August 2026 - Jaffna Monitor

Sri Lanka Is Reopening Its Worst Cases but Not Finishing Them, Human Rights Watch Says

JAFFNA — Almost two years after Anura Kumara Dissanayake won the presidency on a promise to reopen Sri Lanka’s most notorious killings and disappearances, Human Rights Watch has found that his government has pushed a handful of those cases further than any administration before it, and has largely left the rest of the country’s apparatus of impunity untouched. The report, “Not Genuine with Justice,” comes days before the United Nations high commissioner for human rights updates the Human Rights

JM Exclusive August 2026

Jaffna Monitor

Sep 2, 2026 — 10 min read

New Chinese Ambassador Pledges Stronger Sri Lanka Ties, More Investment

COLOMBO, Sri Lanka — China’s new ambassador to Sri Lanka has pledged to deepen relations between the two countries and encourage greater Chinese investment, saying he had felt “no sense of being a foreigner” since arriving on the island, according to an account of his meeting with a senior leader of Sri Lanka’s governing political movement. Ambassador Wei Huaxiang made the remarks during a meeting with Tilvin Silva, general secretary of the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna, or J.V.P., at the party’s h

August 2026

Our Reporter

Sep 2, 2026 — 2 min read

Rs. 15 Billion ‘Ice’ Haul at Colombo Port Exposes Pakistan-Linked Drug Route

COLOMBO, Sri Lanka — Sri Lankan authorities have seized nearly half a ton of crystal methamphetamine concealed in a shipping container at the Port of Colombo and arrested several people, including three Pakistani nationals, in one of the country’s largest recent narcotics seizures. Police sources say Pakistan-linked drug trafficking has become a growing concern in Sri Lanka, with the number of major narcotics cases involving Pakistani nationals and networks rising sharply in recent years. The

August 2026

Our Reporter

Sep 1, 2026 — 3 min read

Sri Lanka Supreme Court Rejects Full-Bench Request in Challenge to Judges’ Retirement-Age Amendment

COLOMBO, Sri Lanka — Sri Lanka’s Supreme Court on Tuesday rejected a request for all of its judges to hear challenges to a proposed constitutional amendment that would extend the retirement ages of judges, deciding that the proceedings would continue before a five-member bench headed by the chief justice. The ruling disposed of an unusual preliminary dispute in a closely watched constitutional case: who should sit in judgment on legislation that, if enacted, could extend the tenure of members o

JM COURTS August 2026

Our Reporter

Sep 1, 2026 — 3 min read

Sri Lanka’s Top Judges Weigh an Amendment That Could Extend Their Own Tenure

COLOMBO, Sri Lanka — The Supreme Court of Sri Lanka was to begin hearing challenges on Tuesday to a constitutional amendment that would extend the working lives of the judges deciding the case. Before any argument on the amendment itself, the court faced a preliminary question about its own composition: whether five judges are enough. Chief Justice Preethi Padman Surasena announced the five-member bench on Monday and will preside over it. Sitting with him are Justices Achala Wengappuli, Arjuna

JM COURTS August 2026

Our Reporter

Sep 1, 2026 — 2 min read

Hinduism's Temples of Sri Lanka and India: One Living Tradition, Built to Reach Everyone

By Jeevan Thiagarajah A temple is never really finished. It is destroyed, it is rebuilt, and somewhere in that cycle it becomes sacred all over again — not despite the disruption, but partly because of it. That is the argument at the heart of a new book, Sacred Shrines of Sri Lanka: A Profile of Major Hindu Temples. It is also the argument behind the ecosystem now being built around it — a Kindle edition, a website, a Facebook page, and Kovil, a mobile app — so that the same material can reach

Guest Column August 2026

Jeevan Thiyagaraja

Sep 1, 2026 — 9 min read

Court Stops Archaeology Department Work at Kanniya

TRINCOMALEE, Sri Lanka — A court in eastern Sri Lanka has ordered the Department of Archaeology to halt construction at a disputed religious site near the Kanniya hot springs, where a Hindu temple once stood and where officials say the remains of an ancient Buddhist stupa lie beneath the ground. The Trincomalee High Court issued the interim order on Monday, directing that the site be maintained in its present condition and that no further construction take place until the case returns to court

JM Exclusive August 2026

Our Reporter

Aug 31, 2026 — 3 min read

NPP Councillor Resigns a Day After Arrest Over Jaffna Home Attack

JAFFNA, Sri Lanka — A local councillor from Sri Lanka’s governing National People’s Power has resigned a day after his arrest over an alleged late-night attack on the home of a retired government official in northern Jaffna. Santhirakumar Kanesaruban, a member of the Vadamaradchi South West Pradeshiya Sabha, formally notified election and local government authorities of his resignation on Monday, according to a letter announcing his decision. The letter was addressed to the returning officer i

August 2026

Our Reporter

Aug 31, 2026 — 2 min read