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.


Jaffna Fans Celebrate Vijay’s TVK Election Breakthrough in Tamil Nadu

Jaffna Fans Celebrate Vijay’s TVK Election Breakthrough in Tamil Nadu

JAFFNA, Sri Lanka — Supporters of Tamil film star Vijay gathered across parts of Jaffna on Monday night to celebrate the strong electoral showing of his party, Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK), in the Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly elections. Groups of mostly young fans assembled in Jaffna town, Kakkaitheevu, Gurunagar, and other areas, waving TVK flags, lighting firecrackers, and staging spontaneous street celebrations as election results confirmed the party’s major gains in the southern Indian


Our Reporter

Our Reporter

Mannar Horror: Woman Held After Husband’s Body Found Dismembered in Toilet Pit

Mannar Horror: Woman Held After Husband’s Body Found Dismembered in Toilet Pit

MANNAR, Sri Lanka — A woman has been arrested in Mannar after allegedly killing her husband during a domestic dispute, dismembering his body, and concealing the remains in a toilet pit at their rented home, police said. The incident occurred in the Moor Street area of Mannar, where the couple had reportedly been living in a rented house for the past two months. According to preliminary investigations, a heated argument broke out between the husband and wife on Saturday night, during which the


Our Reporter

Our Reporter

Sri Lankan President Accepts Tamil Cultural Honor, Drawing Both Praise and Sharp Criticism

Sri Lankan President Accepts Tamil Cultural Honor, Drawing Both Praise and Sharp Criticism

President Anura Kumara Dissanayake accepted an award from one of Sri Lanka’s leading Tamil literary organizations on Sunday, using the occasion to pledge his commitment to eradicating racism and building lasting ethnic reconciliation — but the honor also triggered immediate praise alongside sharp controversy, with critics questioning both the president’s record and the decision to confer such recognition at a time when many longstanding Tamil grievances remain unresolved. Mr. Dissanayake was pr


Our Reporter

Our Reporter

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


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


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


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


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


Our Reporter

Our Reporter