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.

Valikamam North Council Chief Accuses Police of Threats Over Effort to Reclaim Road Occupied by Thaiyiddy Vihara

Valikamam North Council Chief Accuses Police of Threats Over Effort to Reclaim Road Occupied by Thaiyiddy Vihara

JAFFNA, Sri Lanka — Tensions are escalating in Jaffna after S. Sugirthan, chairman of the Valikamam North Pradeshiya Sabha, accused police of attempting to obstruct efforts to reclaim a public road allegedly occupied by Tissa Rajamaha Viharaya, a Buddhist shrine constructed on disputed civilian land in Thaiyiddy. Mr. Sugirthan said he was summoned by Palaly Police and warned to abandon efforts to recover Bhavani Veethi, a road legally belonging to the local council but currently enclosed within
Guest Column May 2026
Our Reporter

Our Reporter
Sri Lankan Think Tank Seeks Closer Ties With Indonesia in Indian Ocean Push

Sri Lankan Think Tank Seeks Closer Ties With Indonesia in Indian Ocean Push

COLOMBO, Sri Lanka — Milinda Moragoda, founder of the Colombo-based Pathfinder Foundation, met this week with Indonesia’s ambassador to Sri Lanka, Dewi Gustina Tobing, to explore avenues for collaboration as Sri Lanka seeks to strengthen strategic ties with Southeast Asia’s largest economy. According to a statement released by the foundation, discussions focused on Indonesia’s growing geopolitical and economic influence in the Indo-Pacific, including its status as the world’s fourth most populo
May 2026
Our Reporter

Our Reporter
Chemmani Mass Grave Probe Hinges on Fresh Forensic Evidence

Chemmani Mass Grave Probe Hinges on Fresh Forensic Evidence

JAFFNA, Sri Lanka — The future of ongoing excavations at the Chemmani mass grave site in northern Sri Lanka will depend on the results of a fresh round of ground-penetrating radar (GPR) scans after currently identified human skeletal remains are fully exhumed, according to a lawyer representing families of the disappeared. Attorney Ranitha Gnanarajah, who appears on behalf of relatives in the long-running Chemmani mass grave case, said investigators are presently focused on excavating areas wit
April 2026 Monitor Memo
Our Reporter

Our Reporter
Sri Lanka Moves to Create a Tobacco-Free Generation, Joining a Growing Global Push

Sri Lanka Moves to Create a Tobacco-Free Generation, Joining a Growing Global Push

COLOMBO, Sri Lanka — Sri Lanka’s National Authority on Tobacco and Alcohol (NATA) has formally presented the country’s Health Minister with a concept paper proposing that all citizens born after 2010 be permanently prohibited from purchasing tobacco products — a sweeping generational policy that would align Sri Lanka with a growing global movement gaining legislative momentum from London to the Maldives. The proposal was presented to Health Minister Dr. Nalinda Jayatissa by NATA Chairman Dr. An
April 2026 JM Exclusive
Our Reporter

Our Reporter
Indian Lawmaker Seeks to Bar Perarivalan From Legal Practice

Indian Lawmaker Seeks to Bar Perarivalan From Legal Practice

CHENNAI, India — A sitting Member of Parliament from Tamil Nadu has written to President Droupadi Murmu demanding that A.G. Perarivalan — convicted in the 1991 assassination of former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi and released by India’s Supreme Court in 2022 after more than three decades in custody — be barred from practicing law, days after he was enrolled as an advocate by the Bar Council of Tamil Nadu and Puducherry. The seven-page letter, dated April 29, 2026, was written by Adv. R. Sudha, w
April 2026 Monitor Memo
Our Reporter

Our Reporter
Sri Lankan Fisherman Taken Hostage and Assaulted by Indian Fishermen, Renewing Palk Strait Tensions

Sri Lankan Fisherman Taken Hostage and Assaulted by Indian Fishermen, Renewing Palk Strait Tensions

JAFFNA, Sri Lanka — A Tamil fisherman from Jaffna was severely beaten after being detained at sea by a group of Indian fishermen, according to Sri Lankan fishing associations, Indian police accounts and widely circulated video footage, in an episode that has once again exposed the volatile maritime tensions of the Palk Strait. The fisherman, a 29-year-old man from Vallai in Sri Lanka’s Jaffna District, is being treated at Nagapattinam Government Medical College Hospital in Tamil Nadu, where doc
April 2026 JM Exclusive
Our Reporter

Our Reporter
Jaffna’s Legendary Teacher Questions Tamil Youths’ Support for Vijay’s TVK

Jaffna’s Legendary Teacher Questions Tamil Youths’ Support for Vijay’s TVK

JAFFNA, Sri Lanka — R. Kumaran, a veteran physics teacher from Jaffna who has taught generations of students in northern Sri Lanka, has publicly questioned the political maturity of young Sri Lankan Tamils supporting actor-turned-politician Vijay and his Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) movement in neighboring Tamil Nadu. In a video widely circulated online, reportedly from a Zoom session with his advanced-level students, Mr. Kumaran — widely regarded in Jaffna as one of the region’s most influen
April 2026 JM Exclusive
Our Reporter

Our Reporter
U.S. Embassy Marks 15 Years of American Corner in Jaffna, Unveils “Freedom 250” Pavilion
Public Affairs Officer Menaka Nayyar and Regional Public Engagement Specialist Miquela Burke during the 15th anniversary celebration of American Corner Jaffna in Nallur on April 26. 

U.S. Embassy Marks 15 Years of American Corner in Jaffna, Unveils “Freedom 250” Pavilion

JAFFNA — The U.S. Embassy in Sri Lanka on April 26 marked the fifteenth anniversary of the American Corner Jaffna at its premises on Athiyady Road in Nallur, and inaugurated a new outdoor structure it has named the “Freedom 250 Pavilion.” The pavilion forms part of a global State Department initiative built around the 250th anniversary of American independence, which falls on July 4, 2026. The American Corner Jaffna was established in 2011 in partnership with the Jaffna Social Action Center, in
April 2026 Monitor Memo
Our Reporter

Our Reporter