tract, saying the approach may have exposed him to complications that might otherwise have been avoided. The physicians, who spoke on condition

JM Exclusive June 2026

Our Reporter

Jun 20, 2026 — 3 min read

Has India Lost the Tamil Street?

By M.R. Narayan Swamy A long time ago, numerous homes in Sri Lanka’s Tamil region proudly displayed framed photographs of Mahatma Gandhi and Jawaharlal Nehru. August 15, India’s Independence Day, was also celebrated. To Tamils at large, India was as much their motherland as it was to Indians. As Tamil militancy transformed into a full-blown insurgency in the 1980s, most Tamils fleeing Sri Lanka were relieved to take refuge first in India, thanks to geographical proximity, even if their final d

Guest Column June 2026

M.R. Narayan Swamy

Jun 19, 2026 — 5 min read

The Boomerang War: How Israel Aimed at Iran and Hit Itself

By Abbi Kanthasamy There are wars that end in victory. There are wars that end in defeat. And then there are wars that begin with a press conference, a wall of flags, and the quiet arrogance of people who believe history works for them. This one was supposed to be Israel’s grand vindication. Iran was meant to be cornered, isolated, sanctioned, lectured, inspected, and gift-wrapped for a triumphant Washington photo-op. Netanyahu was meant to stride across the stage like a regional Churchill.

Guest Column June 2026

Abbi Kanthasamy

Jun 19, 2026 — 5 min read

U.S. and Sri Lanka Hold Disaster Response Drill in Galle, Drawing Lessons From Cyclone Ditwah

GALLE, Sri Lanka — Disaster-management officials from the United States and Sri Lanka concluded a three-day workshop in the southern coastal city of Galle on Thursday with a simulated emergency exercise aimed at strengthening coordination during major natural disasters and humanitarian crises. The workshop, held from June 16 to 18, was organized by the U.S. Embassy in Colombo in partnership with the U.S. military’s Center for Excellence in Disaster Management and Humanitarian Assistance, the Mo

June 2026 Monitor Memo

Our Reporter

Jun 18, 2026 — 2 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

Aruliniyan Mahalingam

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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Sri Lankan Monk Accused of Seeking Paid Sex in Boston Police Sting

BOSTON — The Buddha taught that tanhā, the Pali word for craving, is the origin of suffering. Police in Massachusetts allege that one Sri Lankan monk may have taken an unusually hands-on approach to studying the doctrine. Mahayaye Vineetha Thero, 32, a Sri Lankan Buddhist monk who served as the Buddhist chaplain at Tufts University in Massachusetts, was among seven men arrested on Saturday during an undercover Boston police operation targeting alleged purchasers of commercial sex, according to

JM Exclusive June 2026

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Jun 18, 2026 — 1 min read

Trincomalee Site Long Linked to Wartime-Era Abductions Is Sealed

COLOMBO, Sri Lanka — Sri Lanka’s Criminal Investigation Department has sealed an underground detention facility inside the Trincomalee Navy Camp, a site long known as the “Gun Site,” in a major development in one of the country’s most disturbing unresolved disappearance investigations. The Trincomalee magistrate is expected to visit the site for an official inspection, a step investigators believe could help preserve evidence and clarify how the facility was used during the final years of Sri L

June 2026 Monitor Memo

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Jun 17, 2026 — 2 min read

‘I’d Rather Die’: Ex-Spy Chief Refuses to End Hunger Strike or Return to CID Cell

By M.R. Narayan Swamy Sri Lanka’s former intelligence chief Suresh Sallay, detailed for alleged links with Islamists who unleashed the Easter bombings in 2019, refuses to give up his indefinite hunger strike or return to CID custody, which he dubs a “hellhole”. Sallay made this clear to his lawyer, who called on him at the National Hospital in Colombo, where he was admitted on June 7, two days after he launched a fast in protest against his degrading treatment, his wife Manori said on Tuesday.

JM Exclusive June 2026

M.R. Narayan Swamy

Jun 17, 2026 — 3 min read

A Day After His Uncle Sought Shelter From Arrest, Mahinda Rajapaksa's Son Is Detained

COLOMBO, Sri Lanka — A day after former President Gotabaya Rajapaksa asked a court to block his possible arrest under Sri Lanka’s anti-terrorism law, another member of the country’s once-dominant political dynasty was taken into custody. Yoshitha Rajapaksa, the second son of former President Mahinda Rajapaksa, was arrested on Wednesday by the Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery or Corruption after appearing before investigators in connection with a probe into his recruitment and tr

June 2026 Monitor Memo

Our Reporter

Jun 17, 2026 — 3 min read