March 2026

Sri Lanka Lawmaker Says Post-Cyclone Emergency Powers Threaten Civil Liberties

Sri Lanka Lawmaker Says Post-Cyclone Emergency Powers Threaten Civil Liberties

COLOMBO — Sri Lanka’s Parliament became the scene of a pointed constitutional challenge on Friday when Faiszer Musthapha, an opposition member of Parliament, pressed the government to justify maintaining emergency regulations three months after Cyclone Ditwah, warning that the legal framework now in place mirrors the decrees used to suppress protests during the 2022 Aragalaya uprising. “Today, the government claims that while the Ditwah crisis is over, emergency regulations are still required t
March 2026 Monitor Memo
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Our Reporter
Boat Carrying Pilgrims Capsizes Off Jaffna, Killing Two; Safety Concerns Resurface

Boat Carrying Pilgrims Capsizes Off Jaffna, Killing Two; Safety Concerns Resurface

JAFFNA, Sri Lanka — A boat not designed for passenger transport, but carrying devotees to a Catholic church festival, capsized off the coast of northern Sri Lanka on Thursday morning, killing at least two people and injuring more than a dozen others and renewing concerns about maritime safety in the waters around the Jaffna peninsula. The vessel had departed from the fishing harbor at Kurunagar in Jaffna, carrying pilgrims to the annual feast of St. Anthony’s Church in Palaitivu, a small island
JM Exclusive March 2026
Our Reporter

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Sri Lankan Supreme Court Judge Takes Defamation Fight to India

Sri Lankan Supreme Court Judge Takes Defamation Fight to India

COLOMBO — A sitting judge of Sri Lanka’s Supreme Court has taken an unusual step beyond the country’s borders, turning to the Indian judiciary in an effort to force Google to remove online articles he says have shadowed his reputation for nearly a decade. Justice A.H.M.D. Nawaz, who sits on Sri Lanka’s highest court and previously served as President of the Court of Appeal, has petitioned the High Court of Karnataka in Bengaluru, asking it to direct Google India to remove links to articles publ
JM Exclusive March 2026
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Invited, Then Turned Away: The 11-Hour Wait That Preceded IRIS Dena’s Sinking.

Invited, Then Turned Away: The 11-Hour Wait That Preceded IRIS Dena’s Sinking.

COLOMBO, March 6 — In the final days before it was destroyed by a United States submarine in the Indian Ocean, the Iranian frigate IRIS Dena was sailing toward Sri Lanka in response to what sources say was a diplomatic invitation extended weeks earlier by Sri Lankan authorities during a multinational naval gathering in India. The IRIS Dena, a domestically built Moudge-class frigate commissioned into the Iranian Navy in 2021, was part of the country’s Southern Fleet. The vessel was torpedoed so
Exclusive March 2026
Aruliniyan Mahalingam

Aruliniyan Mahalingam
U.S. Submarine Sinks Iranian Warship Near Sri Lanka, Drawing Island Into Expanding Conflict

U.S. Submarine Sinks Iranian Warship Near Sri Lanka, Drawing Island Into Expanding Conflict

GALLE, Sri Lanka — Sri Lanka found itself unexpectedly drawn into a widening Middle East conflict on Wednesday after the United States confirmed that one of its submarines had torpedoed and sunk an Iranian warship in waters less than 40 nautical miles off the island’s southern coast. U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said at a briefing in Washington that an American submarine had destroyed the Iranian frigate IRIS Dena with a torpedo. The strike, he said, was part of a broader campaign target
March 2026
Our Reporter

Our Reporter
Jaffna Professionals Advance Climate Plan, Seek Administrative Backing

Jaffna Professionals Advance Climate Plan, Seek Administrative Backing

JAFFNA, Sri Lanka —A coalition of doctors, engineers, journalists and educators in Jaffna is urging the governor and relevant government agencies to support an ambitious plan aimed at making the Jaffna Peninsula more resilient to climate stress, seeking to move the proposal from concept to implementation. The initiative, titled “Green Jaffna,” was presented Tuesday at the Governor’s Secretariat, where Governor N. Vethanayagan reviewed a pilot proposal submitted by IMPACT — Interdisciplinary Mul
JM Exclusive March 2026
Our Special Correspondent

Our Special Correspondent
Western Governments Renew Pressure on Sri Lanka Over Terror Law and War-Time Accountability

Western Governments Renew Pressure on Sri Lanka Over Terror Law and War-Time Accountability

GENEVA — A group of Western and allied nations renewed pressure on Sri Lanka on Monday to repeal its controversial anti-terrorism legislation and accelerate long-promised human rights reforms, warning that years of commitments have produced limited tangible results. Speaking at the 61st session of the United Nations Human Rights Council, Eleanor Sanders, the United Kingdom’s human rights ambassador, delivered a statement on behalf of the Sri Lanka Core Group — Canada, Malawi, Montenegro, North
Exclusive March 2026
Our Reporter

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Former Foreign Minister Urges Sri Lanka to Clarify Stance as Middle East Crisis Deepens

Former Foreign Minister Urges Sri Lanka to Clarify Stance as Middle East Crisis Deepens

COLOMBO — March 3, 2026 — G. L. Peiris, Sri Lanka’s former foreign minister, on Monday called on President Anura Kumara Dissanayake to publicly articulate the government’s position on the escalating crisis in the Middle East, warning that the fallout could quickly destabilize key pillars of the island’s still-recovering economy. In a letter dated March 3, reviewed by Jaffna Monitor, and addressed to the President at the Presidential Secretariat, Professor Peiris said the “volatile situation” in
March 2026 Monitor Memo
Our Reporter

Our Reporter