OP-ED

From Remittances to Investment: Rethinking the Tamil Diaspora’s Role

From Remittances to Investment: Rethinking the Tamil Diaspora’s Role

The Tamil diaspora has long been an integral part of Jaffna’s social, economic, and cultural landscape. Spread across countries such as Canada, the United Kingdom, Australia, and parts of Europe, this global community has maintained strong and enduring ties with Northern Sri Lanka. These connections have been expressed through family relationships, financial support, cultural exchange, and political engagement. During periods of conflict and immediate post-war recovery, diaspora contributions p
Guest Column OP-ED
Colonel Nalin Herath

Colonel Nalin Herath
Judges’ Retirement Age: A New Proposal and Its Implications

Judges’ Retirement Age: A New Proposal and Its Implications

By: Professor G. L. Peiris I. The Constitutional Context Independence of the judiciary is, without question, an essential element of a functioning democracy. In recognition of this, ample provision is made in the highest law of our country, the Constitution, to engender an environment in which the courts are able to fulfil their public responsibility with total acceptance. As part of this protective apparatus, judges of the Supreme Court and the Court of Appeal are assured of security of t
April 2026 Guest Column
Professor G. L. Peiris

Professor G. L. Peiris
Sri Lanka’s Indian Ocean Reckoning

Sri Lanka’s Indian Ocean Reckoning

By Abbi Kanthasamy Sri Lanka’s real strategic question is not whether it can become “the next Singapore” or a miniature Dubai. It is whether it can finally learn the harder lesson those two city-states teach: that financial centres are not created by tax gimmicks, real-estate spectacle, or patriotic rhetoric. They are built by states that become credible before they become glamorous. In 2026, that distinction is even more important than it was a generation ago. The old haven model—low tax, ligh
April 2026 Guest Column
Abbi Kanthasamy

Abbi Kanthasamy
For 359 Days, Easter Claims. In Court, None — The Pillayan Case

For 359 Days, Easter Claims. In Court, None — The Pillayan Case

Sri Lanka's government spent a year telling its people one story. When it appeared before a court, it told another. On April 8, 2025, the Criminal Investigation Department arrested Sivanesathurai Chandrakanthan — widely known as Pillayan — at the TMVP headquarters in Batticaloa. Within two days, Public Security Minister Ananda Wijepala stood in Parliament and declared that significant information had emerged linking Pillayan to the Easter Sunday bombings of April 21, 2019 — the worst terrorist
April 2026 OP-ED
Our Reporter

Our Reporter
Exclusive: Iran’s Ambassador Sets Out Tehran’s Position on the Strait of Hormuz

Exclusive: Iran’s Ambassador Sets Out Tehran’s Position on the Strait of Hormuz

By: Dr. Alireza Delkhosh, Ambassador of the Islamic Republic of Iran to Sri Lanka On 28 February 2026, the United States and the Zionist regime, through an unlawful act of aggression contrary to the fundamental principles of international law, acted against the territorial integrity and national sovereignty of the Islamic Republic of Iran. In response, and within the framework of the inherent right of self-defense pursuant to Article 51 of the Charter of the United Nations, the Government of th
Guest Column JM Exclusive
Dr. Alireza Delkhosh

Dr. Alireza Delkhosh
Appointed, Then Abandoned: The Betrayal of Northern Health Volunteers

Appointed, Then Abandoned: The Betrayal of Northern Health Volunteers

By: Jeevan Thiagarajah A Travesty of Justice in the Northern Province In the annals of public service recruitment, few stories are as harrowing or as indicative of systemic failure as the plight of the Health Services Volunteers in the Northern Province. This is a saga marked by a cruel travesty of justice, where the hopes of the most vulnerable were raised and dashed by the very system designed to protect them. The most damning aspect of this tragedy is that letters of appointment to gove
March 2026 OP-ED
Jeevan Thiyagaraja

Jeevan Thiyagaraja
NPP’s Delay on Provincial Polls Fuels Fears of a Silent Rollback

NPP’s Delay on Provincial Polls Fuels Fears of a Silent Rollback

By M.R. Narayan Swamy Is the Sri Lankan government preparing the ground to quietly do away with the provincial councils established under the 1987 India–Sri Lanka Accord? Signals from Colombo suggest this may be the case. The vexed bilateral agreement, which sought to end Tamil separatism, envisaged elected councils for all nine provinces in Sri Lanka to devolve powers locally and promote more balanced regional development. Although the chief objective of the provision was to encourage people
March 2026 OP-ED
M.R. Narayan Swamy

M.R. Narayan Swamy
Trincomalee Oil Farm and Energy Hub: Sri Lanka’s Missed Opportunity Returns

Trincomalee Oil Farm and Energy Hub: Sri Lanka’s Missed Opportunity Returns

By: Dr. Gamini Goonetilleke The Trincomalee Oil Tank Farm stands today as one of the most strategically significant yet historically underutilized energy assets in South Asia. Located in the deep natural harbour of Trincomalee, the facility embodies a convergence of history, geopolitics, and economic potential. In the current global context—marked by energy insecurity, shifting geopolitical alliances, and regional competition—the Trincomalee oil farm offers Sri Lanka a renewed opportunity
Guest Column OP-ED
Dr. Gamini Goonetilleke

Dr. Gamini Goonetilleke