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.


Sri Lanka’s State Tamil Daily Editor Suspended Amid Major Fraud Probe

Sri Lanka’s State Tamil Daily Editor Suspended Amid Major Fraud Probe

R. Senthil Velavar, the Editor-in-Chief of Sri Lanka’s state-run Tamil daily Thinakaran, was suspended by Lake House management this week over allegations of financial misconduct, according to sources within the institution. The suspension follows an internal investigation into claims that Senthil Velavar misappropriated advertising revenue by personally collecting payments for advertisements but, instead of publishing the paid advertisements as contracted, allegedly replacing them with news co


Our Reporter

Our Reporter

Cabinet Trust for India-Funded Jaffna Cultural Center Sparks Fears of Colombo Control

Cabinet Trust for India-Funded Jaffna Cultural Center Sparks Fears of Colombo Control

Sri Lanka's Cabinet last Monday approved the establishment of a trust fund to manage the Jaffna Thiruvalluvar Cultural Centre, an 11-storey landmark built with approximately $12 million in Indian grant assistance — a move critics say effectively places a centre intended for Tamil cultural life under the influence of a Colombo ministry responsible for Buddhist, religious and cultural affairs, while marginalising the elected local authority on whose land the facility stands. The Cabinet decision,


Our Reporter

Our Reporter

UNP Questions President’s Personal Congratulations to Vijay, Citing Diplomatic Protocol

UNP Questions President’s Personal Congratulations to Vijay, Citing Diplomatic Protocol

Sri Lanka’s opposition United National Party (UNP) on Tuesday criticized President Anura Kumara Dissanayake for personally congratulating newly elected Tamil Nadu Chief Minister C. Joseph Vijay, arguing that the move departed from established diplomatic convention and raised questions about political selectivity. In a statement, the UNP said it was “surprising” that Sri Lanka’s Head of State had publicly extended congratulations to a foreign state-level leader, contending that such formal gestu


Our Reporter

Our Reporter

Sri Lanka Opposition Takes Judicial Crisis to U.N. After President’s May Day Remarks

Sri Lanka Opposition Takes Judicial Crisis to U.N. After President’s May Day Remarks

A May Day speech in which President Dissanayake told supporters they would be able to applaud a pending court ruling has triggered a formal international complaint — and exposed a constitutional provision that criminalises executive interference in judicial proceedings. COLOMBO — Twenty-four Sri Lankan opposition members of parliament have filed a formal complaint with the United Nations Human Rights Council's Special Rapporteur on the Independence of Judges and Lawyers, alleging that President


Our Reporter

Our Reporter

India to Fund New Four-Story Medical Complex at Mullaitivu Hospital

India to Fund New Four-Story Medical Complex at Mullaitivu Hospital

COLOMBO — Sri Lanka has begun implementation of a major Indian grant-funded healthcare project in Mullaitivu, where a new four-story medical ward complex will be built at the District General Hospital under a 600 million Sri Lankan rupee assistance package from the Government of India. The project follows the signing of a memorandum of understanding between Indian High Commissioner Santosh Jha and Sri Lanka’s Acting Health Secretary Dr. W.K. Wickremasinghe during Indian Vice President C.P. Radh


Our Reporter

Our Reporter

Gajendrakumar Urges Vijay to Declare May 18 as Mullivaikkal Genocide Remembrance Day

Gajendrakumar Urges Vijay to Declare May 18 as Mullivaikkal Genocide Remembrance Day

CHENNAI — Gajendrakumar Ponnambalam, leader of Sri Lanka’s Tamil National People’s Front (TNPF), has formally urged newly sworn-in Tamil Nadu Chief Minister C. Joseph Vijay to declare May 18 as Mullivaikkal Genocide Remembrance Day through an official resolution in the Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly. Mr. Ponnambalam sent the letter following Mr. Vijay's swearing-in on May 10 as Tamil Nadu's ninth chief minister — the first to lead a government formed by Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam, the party Mr.


Our Reporter

Our Reporter

Jay Shah, Modi, AKD Named in Alleged Behind-the-Scenes Cricket Board Overthrow

Jay Shah, Modi, AKD Named in Alleged Behind-the-Scenes Cricket Board Overthrow

COLOMBO — A senior Sri Lankan opposition parliamentarian has claimed that the recent removal of the country's cricket board leadership was orchestrated through a behind-the-scenes agreement among President Anura Kumara Dissanayake, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and International Cricket Council Chairman Jay Shah. Dayasiri Jayasekara, a Samagi Jana Balawegaya lawmaker and former Sports Minister, made the allegation during an appearance on the political talk show Derana 360 last week, sayi


Our Reporter

Our Reporter

Massive Fire Ravages Jaffna Hospital Drug Warehouse

Massive Fire Ravages Jaffna Hospital Drug Warehouse

Police Investigate Whether Blaze Was Accidental or Deliberate; Cancer Drugs Among the Losses JAFFNA, Sri Lanka — A major fire tore through the pharmaceutical warehouse of Jaffna Teaching Hospital in the early hours of Saturday, destroying medicines and medical equipment worth several billion rupees, including cancer treatment drugs and other critical-care pharmaceuticals, in what officials are calling one of the worst disasters in the hospital's history. The blaze began at approximately 1:30 a


Our Reporter

Our Reporter