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Air Force Denies Radar Plan at Trincomalee Temple Site

Air Force Denies Radar Plan at Trincomalee Temple Site

COLOMBO, Sri Lanka — The Sri Lanka Air Force has denied that it plans to install a radar system within the Fort Frederick precinct in Trincomalee, rejecting concerns raised by trustees of the Thirukoneswaram Temple, who had urged the public to oppose what they called a fresh encroachment on sacred land. Air Force officials, speaking to Jaffna Monitor on condition of anonymity in line with service protocols, said no proposal had been advanced to place radar equipment within the temple grounds or


Our Reporter

Our Reporter

From Sinlung to Zion: The Long Journey of a Lost Tribe

From Sinlung to Zion: The Long Journey of a Lost Tribe

They came through the doors shortly after ten at night, a small procession of exhausted travellers shuffling beneath an arch of blue-and-white balloons. A red carpet had been unrolled across the polished floor of Terminal 1. In the distance, a loudspeaker played “Oseh Shalom,” the old peace song that has become a runway anthem for Israeli homecomings. The men wore knitted kippot or hats. The married women wore head coverings, as is customary in Orthodox Judaism. Many were weeping. There were m


Jaffna Monitor

Jaffna Monitor

Charith: The Cost of War, Carried for Life

Charith: The Cost of War, Carried for Life

By: Dr. Gamini Goonetilleke I first met Charith in the early hours of 19th November 2008, in Ward 8 of Sri Jayewardenepura General Hospital. He arrived as a wounded soldier from the war front, bearing injuries that would change the course of his life forever. For three months he remained under my care, during which time our relationship grew beyond that of surgeon and patient. Years later, Charith recognizes me not by sight but by the sound of my voice. Sadly, he lives in permanent darkness. C


Dr. Gamini Goonetilleke

Dr. Gamini Goonetilleke

Air Force Radar Plan Near Thirukoneswaram Temple Draws Opposition

Air Force Radar Plan Near Thirukoneswaram Temple Draws Opposition

COLOMBO, Sri Lanka — A proposal by the Sri Lanka Air Force to install a radar system on land within the historic Fort Frederick precinct in Trincomalee has drawn opposition from trustees of the Thirukoneswaram Temple, who say the move threatens the sanctity of the site and extends a decades-long pattern of military encroachment. The temple, which is associated in local tradition with King Ravana, is a Hindu shrine perched on a rocky promontory overlooking the Indian Ocean in eastern Sri Lanka.


Our Reporter

Our Reporter

Death of Tamil Man in Canada Draws Scrutiny of Police Response

Death of Tamil Man in Canada Draws Scrutiny of Police Response

BRAMPTON, Ontario — A 30-year-old Tamil man from Jaffna has died in this Toronto-area city under circumstances that have drawn allegations of police negligence and calls for an independent investigation from within the Tamil community in Canada and Sri Lanka. The man, Robert Kennedy, a native of Palaly in Jaffna and an alumnus of St. Patrick’s College, collapsed on a street in Brampton on April 13, according to family members and community sources familiar with the case. He was taken to hospita


Our Reporter

Our Reporter

Balangoda Kassapa Thero’s Remarks Draw Contempt Plea as Chavakachcheri Court Weighs Next Step

Balangoda Kassapa Thero’s Remarks Draw Contempt Plea as Chavakachcheri Court Weighs Next Step

CHAVAKACHCHERI, Sri Lanka — The Chavakachcheri Magistrate’s Court is to decide next week whether to initiate contempt of court proceedings against Balangoda Kassapa Thero, following submissions by a group of lawyers who allege that statements he made at a press conference in Colombo amount to contempt. The issue arises in connection with an ongoing case involving a Buddhist monk accused of attempting to sexually assault a minor at the Navatkuli Vihara. The accused monk was arrested, remanded, a


Our Reporter

Our Reporter

Rhetoric and Reality Collide in Jaffna During Minister’s Visit

Rhetoric and Reality Collide in Jaffna During Minister’s Visit

JAFFNA, Sri Lanka — Sri Lanka’s minister of transport, highways, and urban development, Bimal Rathnayake, declared on Wednesday that his government had no place for “racism” and would not indulge what he called demands from southern voters for an anti-Tamil administration — even as journalists invited to cover one of his own meetings in the northern capital were ordered out of the room. Critics said the two episodes — unfolding just hours apart during the same ministerial visit to the Northern


Our Reporter

Our Reporter

Prabhakaran’s Nephew Urges Tamil Nadu Voters to Reject Seeman

Prabhakaran’s Nephew Urges Tamil Nadu Voters to Reject Seeman

Karthic Manoharan, a nephew of the slain LTTE founder, accuses the Naam Tamilar Katchi leader of fabricating his ties to the rebel chief and profiting from his name. JAFFNA, Sri Lanka — April 22, 2026 A nephew of Velupillai Prabhakaran, the slain founder of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, has issued a blistering public appeal to voters in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu, urging them to reject Seeman, the Tamil nationalist politician, days before a round of polling in the state assembly el


Our Reporter

Our Reporter