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.


Vietnam Sees Historic Direct Flights as Gateway to Stronger Sri Lanka Ties

Vietnam Sees Historic Direct Flights as Gateway to Stronger Sri Lanka Ties

COLOMBO, Sri Lanka — Vietnam and Sri Lanka are poised to reach a historic milestone in their bilateral relations with the launch of the first direct commercial flights between the two countries later this month, Vietnamese Ambassador Trinh Thi Tam said, describing the new air links as a catalyst for tourism, trade, and investment. Speaking at a tourism promotion programme in Colombo, Tam said the new services by Vietnam Airlines and Vietjet would end a 34-year period without direct air connecti


Our Reporter

Our Reporter

Former Sri Lankan Defense Secretary Sentenced to Death Over Easter Sunday Bombings

Former Sri Lankan Defense Secretary Sentenced to Death Over Easter Sunday Bombings

COLOMBO, Sri Lanka — Sri Lanka's former Defence Secretary Hemasiri Fernando was sentenced to death on Friday after a special three-judge trial court found him guilty of failing to act on intelligence warnings ahead of the 2019 Easter Sunday bombings, becoming the second senior official to receive the death penalty in the landmark case. The ruling by the Colombo Permanent High Court Trial-at-Bar came hours after the same court sentenced former Inspector General of Police Pujith Jayasundara to de


Our Reporter

Our Reporter

Former Sri Lankan Police Chief Sentenced to Death Over Easter Sunday Bombings

Former Sri Lankan Police Chief Sentenced to Death Over Easter Sunday Bombings

COLOMBO, Sri Lanka — Sri Lanka’s former police chief was sentenced to death on Friday for failing to stop the 2019 Easter Sunday bombings, after a court found he had sat on a run of intelligence warnings that named the bombers and, at the end, the day they would strike. The three judges of the Colombo Permanent High Court Trial-at-Bar, Priyantha Liyanage, Viraj Weerasuriya, and Thilakaratne Bandara, convicted Pujith Jayasundara, who was Inspector General of Police at the time of the attacks, of


Our Reporter

Our Reporter

U.N. Experts Urge Criminal Probe Into Chemmani Mass Grave

U.N. Experts Urge Criminal Probe Into Chemmani Mass Grave

JAFFNA, Sri Lanka — International accountability experts, senior lawyers, and United Nations officials have called on Sri Lanka to immediately launch a full criminal investigation into the Chemmani mass grave, arguing that the recovery of nearly 500 human skeletons has already established sufficient grounds for a criminal inquiry and that excavation alone cannot deliver justice. Speaking during a special online discussion in Geneva organized by the International Truth and Justice Project (ITJP)


Our Reporter

Our Reporter

Tamil Clergy Demand International Inquiry Into Chemmani Grave, Breaking With Their Own Church

Tamil Clergy Demand International Inquiry Into Chemmani Grave, Breaking With Their Own Church

JAFFNA, Sri Lanka — Roman Catholic clergy in Jaffna demanded an international investigation into the Chemmani mass grave this week, pitting the Tamil priesthood of Sri Lanka's north against the leadership of their own Church. Its most powerful figure, Cardinal Malcolm Ranjith, spent years opposing international scrutiny of alleged wartime atrocities against Tamils — even as he now demands precisely such scrutiny for the mostly Catholic victims of the 2019 Easter Sunday bombings. The demand came


Our Reporter

Our Reporter

"Sri Lanka's Strategic Importance Is Greater Than Ever Amid Middle East Tensions": Japanese Ambassador

"Sri Lanka's Strategic Importance Is Greater Than Ever Amid Middle East Tensions": Japanese Ambassador

COLOMBO — Citing escalating geopolitical tensions in the Middle East and Sri Lanka's growing importance as a maritime hub in the Indian Ocean, Japan on Tuesday said strengthening the island nation's border health infrastructure had become essential to safeguarding global trade and public health, as it inaugurated a new Port Health Office at the Port of Colombo. "Amid ongoing geopolitical tensions in the Middle East, Sri Lanka's strategic importance as a safe and reliable maritime hub in the Ind


Our Reporter

Our Reporter

How a Pilgrim's Dog Led to a Sri Lankan Worker's Prison Sentence in Saudi Arabia
 Anojan

How a Pilgrim's Dog Led to a Sri Lankan Worker's Prison Sentence in Saudi Arabia

JAFFNA, Sri Lanka —It began as a feel-good story about a stray dog that captivated thousands of Hindu pilgrims across Sri Lanka. It ended with a Sri Lankan migrant worker from the eastern town of Kalmunai being sentenced to five years in a Saudi prison over a single comment on Facebook. The worker, identified by his family as Anojan, a Sri Lankan Tamil employed in the kingdom, was sentenced on Sunday after posting a Facebook comment that Saudi authorities deemed insulting to the Prophet Muhamma


Our Reporter

Our Reporter

Buddhist Monks Challenge NPP Government Over Constitution and Archaeological Lands

Buddhist Monks Challenge NPP Government Over Constitution and Archaeological Lands

COLOMBO, Sri Lanka — Thousands of Buddhist monks gathered in Colombo on Monday for a conference where speakers voiced concern over possible constitutional reforms, the administration of archaeological lands in Sri Lanka's Northern and Eastern provinces, and what they said was growing criticism of the Buddhist clergy. The Maha Sangha Conference, held at the Bandaranaike Memorial International Conference Hall under the theme "Sukhā Sanghassa Sāmaggī" ("The Unity of the Sangha Brings Happiness"),


Our Reporter

Our Reporter