Jaffna Monitor - Unafraid and Unbowed

Sallay Detained 90 Days Under PTA

COLOMBO — Sri Lankan investigators have obtained legal authority to detain Suresh Sallay, the former Director of the State Intelligence Service, for up to 90 days under the Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA), marking the most high-profile arrest in the nearly seven-year investigation into the 2019 Easter Sunday bombings. Sallay, a retired Major General, was en route to his office at the Pathfinder Foundation in Colombo when officers from the Criminal Investigation Department intercepted and arre

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

400 Kilometres for a Fingerprint

Article February 2026

Aruliniyan Mahalingam

Feb 21, 2026 — 4 min read

Former LTTE Fighter Says Debt Cost Her a Kidney

February 2026

Our Special Correspondent

Feb 20, 2026 — 6 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

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

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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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

Colombo Accused of Governing Tamil North Through the Back Door

Gajendrakumar Ponnambalam, leader of the Tamil National People's Front (TNPF) and a member of Parliament, has accused Sri Lanka's government of attempting to administer the country's Tamil-majority Northern Province through a network of unofficial "shadow ministers," bypassing a long-dormant elected provincial council and effectively concentrating power in the hands of the ruling party. He made the allegations on the floor of Parliament this week, warning that the move amounted to an unconstitu

February 2026 Monitor Memo

Our Reporter

Feb 21, 2026 — 2 min read

RDA Signals Need for Permanent Mullaitivu Bridge, India Open if Asked

MULLAITIVU, Sri Lanka — Sri Lanka’s Road Development Authority (RDA) has confirmed that the temporary Bailey bridge installed on the Paranthan–Karaichchi–Mullaitivu (A035) road after Cyclone Ditwa was never intended to serve as a long-term solution, as pressure grows for the construction of a permanent structure along one of the district’s most vital transport corridors. In an interview with Jaffna Monitor, a senior engineer attached to the RDA’s Northern Province office, speaking on condition

February 2026 Monitor Memo

Our Reporter

Feb 20, 2026 — 3 min read

The Cultural Heritage and History of Kataragama

Historical Context and Religious Co-existence According to Professor Ellawala in Social History of Early Ceylon, the conditions of pre-Buddhist Ceylon mirrored those of contemporary India. He suggests that due to this proximity, the people of Ceylon likely adopted forms of worship such as Saivism, which existed alongside Brahmanism [1]. With the subsequent spread of Buddhism to the villages, Buddhist viharas were often established near earlier Hindu shrines, symbolizing a long-standing traditio

February 2026 Guest Column