Sixteen Years After War, Valikamam North Families Still Await Resettlement — Shritharan Raises Issue in Parliament
Sixteen Years After War, Valikamam North Families Still Await Resettlement — Shritharan Raises Issue in Parliament

Sixteen Years After War, Valikamam North Families Still Await Resettlement — Shritharan Raises Issue in Parliament

Sixteen years after Sri Lanka’s civil war officially ended, the people of Valikamam North remain barred from returning to their ancestral lands. The issue reverberated in Parliament this week when Ilankai Tamil Arasu Kachchi (ITAK) president-elect and Jaffna–Kilinochchi MP Sivagnanam Shritharan demanded answers from the government on why resettlement continues to be delayed.. A Question to the House Raising a special statement under Standing Order 27(2) during Wednesday’s sitting, Shritharan


Jaffna Monitor

Jaffna Monitor

Ali Uthuman’s Memory Revived: Truth and Poetry Beyond Assassination
Ali Uthuman

Ali Uthuman’s Memory Revived: Truth and Poetry Beyond Assassination

Sri Lanka Muslim Congress (SLMC) leader Rauff Hakeem sparked controversy this week when, during a condolence speech for former Deputy Minister Cegu Issadeen, he claimed that Ali Uthuman — a former member of the merged North–East Provincial Council — had been killed by the LTTE. The claim was swiftly challenged on social media by members of both the Muslim and Tamil communities. Users pointed out that the statement was factually incorrect: Ali Uthuman, a respected provincial politician and commu


Our Reporter

Our Reporter

Jaffna MP Archchuna  Accuses Fisheries Minister of Corruption, Demands Resignation if Proven

Jaffna MP Archchuna  Accuses Fisheries Minister of Corruption, Demands Resignation if Proven

Jaffna District MP Ramanathan Archchuna has leveled serious corruption allegations against Fisheries Minister Ramalingam Chandrasekar in Parliament, demanding his resignation if the charges are proven. Speaking during a recent parliamentary session, Archchuna accused the minister of failing to take action against illegal fishing practices and overseeing widespread corruption within the fisheries sector. Allegations of Inaction on Illegal Fishing The controversial MP questioned what concrete


Jaffna Monitor

Jaffna Monitor

Portrait of Rohana Wijeweera in Jaffna NPP Library Sparks Controversy
Portrait of Rohana Wijeweera in Jaffna NPP Library Sparks Controversy

Portrait of Rohana Wijeweera in Jaffna NPP Library Sparks Controversy

The newly opened library at the NPP/JVP office on Palaly Road, Jaffna. In the background, portraits of JVP founder Rohana Wijeweera are displayed alongside leftist icons. The newly opened, small yet symbolically significant public library at the National People’s Power (NPP) / Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) headquarters in Jaffna has already stirred controversy within the local Tamil community. While it may be the first library in Jaffna to house a notable collection of leftist literature, wha


Jaffna Monitor

Jaffna Monitor

“Is Tilvin Silva the Real President?” — Shanakiyan’s Question in Parliament
“Is Tilvin Silva the Real President?” — Shanakiyan’s Question in Parliament

“Is Tilvin Silva the Real President?” — Shanakiyan’s Question in Parliament

What some political observers described as a “naïve question,” Batticaloa District parliamentarian Shanakiyan of the Ilankai Tamil Arasu Kachchi (ITAK) recently asked in Parliament whether JVP General Secretary Tilvin Silva had effectively become the country’s President. His query came during the debate on the motion to approve a trade agreement with the United Arab Emirates, where he noted that Silva’s pronouncements often contradict those of President Anura Kumara Dissanayake, yet still emerge


Jaffna Monitor

Jaffna Monitor

Calling an Ex-LTTE ‘Terrorist’ — and Terrorising the English Language: The Mannar RDHS Way

Calling an Ex-LTTE ‘Terrorist’ — and Terrorising the English Language: The Mannar RDHS Way

A letter in English — riddled with grammatical mistakes — issued by the Office of the Regional Director of Health Services (RDHS) in Mannar, has ignited strong reactions across sections of the Tamil community after it referred to a former LTTE member as a “terrorist.” The official letter, signed by Dr. D. Venoden, Regional Director of Health Services, Mannar, was addressed to a Family Health Officer, calling for an explanation regarding her absence during a supervisory visit and for alleged obs


Jaffna Monitor

Jaffna Monitor

She Only Asked for One More Doll
She Only Asked for One More Doll

She Only Asked for One More Doll

It was just another afternoon. The clinic was settling down. The rush of patients had slowed, the noise had faded, and there was a calmness in the air. My mind had started to relax—finally—when she walked in. She was quiet. Almost unsure of herself. She held an X-ray in her hand and walked up to the doctor sitting beside me. I had just seen off my last patient, and I was just watching now. But the moment I saw her, I was drawn in. She looked so young—maybe in her early 20s. Slim, dark brown sk


Dr. Nalayini Jegathesan

Dr. Nalayini Jegathesan

The Political Murder of Alfred Duraiappah and the Discourse on “Traitors” in Tamil Nationalist Politics
Alfred Duraiappah (fourth from left) in 1952, after being elected Deputy Mayor of the Jaffna Municipal Council at the age of 26.

The Political Murder of Alfred Duraiappah and the Discourse on “Traitors” in Tamil Nationalist Politics

Alfred Duraiappah was killed 50 years ago, on 27 July 1975, by my early friend—who would later become the LTTE supremo—Prabhakaran, along with a few other young men. Although I had no role in the killing, at the time I felt a deep sense of satisfaction, believing that a “traitor” had been removed and that, for the liberation of our people, such individuals had to be eliminated. After the murder, Prabhakaran came to my village, Punnalaikadduvan, and I sheltered him for almost a year in my grandm


Chinniah Rajeshkumar (Ragavan)

Chinniah Rajeshkumar (Ragavan)