OP-ED - Jaffna Monitor (Page 4)

The Levantine Hummus Wars

By: Abbi Kanthasamy A dispatch from a tired restaurant owner watching cousins argue over the same recipe. If the conflict in Jerusalem had been about food instead of religion, it would have ended centuries ago. Because food fights — real ones — are easy. You gather everyone in a room. You put the dishes on the table. People shout a bit. Someone’s grandmother intervenes. And eventually everyone eats. Peace, or something very close to it. Religion, unfortunately, has proven far less coop

Guest Column March 2026

Abbi Kanthasamy

Mar 23, 2026 — 4 min read

JVP may move towards one-party rule, says Tamil leader

By M.R. Narayan Swamy Sri Lanka faces the risk of its dominant Marxist ruling party pushing the country toward a one-party state, M.A. Sumanthiran, Acting General Secretary of the Ilankai Tamil Arasu Kachchi (ITAK), said, adding that the government is already setting up a parallel power structure in the Tamil-majority North. At the same time, lawyer-cum-politician M.A. Sumanthiran underlines that while President Anura Dissanayake is pragmatic, he is surrounded by some who the former Tami

JM Exclusive March 2026

M.R. Narayan Swamy

Mar 21, 2026 — 4 min read

Voice of Tigers: The Rebel Radio That Echoed Through Sri Lanka’s War

By: M.R. Narayan Swamy Bettering the proverbial cat, the Tamil Tigers radio had two dozen lives! From its rudimentary beginnings in Jaffna, the Voice of Tigers (VOT), or Puligalin Kural, grew into a powerful radio station that broadcast news and other programmes in Tamil from the dense forests of Sri Lanka. The station chronicled the war fought by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), albeit with an inherent bias favouring the Tamil guerrillas, till May 2009 when the Sri Lankan m

Guest Column March 2026

M.R. Narayan Swamy

Mar 14, 2026 — 6 min read

The Palestine issue and International Quds Day

Quds Day: From an Idea to an International Demand The last Friday of the holy month of Ramadan was designated as Quds Day several decades ago by the Founder of the Islamic Republic of Iran. This designation, more than being a mere political statement, was a call for the international community to pay attention to an issue that was gradually being forgotten: the displacement of a nation and the occupation of a land considered holy by the followers of three major divine religions. Today, Quds Da

March 2026 OP-ED

Dr. Alireza Delkhosh

Mar 11, 2026 — 5 min read

A Strategic Framework for Sea Transport and Tourism in the Northern Provin

By: Jeevan Thiagarajah The High Price of Neglect For the residents of Sri Lanka’s Northern Province, the Palk Strait and the Jaffna Lagoon are not merely bodies of water; they are lifelines. The islands of Delft, Kayts, Karainagar, Pungudutivu, and Nainathivu are tethered to the Jaffna mainland by a fragile network of ferries. Every day, students, patients, and traders entrust their lives to these vessels. Yet, despite the existence of comprehensive maritime laws, the reality of compliance in

March 2026 OP-ED

Jeevan Thiyagaraja

Mar 11, 2026 — 5 min read

Two Countries Sliding Toward a War Neither Can Afford

Somewhere along the Afghan-Pakistan border this week, a family is on the move again. They have done this before — through Soviet tanks, civil war, the Taliban’s first rule, twenty years of American military presence, and the Taliban’s return to power. Each time they gathered what remained of their lives and began again. Now, artillery and airstrikes are forcing them to do it once more. The United Nations estimates that nearly 118,000 people have been displaced since fighting escalated in late

March 2026 OP-ED

Our Reporter

Mar 9, 2026 — 4 min read