Jaffna Monitor - Unafraid and Unbowed

Sri Lanka Fuel Price Hike Defended by CPC Chief, but Data Raises Questions

COLOMBO, March 10, 2026 The chairman of Sri Lanka’s state-run Ceylon Petroleum Corporation (CPC), D.A. Rajakaruna, appeared before the media on March 10 to defend a sharp retail fuel price increase that took effect the same day. The explanation he offered centred on two claims: that global oil prices had risen “nearly 100 percent between the 1st and the 27th” of February into early March, and that a domestic panic-buying surge had drained reserves far sooner than anticipated. Both claims conta

Jaffna Monitor Economic Desk

Mar 11, 2026 — 4 min read

“Tamil Elites May Call the NPP ‘Old Sinhala Nationalism in Disguise,’ but Ordinary Tamils See a Progressive Force” — Jayadeva Uyangoda

Exclusive Interview March 2026

Aruliniyan Mahalingam

Mar 8, 2026 — 24 min read

Invited, Then Turned Away: The 11-Hour Wait That Preceded IRIS Dena’s Sinking.

Exclusive March 2026

Our Special Correspondent

Mar 6, 2026 — 4 min read

Western Governments Renew Pressure on Sri Lanka Over Terror Law and War-Time Accountability

Exclusive March 2026

Our Reporter

Mar 3, 2026 — 2 min read

Sri Lanka Raises Fuel Prices Despite Month-Long Stocks, Sparking Transparency Debate

COLOMBO, Sri Lanka — March 10, 2026 Sri Lanka’s decision to raise fuel prices this week, despite government assurances that the country holds more than a month’s supply of petroleum products, has sparked renewed debate about how domestic fuel prices are determined and how transparent the system is. The state-run Ceylon Petroleum Corporation (CPC) announced the increase effective from midnight on March 9. Under the revised rates, Petrol 92 Octane rose by 24 rupees to 317 rupees per litre, whil

March 2026 Opinion & Analysis

Our Special Correspondent

Mar 10, 2026 — 5 min read

Global Oil Surge Hits Sri Lanka: Fuel Prices Rise Across All Categories

COLOMBO, Sri Lanka — Sri Lanka raised fuel prices across all categories on Monday, delivering a fresh blow to middle- and working-class households as the country — heavily dependent on imported energy — begins to feel the economic shock of surging global oil prices driven by escalating conflict in the Middle East. The state-run Ceylon Petroleum Corporation (Ceypetco) announced the revisions under the country’s fuel pricing formula, with the new rates taking effect from midnight. Under the revi

March 2026

Our Reporter

Mar 9, 2026 — 2 min read

Two Countries Sliding Toward a War Neither Can Afford

Somewhere along the Afghan-Pakistan border this week, a family is on the move again. They have done this before — through Soviet tanks, civil war, the Taliban’s first rule, twenty years of American military presence, and the Taliban’s return to power. Each time they gathered what remained of their lives and began again. Now, artillery and airstrikes are forcing them to do it once more. The United Nations estimates that nearly 118,000 people have been displaced since fighting escalated in late

March 2026 OP-ED

Our Reporter

Mar 9, 2026 — 4 min read

Investigations Find No Evidence of Sexual Abuse in Dickoya Hospital Mortuary Case

NUWARA ELIYA, Sri Lanka — March 9, 2026 A series of official investigations — including a review of CCTV footage, forensic examinations, and an inquiry by a special panel of doctors — has found no evidence that the body of a 23-year-old woman was sexually abused while stored at the mortuary of Dickoya Base Hospital in Sri Lanka’s central hill country. The conclusion follows weeks of public outrage, protests by plantation workers and residents, and political pressure that pushed the case into n

JM Exclusive March 2026

Our Reporter

Mar 9, 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

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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India Offers 200 Fully Funded Scholarships to Sri Lankan Students for 2026–27

COLOMBO, Sri Lanka — India has opened applications for 200 fully funded scholarships for Sri Lankan students to pursue higher education at Indian universities during the 2026–27 academic year, in a program officials say reflects New Delhi’s continuing effort to deepen educational ties with its southern neighbor. The scholarships are administered by the Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR) and are offered under four schemes: the Nehru Memorial Scholarship Scheme, the Maulana Azad Scholar

March 2026

Our Reporter

Mar 9, 2026 — 2 min read

Sri Lankan Tamil Refugee Camp Leader Hacked to Death in Tamil Nadu; Six Arrested

CHENNAI, India — A Sri Lankan Tamil refugee who served as chairman of a rehabilitation camp management committee in India’s southern state of Tamil Nadu was hacked to death recently in an attack police say may have stemmed from internal disputes within the camp. The victim, Sivakumar, also known as Kanna, 42, was originally from Murungan in Mannar district in northern Sri Lanka. Police said he was attacked by a group of assailants while walking near the Sri Lankan Tamils Rehabilitation Camp in

March 2026 Monitor Memo

Our Reporter

Mar 9, 2026 — 4 min read

Jaffna Court to Decide Gotabaya Rajapaksa Testimony in 2011 Disappearance Case

JAFFNA, Sri Lanka — A magistrate’s court in Jaffna has set April 28 as the date it will decide how former President Gotabaya Rajapaksa must provide testimony in the long-running case of two Tamil activists who vanished in 2011 amid allegations of enforced disappearance in the aftermath of Sri Lanka’s civil war. Lalith Kumar Weeraraj and Kugan Muruganandan, members of the leftist Frontline Socialist Party and organizers of protests demanding justice for victims of enforced disappearances, were l

JM Exclusive March 2026

Our Reporter

Mar 9, 2026 — 3 min read

U.N. Chief Warns Gender Inequality Is the World’s “Greatest Human Rights Challenge”

UNITED NATIONS — Marking International Women’s Day, the United Nations Secretary-General, António Guterres, issued a stark warning about the global state of women’s rights, describing gender inequality as “the greatest human rights challenge of our time” and urging governments to take concrete steps to close the gap between men and women. In an opinion essay released ahead of the March 8 observance, Mr. Guterres outlined eight actions he said governments, businesses, and international instituti

March 2026 Monitor Memo

Our Reporter

Mar 8, 2026 — 3 min read