Jaffna Monitor - Unafraid and Unbowed

How They Killed Him

TEHRAN — March 2, 2026 He moved rarely and unpredictably. His offices and residence in central Tehran — known collectively as the Beit Rahbari, or Leader’s House — were protected by hardened construction, reinforced underground chambers, and multiple layers of physical and electronic security. Former Iranian officials have said the descent from the surface to his deepest bunker could take several minutes by a secured elevator. His communications were routed through tightly controlled channels d

Our Special Correspondent

Mar 2, 2026 — 5 min read

An Iron Fist Over Four Decades:The Legacy of Ali Khamenei

Exclusive March-2026

Jaffna Monitor

Mar 1, 2026 — 7 min read

Sallay Detained 90 Days Under PTA

February 2026 Monitor Memo

Our Special Correspondent

Feb 28, 2026 — 6 min read

In Jaffna, Critics See a New Architecture of Control

February 2026 Monitor Memo

Our Special Correspondent

Feb 23, 2026 — 6 min read

Sumanthiran Says President AKD Asked Him to Serve as Justice Minister

COLOMBO, Sri Lanka — M.A. Sumanthiran, the acting general secretary of the Ilankai Tamil Arasu Kachchi (ITAK), said that President Anura Kumara Dissanayake had asked him to accept the post of Minister of Justice after assuming office — an offer he said he declined, citing his party’s political position and principles. Mr. Sumanthiran made the disclosure on Sunday at a memorial event in Colombo marking the first death anniversary of the Tamil journalist Rajanayagam Bharathi. He was responding to

March-2026 Monitor Memo

Our Reporter

Mar 2, 2026 — 1 min read

Israel–Iran War Sparks Petrol Panic in Jaffna

JAFFNA, Sri Lanka — Hours after reports emerged that the United States and Israel had launched coordinated strikes on Iran, motorists across Sri Lanka’s Northern and Eastern Provinces began lining up at fuel stations, fearing that the distant conflict could disrupt fuel supplies to the island nation, which remains heavily dependent on imported petroleum. Long queues formed outside petrol sheds in Jaffna town by Saturday afternoon, with motorcycles, three-wheelers, and cars stretching for hundre

February 2026 Monitor Memo

Our Reporter

Feb 28, 2026 — 2 min read

Easter bombings is about inaction despite specific warnings

By M.R. Narayan Swamy Former intelligence chief Suresh Sallay may or may not be involved with the deadly 2019 Easter bombings in Sri Lanka, but the carnage will rank among one of the worst examples of officials failing to act despite pin-pointed, credible and actionable intelligence received in advance about the impending disaster. The island nation’s security establishment has been shaken although it was anticipated by many that Sallay could be taken into custody someday over the terror attac

February 2026

M.R. Narayan Swamy

Feb 28, 2026 — 4 min read

European Union Allocates Additional €1 Million in Humanitarian Aid to Sri Lanka After Cyclone Ditwah

COLOMBO, February 27, 2026 — The European Union has announced an additional €1 million in humanitarian assistance to Sri Lanka, reinforcing relief efforts for communities still recovering from the devastation caused by Tropical Cyclone Ditwah, which struck the island in late November 2025 and triggered widespread flooding and landslides across all 25 districts. The latest allocation, equivalent to more than LKR 370 million, brings the EU’s total humanitarian contribution to Sri Lanka’s cyclone

February 2026 Monitor Memo

Our Reporter

Feb 27, 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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When Namal Rajapaksa’s Platform Was Cancelled, So Were the Questions

JAFFNA— Plans for a debating-style event featuring Namal Rajapaksa — a former cabinet minister and the political heir to the Rajapaksa family — were cancelled in Cambridge and Oxford following protests by Tamil student groups and sections of the diaspora. Demonstrators argued that a platform at elite institutions should not be extended to a member of a political dynasty widely associated — in Tamil memory and in international human-rights discourse — with wartime atrocities, militarisation, and

February 2026 Monitor Memo

Our Reporter

Feb 24, 2026 — 7 min read

Cuba's New Ambassador Presents Credentials to Sri Lankan President

COLOMBO — Cuba's newly appointed ambassador to Sri Lanka formally assumed her duties on Monday, presenting her credentials to President Anura Kumara Dissanayake in a ceremony at the Presidential Secretariat in Colombo, Sri Lanka's Foreign Ministry announced. Her Excellency Patricia Lázara Yego Yérrez, appointed by the Cuban government with the agreement of Colombo, presented her letters of credence at 3 p.m., completing the constitutional formality required before a foreign envoy may begin offi

February 2026

Jaffna Monitor

Feb 24, 2026 — 3 min read

“The Ball Is in Your Court Now,” Moscow Says on Financial Talks With Colombo

COLOMBO — Russia's Ambassador to Sri Lanka, Levan Dzhagaryan, delivered a detailed review of Moscow's foreign policy at a press briefing held at the Russian Embassy in Colombo this week, dismissing Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky as an illegitimate leader whose mandate had long expired. Responding to a question from Jaffna Monitor regarding potential Russian investment in Sri Lanka, the ambassador said, “Where should we invest? Unfortunately, we have no projects here to invest in.” The

February 2026

Our Special Correspondent

Feb 23, 2026 — 7 min read

DEPARTMENT OF CHOSEN ONES: What Really Ails Sri Lanka? An Insider Dusts the Cobwebs

By M.R. Narayan Swamy When kings become authoritarian and develop disdain for their subjects, their kingdoms collapse. This is what happened in modern Sri Lanka when a president and his kin presided over the picturesque country as if it were family property. A child prodigy who grew to be an insider with a conscience, Thisuri Wanniarachchi, unveils the story in a most chilling and gripping manner. Thisuri was just 15 when she bagged Sri Lanka’s most prestigious literary award for her first

Book Review February 2026

M.R. Narayan Swamy

Feb 22, 2026 — 4 min read