Jaffna Monitor - Unafraid and Unbowed

Sri Lanka Tables Bill to Scrap PTA. Critics Say Its Replacement Retains Abusive Powers

By Aruliniyan Mahalingam COLOMBO, Sri Lanka — Sri Lanka's government on Tuesday introduced legislation to repeal the Prevention of Terrorism Act, the 47-year-old security law that Tamils, Muslims and critics of successive governments have long associated with arbitrary detention and torture. Human rights groups, lawyers and the country's own Human Rights Commission say the replacement keeps many of the old law's worst features and adds new ones. The bill sets out a broad definition of terroris

Aruliniyan Mahalingam

Oct 6, 2026 — 7 min read

After Four Months in Hospital, Suresh Salley to Return to CID Custody

October 2026

Our Reporter

Oct 6, 2026 — 1 min read

Oncologist Wants Health Officials Prosecuted After RTI Order Goes Unheeded

JM Exclusive October 2026

Jaffna Monitor

Oct 6, 2026 — 4 min read

Jaffna Hospitality Teacher Is Stabbed to Death at Home; Suspect Dies on Rail Line

October 2026 Monitor Memo

Our Reporter

Oct 6, 2026 — 2 min read

Knife Used in Jaffna Teacher's Killing Came From Hotel Kitchen Where Suspect Worked

JAFFNA, Sri Lanka — The knife used to kill Anne Laksha Ignatius, the 31-year-old culinary and hospitality instructor stabbed inside her family home in Nallur on Monday, was a professional meat-cutting knife taken from the kitchen of the Jaffna hotel where her suspected killer worked, people familiar with the investigation said. The suspect, Thevathas Pugalarasan, worked at NorthGate, the hotel on Station Road near the Jaffna railway station. The knife was used for cutting meat in the hotel's ki

JM Exclusive October 2026

Our Reporter

Oct 7, 2026 — 2 min read

Nineteen Years After Nilakshan’s Killing, His Name Lives On at Jaffna University

JAFFNA, Sri Lanka — Nineteen years after Sahathevan Nilakshan, a 22-year-old journalism student and magazine editor, was shot dead at his family's home during a military curfew, the University of Jaffna on Wednesday awarded a gold medal bearing his name to the top student in its Media Studies program. The Sahathevan Nilakshan Memorial Gold Medal went to Thanushka Sanjeewa, a graduate from Trincomalee who finished first in her batch. It was presented on Oct. 7, the second day of the university's

October 2026 JM Exclusive

Our Reporter

Oct 7, 2026 — 6 min read

Namal Rajapaksa Remanded Until Oct. 16 as Krish Bribery Inquiry Widens

COLOMBO, Sri Lanka — A Colombo court on Tuesday extended the remand custody of Namal Rajapaksa, a member of Parliament and the eldest son of former President Mahinda Rajapaksa, until Oct. 16 in a bribery investigation involving payments linked to Krish, an Indian property company. The order also applies to Janaki Siriwardena, a former director of Krish. Colombo Chief Magistrate Asanga S. Bodaragama said he would rule on bail applications for both suspects on Oct. 16. The magistrate issued the

JM COURTS October 2026

Our Reporter

Oct 6, 2026 — 2 min read

Daughter, Son-in-Law Face Court Proceedings in Killing of Jaffna University Lecturer

JAFFNA, Sri Lanka — Police have filed a formal charge sheet in the killing of a senior University of Jaffna lecturer whose body was found in a secluded area four days after her death in March, clearing the way for preliminary proceedings against her daughter and son-in-law. The two suspects, who have remained in remand custody since their arrests, were brought before the Jaffna Magistrate’s Court under security on Monday. Police submitted the charge sheet prepared after their investigation into

JM COURTS October 2026

Our Reporter

Oct 6, 2026 — 3 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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Jaffna Man Dies in House Fire Near Paris While Visiting Family

JAFFNA, Sri Lanka: A 38-year-old Tamil man from Jaffna died early on Saturday, Oct. 3, in a house fire in a suburb northeast of Paris while visiting relatives, according to French news reports and people familiar with his family. Jaffna Monitor has confirmed the man's identity as Rexson Selvarasa, 38, originally from Jaffna. He was born on July 16, 1988. Mr. Selvarasa was a vocalist, and people who knew him described him as a known supporter of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam. The LTTE, w

October 2026

Our Reporter

Oct 6, 2026 — 1 min read

Shritharan’s Call to Lift LTTE Ban Sparks Clash With Archchuna

COLOMBO, Sri Lanka: A debate in Sri Lanka's Parliament on Tuesday on regulations under the Foreign Exchange Act turned into a dispute over the Tamil Tigers, with two lawmakers from Jaffna District taking opposing positions in the chamber. S. Shritharan used his speaking time to raise the removal of a bust of Thileepan, a political leader of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam who died on a hunger strike in 1987. He called for the ban on the LTTE to be lifted and accused the government of pursu

October 2026

Our Reporter

Oct 6, 2026 — 2 min read

‘How Can Thileepan Be Commemorated?’ Dayasiri Challenges Government

COLOMBO, Sri Lanka — Dayasiri Jayasekara, an opposition lawmaker, challenged the government in Parliament on Tuesday over commemorations for Thileepan, a member of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam who died on a hunger strike in 1987, asking why such events were permitted while the separatist group remains banned in Sri Lanka. Mr. Jayasekara, who represents Kurunegala District for the Samagi Jana Balawegaya, put the question to Aruna Jayasekara, the deputy minister of defense, during the cha

October 2026

Our Reporter

Oct 6, 2026 — 2 min read

The Island as One Living Museum

By Jeevan Thiagarajah Few countries carry as much history to the square kilometre as Sri Lanka. More than 250,000 archaeological sites have been identified. Eight places are on the World Heritage list. The forest meditation monasteries of Ritigala and Arankele, the Pancha Ishwarams of Shiva on our coasts, the Dutch-era Wolvendaal Church, the Ketchchimalai Mosque at Beruwala where Arab traders are said to have first landed, and Sri Pada, venerated by Buddhists, Hindus, Christians and Muslims ali

Guest Column October 2026