Jaffna Monitor - Unafraid and Unbowed

The Business of Hope: How IMHO Helped Rebuild Lives in Sri Lanka

Two decades ago, a small group of Tamil professionals in the United States asked a simple question: instead of meeting and eating, why not do something for our people? What grew from that conversation has transformed hospitals, restored sight, saved hearts, and quietly rewritten the story of a community that war nearly erased. By: Aruliniyan Mahalingam I have no formal connection to the medical profession. Yet, in a way that feels almost inevitable, I have always found myself surrounded by do

Aruliniyan Mahalingam

Mar 31, 2026 — 24 min read

Hoole Sued for Rs. 1 Billion Over Alleged Defamation

March 2026 Monitor Memo

Our Reporter

Mar 30, 2026 — 1 min read

Sumanthiran Invites Former LTTE Combatants, Citing ‘Highest Qualification’

March 2026 Monitor Memo

Our Reporter

Mar 30, 2026 — 2 min read

Excavation Begins at Kurukkalmadam Mass Grave Linked to 1990 LTTE Killings

March 2026 Monitor Memo

Our Reporter

Mar 30, 2026 — 2 min read

Appointed, Then Abandoned: The Betrayal of Northern Health Volunteers

By: Jeevan Thiagarajah A Travesty of Justice in the Northern Province In the annals of public service recruitment, few stories are as harrowing or as indicative of systemic failure as the plight of the Health Services Volunteers in the Northern Province. This is a saga marked by a cruel travesty of justice, where the hopes of the most vulnerable were raised and dashed by the very system designed to protect them. The most damning aspect of this tragedy is that letters of appointment to gove

March 2026 OP-ED

Jeevan Thiyagaraja

Mar 31, 2026 — 5 min read

Exclusive: Iran’s Ambassador Sets Out Tehran’s Position on the Strait of Hormuz

By: Dr. Alireza Delkhosh, Ambassador of the Islamic Republic of Iran to Sri Lanka On 28 February 2026, the United States and the Zionist regime, through an unlawful act of aggression contrary to the fundamental principles of international law, acted against the territorial integrity and national sovereignty of the Islamic Republic of Iran. In response, and within the framework of the inherent right of self-defense pursuant to Article 51 of the Charter of the United Nations, the Government of th

Guest Column JM Exclusive

Dr. Alireza Delkhosh

Mar 31, 2026 — 4 min read

Tharanga’s 89.37m Puts Sri Lanka on the Global Javelin Map

COLOMBO — March 29, 2026 — In a performance that could redefine the trajectory of Sri Lankan athletics, Rumesh Tharanga launched the javelin to a staggering 89.37 meters, the longest throw ever recorded by a Sri Lankan athlete in any discipline, pending official ratification. The distance places Tharanga firmly within the elite tier of global javelin throwing — not merely as a national record-holder, but as a potential medal contender on the world stage. A comparison with results from the Worl

March 2026 Monitor Memo

Sports Desk

Mar 29, 2026 — 2 min read

Health Director Testifies Against Jaffna MP Archchuna in Defamation Case Over Drug Allegations

JAFFNA, Sri Lanka — March 28, 2026 — Ramanathan Archchuna, a Member of Parliament for the Jaffna Electoral District, is facing a defamation case filed by Dr. A. Ketheeswaran, Jaffna’s Regional Director of Health Services, who testified in court on Friday that allegations made against him by the lawmaker were false, damaging, and deeply personal. Appearing before the Point Pedro Magistrate’s Court, Dr. Ketheeswaran delivered nearly two hours of testimony, firmly rejecting claims made by Archchu

JM Exclusive March 2026

Our Reporter

Mar 28, 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

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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Sand Mafia Tractor Kills Policeman in Jaffna

JAFFNA, Sri Lanka — March 28, 2026 — A police sergeant was killed and another officer critically injured on Saturday morning after a tractor allegedly linked to illegal sand mining rammed into them in northern Sri Lanka, police said. The incident occurred near a temple in the Kerpeli area of Kodikamam on the Jaffna peninsula, after officers responded to a tip-off about unlawful sand excavation. According to police, two officers dispatched to the site attempted to intercept a tractor transporti

March 2026 Monitor Memo

Our Reporter

Mar 28, 2026 — 1 min read

India Sends Lifeline Fuel to Sri Lanka as Supplies Collapse

COLOMBO, Sri Lanka — March 28, 2026 — India has delivered an emergency shipment of 38,000 metric tons of petroleum to Sri Lanka, including 20,000 metric tons of diesel and 18,000 metric tons of petrol, according to a statement from the High Commission of India in Colombo, as the island nation grapples with fuel supply disruptions linked to escalating tensions in the Middle East. The shipment follows a telephone conversation on March 24 between Prime Minister Narendra Modi of India and President

JM Exclusive March 2026

Our Reporter

Mar 28, 2026 — 1 min read

NPP’s Delay on Provincial Polls Fuels Fears of a Silent Rollback

By M.R. Narayan Swamy Is the Sri Lankan government preparing the ground to quietly do away with the provincial councils established under the 1987 India–Sri Lanka Accord? Signals from Colombo suggest this may be the case. The vexed bilateral agreement, which sought to end Tamil separatism, envisaged elected councils for all nine provinces in Sri Lanka to devolve powers locally and promote more balanced regional development. Although the chief objective of the provision was to encourage people

March 2026 OP-ED

M.R. Narayan Swamy

Mar 28, 2026 — 4 min read

Machete Attack Leaves Young Man Critically Injured in Jaffna as Drug-Linked Violence Surges

JAFFNA, Sri Lanka — A young man was left fighting for his life after a brutal machete attack in the Pannai area of Jaffna on Thursday evening. According to police, the victim, Soundirarajah Majith, in his early twenties, was riding a motorcycle when he was chased down by a group of assailants on two other bikes. The attackers overtook him, hacked him with machetes and other sharp weapons, and fled. During the assault, Majith lost control of his motorcycle and plunged into the nearby sea. Offic

March 2026 Monitor Memo

Our Reporter

Mar 27, 2026 — 2 min read