Our Reporter

Our Reporter

‘Our Reporter’ is a collective byline representing a team of Jaffna- and Sri Lanka-based journalists and editorial staff who contribute to Jaffna Monitor.

What the Medical Report on Suresh Sallay Says — and What It Means

What the Medical Report on Suresh Sallay Says — and What It Means

COLOMBO — A medico-legal report on Major General (Retired) Thuwan Suresh Sallay, the former Director of the State Intelligence Service who is detained over the 2019 Easter Sunday bombings, has become a central document in proceedings before the Colombo Fort Magistrate’s Court. Prepared on the order of that court, it sets out Sallay’s own account of his detention, the results of his physical examination, the findings of five medical specialists, and a forensic psychiatric assessment. This articl
JM Exclusive June 2026
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Our Reporter
Suresh Sallay Begins Hunger Strike Under PTA Detention

Suresh Sallay Begins Hunger Strike Under PTA Detention

COLOMBO, Sri Lanka — Sri Lanka’s former military intelligence chief, retired Maj. Gen. Suresh Sallay, has begun a hunger strike while in police custody, according to Udaya Gammanpila, a former member of Parliament who has also acted as one of his lawyers. Speaking at a news conference that he said had been convened at the request of Sallay’s wife and son, Mr. Gammanpila said the retired officer had resorted to the protest over conditions in detention. Mr. Gammanpila said Sallay’s son visited h
June 2026 Monitor Memo
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Our Reporter
At Jaffna University, a Damaged Vesak Lantern Tests a Fragile Consensus

At Jaffna University, a Damaged Vesak Lantern Tests a Fragile Consensus

JAFFNA, Sri Lanka — When a few Vesak lanterns erected by Sinhala Buddhist students at the University of Jaffna were vandalized this week, the damage itself was limited. What followed was more unusual: student leaders, university representatives, and even Tamil nationalist politicians quickly united to condemn the act and reject attempts to turn it into an ethnic controversy. The lanterns, displayed as part of Vesak celebrations at the university’s Faculty of Management Studies and Commerce, wer
May 2026 Monitor Memo
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Mano Ganesan Seeks Inquiry Into Whether Government Diverted Election Funds Without Parliamentary Approval

Mano Ganesan Seeks Inquiry Into Whether Government Diverted Election Funds Without Parliamentary Approval

COLOMBO, Sri Lanka — Mano Ganesan, leader of the Democratic People’s Front and a member of Sri Lanka’s opposition, has asked Parliament’s chief financial oversight committee to investigate whether funds allocated for long-delayed Provincial Council elections were diverted to post-cyclone reconstruction efforts without legislative approval. In a letter sent Monday to Dr. Harsha de Silva, chairman of Parliament’s Committee on Public Finance (COPF), Mr. Ganesan requested an inquiry into remarks at
May 2026 Monitor Memo
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Our Reporter
Jaffna Lawyers Urge President to Investigate Transfer of High Court Judge

Jaffna Lawyers Urge President to Investigate Transfer of High Court Judge

JAFFNA, Sri Lanka — The Jaffna Bar Association has appealed directly to President Anura Kumara Dissanayake to investigate the sudden transfer of High Court Judge A.G. Alexraja, warning that the move risks undermining public confidence in the judiciary and raising concerns about interference in judicial administration. In a letter dated May 30 and addressed to the President through the Presidential Secretariat, the association expressed its "complete disbelief and shock" at the transfer of Judge
May 2026 Monitor Memo
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Our Reporter
Former LTTE Fighter, Brother of Commander Gopith, Killed in Police Shooting Outside Paris

Former LTTE Fighter, Brother of Commander Gopith, Killed in Police Shooting Outside Paris

Vaithilingam Puwaneswaran, known by the nom de guerre “Kutti,” a former member of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) and the younger brother of senior LTTE commander Colonel Gopith, was shot and killed by French police in the northeastern Paris suburb of Bobigny on Saturday afternoon after he allegedly stabbed two neighbours and then advanced toward officers while wielding two knives, according to French authorities and community sources. The incident unfolded at approximately 2:15 p.m
JM Exclusive May 2026
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Japan, FAO Launch $1.33 Million Project to Rebuild Eastern Province Fisheries After Cyclone Damage

Japan, FAO Launch $1.33 Million Project to Rebuild Eastern Province Fisheries After Cyclone Damage

COLOMBO, Sri Lanka — The Government of Japan and the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), in partnership with the Sri Lankan government, have launched a $1.33 million initiative aimed at restoring inland fisheries and strengthening the resilience of fishing communities affected by Cyclone Ditwah in Sri Lanka’s Eastern Province. The project, which will run from June 2026 through November 2027, will focus on the districts of Ampara, Batticaloa, and Trincomalee, where severe flo
May 2026 Monitor Memo
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Our Reporter
Sritharan Urges Immediate Release of Valikamam North Lands as Weekly Protests Enter Sixth Week

Sritharan Urges Immediate Release of Valikamam North Lands as Weekly Protests Enter Sixth Week

MAYILIDDY, Sri Lanka — S. Sritharan, a lawmaker representing the Ilankai Tamil Arasu Kachchi (ITAK), on Friday called on President Anura Kumara Dissanayake to immediately release military-held lands in Valikamam North, where displaced residents have been staging weekly protests demanding the return of their ancestral properties nearly 17 years after the end of Sri Lanka’s civil war. Mr. Sritharan made the appeal while addressing a black-flag demonstration that entered its sixth consecutive week
May 2026 Monitor Memo
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Our Reporter