July 2026 - Jaffna Monitor (Page 3)

‘Our People Were Failed by Both National and International Justice Systems’: Shankari Chandran

By Aruliniyan Mahalingam Shankari Chandran came to fiction the way some people come to prayer: after everything else had failed. For a decade in London she ran the pro bono programmes of one of the world's largest law firms. The work took her into more than thirty countries, into the question of who would represent the men held at Guantánamo Bay, and at one point into the office of a British prime minister. She believed what lawyers are trained to believe, which is that the law is a slow mac

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Aruliniyan Mahalingam

Jul 25, 2026 — 20 min read

As El Niño Builds, Sri Lanka’s North Faces Heat, Water Stress and the Risk of Floods

JAFFNA, Sri Lanka — Northern Sri Lanka should brace for a long spell of heat, growing strain on its water, and sharp swings from drought to downpour as El Niño gathers strength in the Pacific, a University of Jaffna climate scholar has warned. Prof. Nagamuthu Pratheeparajah, a professor of geography and dean of the university’s Faculty of Arts, said people should start conserving water now and managing their wells, tanks, and reservoirs with more care, especially in districts that already run s

JM Exclusive July 2026

Our Reporter

Jul 25, 2026 — 7 min read

Can an MP Skip Court to Attend Parliament?

COLOMBO, Sri Lanka — A heated confrontation in Sri Lanka’s Parliament on Friday over an arrest warrant issued against Jaffna District independent MP Ramanathan Archchuna exposed a broader constitutional question: What happens when a Member of Parliament is required to appear before court on the same day Parliament is sitting? Opposition lawmakers argued that the warrant infringed upon parliamentary privilege and interfered with an elected legislator’s constitutional duties. Government members c

JM Exclusive July 2026

Our Reporter

Jul 25, 2026 — 4 min read

Sri Lankan Court Allows Key Witness to Retestify in Prageeth Eknaligoda Disappearance Case

COLOMBO, Sri Lanka — A three-judge bench of the Colombo High Court ruled on Friday that a witness who has twice changed his account in the case of the abducted journalist Prageeth Eknaligoda may be recalled to testify again, after he told the court that the evidence he gave four years ago had been extracted from him under duress. The witness, Sumathipala Sureshkumar, known in the case papers as Thaveendran and, more commonly, as Murali, is the fourth prosecution witness in a trial-at-bar agains

July 2026 Monitor Memo

Our Reporter

Jul 24, 2026 — 3 min read

Shashi Tharoor Urges India and Sri Lanka to Deepen Ties Through Literature

COLOMBO, Sri Lanka — Literature can build bridges where politics sometimes cannot, Indian parliamentarian and author Shashi Tharoor said on Friday as he inaugurated the first Colombo Literary Festival, urging India and Sri Lanka to strengthen their ties through books, translation, and cultural exchange. Addressing an audience at Arcade Independence Square, Tharoor described the launch of the festival as “an act of optimism,” saying it affirmed that books, ideas, and meaningful conversations con

July 2026 Monitor Memo

Our Reporter

Jul 24, 2026 — 2 min read

‘Farewell, Ceylon’: China’s Ambassador Reflects on Six Years in Sri Lanka

COLOMBO, Sri Lanka — China’s ambassador to Sri Lanka, Qi Zhenhong, used a farewell message marking the end of his six-year posting to praise deepening political trust, expanding economic cooperation, and closer cultural ties between the two countries, while urging continued collaboration under Beijing’s Belt and Road Initiative. In the letter, Mr. Qi reflected on what he called the longest diplomatic assignment of his career, describing Sri Lanka as a country of rich history, cultural diversity

July 2026 Monitor Memo

Our Reporter

Jul 24, 2026 — 10 min read

‘They Set Fire to the Hearts of the People’: Deputy Minister Blames Ranil, UNP for Jaffna Library Burning

COLOMBO, Sri Lanka — A Sri Lankan deputy minister has accused former President Ranil Wickremesinghe and other senior figures associated with the United National Party of bearing responsibility for the political climate surrounding the 1981 burning of the Jaffna Public Library. Eranga Gunasekara, the deputy minister of urban development, said the destruction of the library, one of the most searing symbols of Tamil cultural loss in Sri Lanka, had “set fire to the hearts of the people” and contrib

July 2026 Monitor Memo

Our Reporter

Jul 23, 2026 — 2 min read

Speaker Calls Archchuna a ‘Fool’; Government Leader Says He Is ‘Psychologically Affected’

COLOMBO, Sri Lanka — The leader of Sri Lanka’s Parliament told the chamber on Thursday that a controversial independent lawmaker from Jaffna was “psychologically affected” and that lawmakers were patiently waiting for him to seek treatment and recover, an unusually personal attack that came during a chaotic exchange over parliamentary decorum. Bimal Rathnayake, the transport minister and leader of the House, also said the conduct of the lawmaker, Ramanathan Archchuna, was insulting to “the enti

July 2026 Monitor Memo

Our Reporter

Jul 23, 2026 — 3 min read