Monitor Memo


Calling an Ex-LTTE ‘Terrorist’ — and Terrorising the English Language: The Mannar RDHS Way

Calling an Ex-LTTE ‘Terrorist’ — and Terrorising the English Language: The Mannar RDHS Way

A letter in English — riddled with grammatical mistakes — issued by the Office of the Regional Director of Health Services (RDHS) in Mannar, has ignited strong reactions across sections of the Tamil community after it referred to a former LTTE member as a “terrorist.” The official letter, signed by Dr. D. Venoden, Regional Director of Health Services, Mannar, was addressed to a Family Health Officer, calling for an explanation regarding her absence during a supervisory visit and for alleged obs


Jaffna Monitor

Jaffna Monitor

Young Marathon Runner Brutally Killed in Kokkilai; Treasure-Hunting Sacrifice Theory Probed
Jeyaraj Subaraj

Young Marathon Runner Brutally Killed in Kokkilai; Treasure-Hunting Sacrifice Theory Probed

A 21-year-old marathon runner from Kokkilai North was hacked to death in the early hours, in what police suspect may be linked to a bizarre treasure-hunting plot. The victim, Jeyaraj Subaraj, was returning home from work at the Kokkilai Lagoon beach between midnight and 2:00 a.m. when he was ambushed by unidentified assailants armed with sharp weapons. The attack occurred about 300 metres from the Kottaikeni Pillaiyar Temple and 50 metres from the lagoon shore. A co-worker spotted Subaraj lyin


Jaffna Monitor

Jaffna Monitor

Reservoir Politics: How a Tragedy Became Sumanthiran’s Protest Stunt
The deceased, Edhirmannasingham Kapilraj

Reservoir Politics: How a Tragedy Became Sumanthiran’s Protest Stunt

The death of a 32-year-old man whose body was recovered from the Muththaiyankattu reservoir in Mullaitivu has led to the arrest of three army personnel and reignited debate over the military’s role in the North. But an autopsy has poured cold water on the most sensational claims — no, the army didn’t beat him to death, despite what some hardcore Tamil nationalists and websites insist. The Victim and the Incident The deceased, Edhirmannasingham Kapilraj, a father of a seven-month-old infant fr


Jaffna Monitor

Jaffna Monitor

MP = Minimum Payer: How Sri Lanka’s Lawmakers Made Tax Evasion Legal

MP = Minimum Payer: How Sri Lanka’s Lawmakers Made Tax Evasion Legal

A political grenade was lobbed into the tax debate when Samagi Jana Balawegaya MP Jagath Withana casually dropped his salary slips on Facebook—only to reveal that Sri Lankan MPs are paying as little as 1% in income tax. While average citizens cough up tax rates three times higher, our honourable lawmakers seem to enjoy a VIP pass through the tax maze. The revelation raised not just eyebrows but also blood pressure across both the public and private sectors. Irritated and clearly not amused, the


Jaffna Monitor

Jaffna Monitor

Checkmate in Batumi: Jaffna’s Young Prodigy Takes Bronze on the World Stage
Young prodigy Tharshan Kajishana.

Checkmate in Batumi: Jaffna’s Young Prodigy Takes Bronze on the World Stage

In a remarkable achievement that has electrified Sri Lanka’s chess community, eight-year-old Tharshan Kajishana from Kokuvil Hindu Primary School in Jaffna has secured a bronze medal in the Girls Under-8 category at the FIDE World Cadets Chess Championship 2025, held in Batumi, Georgia. The tournament, hosted from June 22 to July 3 at the luxurious Grand Bellagio Hotel, drew over 300 young chess talents from nearly 40 countries. A Historic Moment for the North Kajishana’s bronze medal was co


Jaffna Monitor

Jaffna Monitor

Why Emphasize ‘Genocide’ Over ‘War Crimes’? Sajanthan Questions Gajendrakumar

Why Emphasize ‘Genocide’ Over ‘War Crimes’? Sajanthan Questions Gajendrakumar

Why does Gajendrakumar Ponnambalam— leader of the Tamil National People’s Front (TNPF) and General Secretary of the All Ceylon Tamil Congress—choose to focus on ‘genocide’ and ‘ethnic cleansing,’ but not address ‘war crimes’?” asked senior ITAK figure and Sumanthiran’s close confidant, Advocate Kesavan Sajanthan. In a televised debate featuring TNPF’s S. Kajendren and Sajanthan himself, the latter offered one possible explanation. He pointed out that during the final phase of Sri Lanka’s civil


Jaffna Monitor

Jaffna Monitor

NPP’s Garden Lizard Lesson in Northern Politics

NPP’s Garden Lizard Lesson in Northern Politics

If you're looking for a metaphor to sum up the NPP’s misguided political saga in the North, look no further than the old Tamil saying: "வேலியில் போகும் ஓணானை எடுத்து வேட்டியில் விட்டுட்டு குத்துதே, குடையுதே என்றானாம்" (“They took the garden lizard headed for the fence, tucked it into their veshti, and now complain that it’s biting and scratching.”) That, in essence, is the story of Naveena Ravanan—real name Pon Suthan—a self-styled firebrand Tamil nationalist who briefly honeymooned with the NP


Jaffna Monitor

Jaffna Monitor