Did Sri Lanka Really Repay $8 Billion?

Did Sri Lanka Really Repay $8 Billion?

A claim that Sri Lanka repaid $8 billion in debt during the first quarter of 2026 has spread widely across pro-government social media and political messaging in recent weeks. Supporters of President Anura Kumara Dissanayake have cited the figure as evidence that the country's economic recovery has accelerated and that the government is restoring financial stability after the crisis that culminated in the sovereign default of 2022. At first glance, the claim appears remarkable. Eight billion do
June 2026 Opinion & Analysis
Jaffna Monitor Economic Desk

Jaffna Monitor Economic Desk
What the Medical Report on Suresh Sallay Says — and What It Means

What the Medical Report on Suresh Sallay Says — and What It Means

COLOMBO — A medico-legal report on Major General (Retired) Thuwan Suresh Sallay, the former Director of the State Intelligence Service who is detained over the 2019 Easter Sunday bombings, has become a central document in proceedings before the Colombo Fort Magistrate’s Court. Prepared on the order of that court, it sets out Sallay’s own account of his detention, the results of his physical examination, the findings of five medical specialists, and a forensic psychiatric assessment. This articl
JM Exclusive June 2026
Our Reporter

Our Reporter
Suresh Sallay Begins Hunger Strike Under PTA Detention

Suresh Sallay Begins Hunger Strike Under PTA Detention

COLOMBO, Sri Lanka — Sri Lanka’s former military intelligence chief, retired Maj. Gen. Suresh Sallay, has begun a hunger strike while in police custody, according to Udaya Gammanpila, a former member of Parliament who has also acted as one of his lawyers. Speaking at a news conference that he said had been convened at the request of Sallay’s wife and son, Mr. Gammanpila said the retired officer had resorted to the protest over conditions in detention. Mr. Gammanpila said Sallay’s son visited h
June 2026 Monitor Memo
Our Reporter

Our Reporter
JVP Sang the Same Songs. Only Tamil Rapper Went to Jail.
Sangeethasan Ganeskumar

JVP Sang the Same Songs. Only Tamil Rapper Went to Jail.

By M.R. Narayan Swamy “O land that yearned for valour O soil where Tamil pride has flourished The land where history was born And gave the nation its national leader (Prabhakaran) A bronze statue of the Tamil national leader Shall stand in the land of his birth.” These lyrics are not from the Tamil Tigers’ liberation songs. They are from a song — believe it or not — popularized by Sri Lanka’s incumbent ruling party, whose government has now sent a young Tamil man to prison for singing
JM Exclusive May 2026
M.R. Narayan Swamy

M.R. Narayan Swamy
The Man Who Survived the LTTE — and Saved Its Members

The Man Who Survived the LTTE — and Saved Its Members

By M.R. Narayan Swamy “Please don’t harm me! Yes, I am a Tiger. I was told to keep a watch on you, so I came here. Please don’t have me killed!” This is how a young spy sent by the Tamil Tigers spoke in visible despair after being identified by Douglas Devananda, a sworn enemy of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE). The incident took place a few years before the LTTE went down fighting in 2009. A Sri Lankan minister, then, Douglas, was presiding over a camp organized by his Eela
Guest Column June 2026
M.R. Narayan Swamy

M.R. Narayan Swamy
Why Sri Lanka Has Yet to Unlock the Indian Market

Why Sri Lanka Has Yet to Unlock the Indian Market

By M.R. Narayan Swamy Why are India and Sri Lanka struggling to embrace a mutually beneficial trade agreement despite plenty of attempts? Why do exports to India account for only about 6 percent of Sri Lanka’s total exports? Colombo and New Delhi have long sought to upgrade the original India-Sri Lanka Free Trade Agreement (ISFTA) by addressing its shortcomings and expanding its scope to include services and investment provisions. The Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) was pr
Guest Column May 2026
M.R. Narayan Swamy

M.R. Narayan Swamy
At Jaffna University, a Damaged Vesak Lantern Tests a Fragile Consensus

At Jaffna University, a Damaged Vesak Lantern Tests a Fragile Consensus

JAFFNA, Sri Lanka — When a few Vesak lanterns erected by Sinhala Buddhist students at the University of Jaffna were vandalized this week, the damage itself was limited. What followed was more unusual: student leaders, university representatives, and even Tamil nationalist politicians quickly united to condemn the act and reject attempts to turn it into an ethnic controversy. The lanterns, displayed as part of Vesak celebrations at the university’s Faculty of Management Studies and Commerce, wer
May 2026 Monitor Memo
Our Reporter

Our Reporter
Deepthi Attygalle, Pioneer of Sri Lankan Anaesthesia, Dies at 86
Deepthi Attygalle

Deepthi Attygalle, Pioneer of Sri Lankan Anaesthesia, Dies at 86

Deepthi Attygalle, the Sri Lankan anaesthesiologist whose work on magnesium sulphate became an important reference point in the treatment of severe tetanus, died on June 1, 2026. She was 86. For much of the twentieth century, severe tetanus was managed by heavily sedating patients and supporting them on mechanical ventilators for weeks at a time, a regimen that consumed intensive-care resources often unavailable in many developing countries. At the General Hospital in Colombo, Dr. Attygalle and
May 2026 Obituary
Jaffna Monitor

Jaffna Monitor