August 2026

Disappeared Families Say Current Government Will Never Deliver Justice

Disappeared Families Say Current Government Will Never Deliver Justice

JAFFNA, Sri Lanka — The leader of an association representing families of people who disappeared during and after Sri Lanka’s civil war accused the government on Saturday of trying to steer relatives toward accepting death certificates and compensation instead of establishing what happened to their missing family members. Yogarasa Kanagaranjini, president of the Association of Relatives of the Forcibly Disappeared in the North and East, said the government was using the Office on Missing Person
August 2026 Monitor Memo
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One Nation, One People — But on Whose Terms?

One Nation, One People — But on Whose Terms?

By M.R. Narayan Swamy One day in 1997, Sri Lanka’s air force chief, Oliver Ranasinghe, learnt from a “little bird” that the Defence Secretary had gone to the UK with his son to buy two C-130 aircraft. The C-130 was ideally suited for Sri Lanka. It can carry heavy loads and even operate out of unprepared airfields. But there were problems with these two aircraft. Both had been parked on a tarmac in the UK for 13 long years in extreme weather, without being flown or even the engines being run.
Book Review August 2026
M.R. Narayan Swamy

M.R. Narayan Swamy
U.N., Amnesty Representatives Expected at Jaffna Conference on Sri Lanka’s Disappeared

U.N., Amnesty Representatives Expected at Jaffna Conference on Sri Lanka’s Disappeared

JAFFNA, Sri Lanka — Representatives of the United Nations and Amnesty International are expected to attend a conference in Jaffna on Aug. 30, as families of the forcibly disappeared renew their longstanding demands for truth, justice and accountability. The conference, titled “The Long Journey for Justice,” is being organised by relatives of the forcibly disappeared to coincide with the International Day of the Victims of Enforced Disappearances, observed annually on Aug. 30. It will be held a
August 2026
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We Can No Longer Afford to Hate Each Other

We Can No Longer Afford to Hate Each Other

In one small town, in one month, two Tamil-speaking minority communities, both of which have endured discrimination, insecurity and the pressures of majoritarian politics, managed to hurt each other twice. We can no longer afford this. When nine young Muslim women were prevented from beginning work at Kalmunai North Base Hospital this month because of a dispute over their headscarves, the Ministry of Health responded in what has become an increasingly familiar NPP fashion: it managed the immed
Editorial August 2026
Aruliniyan Mahalingam

Aruliniyan Mahalingam
157 Treated for Eye Injuries After Jaffna Temple Festival; Police Seize High-Powered Lamps

157 Treated for Eye Injuries After Jaffna Temple Festival; Police Seize High-Powered Lamps

JAFFNA, Sri Lanka — At least 157 people, including 55 children, have been treated at Jaffna Teaching Hospital after developing painful eye problems following a Hindu temple festival, prompting police to seize high-powered lamps used at the event as investigators seek to determine whether the lighting caused the injuries. The patients had attended a festival at a Murugan temple in the Piranpatru area of Jaffna, where powerful electric lamps had been installed around the temple grounds. Dr. T. S
JM Exclusive August 2026
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Facing a Fight for His Seat, Archchuna Turns to Muslim Rights

Facing a Fight for His Seat, Archchuna Turns to Muslim Rights

COLOMBO, Sri Lanka — A Tamil member of Sri Lanka’s Parliament accused the director of a government hospital in the country’s east on Wednesday of discriminating against Muslim employee. The lawmaker, Ramanathan Archchuna, an independent representing Jaffna District, said nine Muslim women employed as health assistants had been prevented from working at Kalmunai North Base Hospital because of a dispute over their attire and were subsequently transferred to the nearby Ashraff Memorial Hospital.
August 2026 Monitor Memo
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Three Years On, Rajnath Singh’s Sri Lanka Visit Takes on New Significance

Three Years On, Rajnath Singh’s Sri Lanka Visit Takes on New Significance

COLOMBO, Sri Lanka — India’s defence minister, Rajnath Singh, is preparing to visit Sri Lanka, three years after a planned trip was abruptly deferred, as the two neighbors move to deepen a security partnership that was formalized last year with their first broad agreement on defence cooperation. The itinerary has not been finalized, and New Delhi has not announced dates for the visit. Mr. Singh is expected to hold talks in Colombo, with a possible stop in Trincomalee. Preparations are already
August 2026
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Government Refuses to Return Kilinochchi Press Club Site, Citing Security
A Google Maps view showing the site of the former Kilinochchi Press Club

Government Refuses to Return Kilinochchi Press Club Site, Citing Security

KILINOCHCHI, Sri Lanka — Sri Lanka's Defence Ministry has refused to return a state-owned property in Kilinochchi that housed a press club before the end of the civil war and has been under military control since, telling journalists only that security concerns made its release impossible. The decision was conveyed in an Aug. 12 letter from the Presidential Secretariat to the Kilinochchi Media Forum, nearly three months after the organisation appealed directly to President Anura Kumara Dissanay
JM Exclusive August 2026
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