Jaffna Monitor - Unafraid and Unbowed

A Sri Lankan President Acknowledges Security Forces' Crimes — but Only Some

COLOMBO, Sri Lanka — For decades, allegations that Sri Lanka's security forces were implicated in murder, abduction, and torture were, in the country's mainstream politics, largely dismissed as a Tamil grievance. Raised by victims in the north and east and by the families of the disappeared, they found little sympathy within the Sinhala-majority political establishment that has governed the country since independence. This week, the man who now leads that establishment — and serves as commander

Jaffna Monitor

Jun 27, 2026 — 3 min read

Jaffna Mourns Prasanth Sachin, a Teenage Thavil Virtuoso of Extraordinary Promise

June 2026 Obituary

Our Reporter

Jun 26, 2026 — 3 min read

Sri Lanka Cricket Abandons Plan for Jaffna International Stadium, Citing Financial Constraints

JM Exclusive June 2026

Our Reporter

Jun 25, 2026 — 3 min read

Appointed Governor Removes Two Elected Officials, Testing the Limits of Executive Power

JM Exclusive June 2026

Our Reporter

Jun 25, 2026 — 6 min read

Development, Division and Sovereignty in a Divided and Contested World

Professor Mahesh Nirmalan MD, FRCA, PhD, FFICM University of Manchester, UK Sri Lanka, is a nation shaped by paradoxes at every level. In 1819 missionary and future Bishop of Calcutta Reginald Heber captured this paradox in his poem as “What though the spicy breezes Blow soft o'er Ceylon's isle, Though every prospect pleases, And only man is vile” Despite the colonial prejudices that are evident in the above words, the verse does capture the paradoxes of Sri Lanka which stand true to

Guest Column June 2026

Prof. Mahesh Nirmalan

Jun 27, 2026 — 11 min read

Reforming the State: Why Independence, Accountability and Technology Must Converge

By: Jeevan Thiyagaraja Sri Lanka's public service, a legacy of British colonial administration, faces persistent challenges in maintaining independence and integrity amidst evolving political landscapes. . While designed to operate on principles of meritocracy and impartiality, it has been profoundly shaped by the political dynamics of post-independence history. By 2015, growing public dissatisfaction fuelled calls for more independent and corruption-free public services. A decade later, n

Guest Column June 2026

Jeevan Thiyagaraja

Jun 27, 2026 — 9 min read

With a Signboard, Sri Lanka's Military Reinforces Its Grip on Tamil Land

JAFFNA, Sri Lanka — The Sri Lankan Army has installed a signboard formally designating a military agricultural farm on privately owned Tamil land within the Valikamam North High Security Zone, underscoring the military's continued presence despite repeated government assurances that private land would be returned to its displaced owners. The signboard appeared as the Ministry of Defence prepared to discuss land release in Valikamam North at a high-level meeting expected on Thursday. Many landow

JM Exclusive June 2026

Our Reporter

Jun 25, 2026 — 3 min read

Sri Lankan Parliament Suspended After Chaotic Protest Over Judiciary Debate

COLOMBO, Sri Lanka — Sri Lanka’s Parliament descended into disorder on Tuesday when opposition lawmakers protested the government’s refusal to allow an urgent debate on persistent judicial vacancies and a contentious proposal to extend the retirement age of senior judges, prompting the Speaker to suspend proceedings for 10 minutes. The confrontation began after opposition legislators, led by Ajith P. Perera of the Samagi Jana Balawegaya, pressed for immediate discussion of long-unfilled positio

June 2026 Monitor Memo

Our Reporter

Jun 23, 2026 — 1 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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U.S. Embassy Announces Transfer of 10 Helicopters to Sri Lanka Air Force

RATMALANA, Sri Lanka — The United States has transferred 10 TH-57 Sea Ranger (Bell 206) helicopters to the Sri Lanka Air Force, according to a press release issued by the U.S. Embassy in Colombo on Tuesday. The handover took place at Ratmalana Air Force Base in the presence of President Anura Kumara Dissanayake, U.S. Pacific Air Forces Commander General Kevin Schneider, and U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Paul Kapur, the embassy said. According to the U.S. Embassy, the helicopters were trans

June 2026 Monitor Memo

Our Reporter

Jun 23, 2026 — 2 min read

Ex-Militants in Europe Question Maulana’s Easter Bombings Claims

By M.R. Narayan Swamy When Sivanesathurai Chandrakanthan alias Pillaiyaan was first told that his former aide Azad Maulana was planning to stir up some trouble from Europe, the former’s instant reaction was: “Really? What could it be about?” Pillaiyaan, a former chief minister of Sri Lanka’s Eastern Province, could only recall the mountain of difficulties Mohammed Hanzeer Mohammed Mihilar, alias Maulana, had been in due to his own family problems. The Amparai-born Maulana had apparently

Guest Column June 2026

M.R. Narayan Swamy

Jun 22, 2026 — 5 min read

The Padmanabha Massacre: The Killing That Foretold a Movement's Isolation

By M.R. Narayan Swamy When EPRLF leader K. Pathmanabha was gunned down with 12 party colleagues (and two Indians) in Chennai in 1990, it was a clear signal that the LTTE was set to take individual terrorism to a new level even as it waged an armed struggle in Sri Lanka. Most unfortunately, the red flag was mostly ignored by the Indian state, Tamil Nadu politicians, and the larger Sri Lankan Tamil society. Most people in the Indian establishment and among Tamil Nadu leaders viewed the cold-bloo

Guest Column June 2026

M.R. Narayan Swamy

Jun 21, 2026 — 5 min read

French Embassy Brings Global Music Festival to Colombo and Kandy

COLOMBO — The Embassy of France in Sri Lanka and the Maldives will stage two free public concerts this month, in Colombo on June 21 and in Kandy on June 23, as part of the Fête de la Musique, the annual French music festival now celebrated in more than 120 countries. The French singer and writer Kelly ou moi, whose work draws on the blues, will headline both evenings, the embassy said. She will be joined by the disc jockey Chandana and the Sri Lankan band DotDotay. The Colombo concert will beg

June 2026 Monitor Memo

Our Reporter

Jun 20, 2026 — 1 min read