Article


Harini Amarasuriya’s U-Turn on War Crimes Accountability

Harini Amarasuriya’s U-Turn on War Crimes Accountability

Prime Minister Harini Amarasuriya has firmly rejected calls for an international investigation into alleged war crimes in Sri Lanka, insisting that accountability must be pursued through domestic mechanisms—a position that has drawn sharp criticism from Tamil parliamentarians and raised questions about the Prime Minister's apparent ideological shift from her activist past. Government's Stance: Domestic Over International Speaking in Parliament in response to oral questions, Prime Minister Har


Our Reporter

Our Reporter

Inside the Siege: A Sinhala Doctor’s Account of Jaffna Fort, 1990
Dr. Gamini Goonetilleke at the Jaffna Fort as a young surgeon.

Inside the Siege: A Sinhala Doctor’s Account of Jaffna Fort, 1990

The first mortar shell screamed just after dawn on 10 June 1990. It tore through the coral-stone ramparts of Jaffna Fort, the blast rattling every window in the city. Inside the pentagonal walls, 130 men—soldiers of the Sinha Regiment and young police recruits—looked at one another and knew: this was no skirmish. This was a siege. For 107 days, the old Portuguese-Dutch-British fortress became the eye of a storm that swallowed the peninsula. Outside, LTTE snipers hid in the Public Library, mort


Dr. Gamini Goonetilleke

Dr. Gamini Goonetilleke

Diaspora Tamil DJ Faces Racist Threats, Forced to Close Ahangama Restaurant

Diaspora Tamil DJ Faces Racist Threats, Forced to Close Ahangama Restaurant

In a sobering reflection of how old prejudices continue to shadow modern Sri Lanka, Robert Rajeswaran—better known behind the turntables as DJ Rob R—says he is shutting down his newly launched Indian restaurant, Tiffins, in the southern coastal town of Ahangama following weeks of intimidation, death threats, and physical assault from locals. The decision has left the 30-something artist questioning whether a Tamil entrepreneur can feel truly safe in a Sinhala-majority area, even 16 years after


Our Reporter

Our Reporter

Bimal Rathnayake’s Ports Docked and Aviation Grounded by His Own Racist Politics

Bimal Rathnayake’s Ports Docked and Aviation Grounded by His Own Racist Politics

Bimal Rathnayake, arguably the most controversial minister in Anura Kumara Dissanayake's government and widely accused by Tamil parties of obstructing Northern development for racist reasons, has been removed from his powerful Ports and Aviation portfolio and reassigned as Minister of Transport, Highways and Urban Development. Tamil political circles have long accused Rathnayake of personally blocking the development of Palaly Airport and Kankesanthurai (KKS) Harbour — two projects viewed as cr


Our Reporter

Our Reporter

From Philanthropy to Academia: The Evolution of Jaffna Teaching Hospital and Its Medical Institutions
The First Dispensary in Pandatherippu, Jaffna

From Philanthropy to Academia: The Evolution of Jaffna Teaching Hospital and Its Medical Institutions

The origins of organized healthcare in Jaffna, in the North of Ceylon can be traced to the pioneering efforts of the American Ceylon Mission in the early 19th century. Rev. Dr. John Scudder, the first medical missionary to Ceylon, arrived in Jaffna in 1819 and, in June 1820, established a small dispensary at Pandatherippu—the first medical mission dispensary in the world. This modest initiative marked the beginning of Western medical practice in the region. Combining Christian service with medic


Dr. Gamini Goonetilleke

Dr. Gamini Goonetilleke

Fonseka Says Mahinda Rajapaksa Deserves Hanging; SLPP Hits Back, Calls Him a Dog
Then President Mahinda Rajapaksa greets then–Chief of Defence Staff Sarath Fonseka in Colombo.

Fonseka Says Mahinda Rajapaksa Deserves Hanging; SLPP Hits Back, Calls Him a Dog

Former Army Commander and ex-MP Field Marshal Sarath Fonseka has launched a scathing attack on former President Mahinda Rajapaksa, accusing him of colluding with the LTTE during the final stages of Sri Lanka’s civil war, misappropriating state assets, and betraying the nation’s trust. In an explosive remark, Fonseka declared that his former boss “deserves death by hanging.” Mahinda’s party, the Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP), was also not holding its tongue, firing back with a barrage of co


Our Reporter

Our Reporter

Arundhati Roy Says Gaza Echoes Sri Lanka’s Final War

Arundhati Roy Says Gaza Echoes Sri Lanka’s Final War

Booker Prize–winning author and political activist Arundhati Roy has drawn direct parallels between the Israeli assault on Gaza, which has since come to a ceasefire, and Sri Lanka’s military offensive  in 2009, describing both as examples of unchecked, state-led massacres that have reshaped the global standard for impunity. In a wide-ranging interview with journalist Mehdi Hasan, Roy described the carnage in Gaza as "a genocide unfolding before us, in a way that has never been so visible to the


Our Reporter

Our Reporter

Gajendrakumar Says LTTE Sought Ceasefire to Evacuate Civilians in Final Days of 2009 War

Gajendrakumar Says LTTE Sought Ceasefire to Evacuate Civilians in Final Days of 2009 War

Tamil National People’s Front (TNPF) leader and Jaffna District MP Gajendrakumar Ponnambalam has made explosive revelations about the final days of Sri Lanka’s civil war, alleging that the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) sought a humanitarian ceasefire to evacuate trapped civilians — but that the government instead intensified its military operations. Mediator Between the LTTE and the Government In a recent address, Gajendrakumar revealed that he personally acted as a mediator between


Jaffna Monitor

Jaffna Monitor