Opinion

No Justification for holding the Strait of Hormuz Hostage by the Iranian regime

No Justification for holding the Strait of Hormuz Hostage by the Iranian regime

By Reuven Azar, Israel’s Ambassador to Sri Lanka and India. The following is submitted in response to the opinion article by Kazem Gharibabadi, Deputy Foreign Minister for Legal and International Affairs of Iran, titled "The Strait of Hormuz: New Arrangements Under International Law," published in Jaffna Monitor. The Strait of Hormuz is one of the world's most vital maritime corridors. Roughly one-fifth of global oil trade passes through this narrow waterway connecting the Persian Gulf to th
Letter to the Editor May 2026
Reuven Azar

Reuven Azar
Sri Lanka Should Not Import the Middle East’s Hatreds

Sri Lanka Should Not Import the Middle East’s Hatreds

By: Soraya M Deen Sri Lanka is witnessing the rise of a dangerous ideology disguised as virtue: antizionism that increasingly spills into outright antisemitism. As a Muslim, I find it exhausting and deeply alarming. I have watched its ugly tentacles spread into my homeland thousands of miles away from the Middle East. First, there was hostility toward Israeli tourists visiting Sri Lanka. Then came campaigns against a Chabad house, as if Jewish worship itself was somehow offensive. Now Sri Lan
May 2026 Opinion
Soraya M. Deen

Soraya M. Deen
Seventeen Years Without Prabhakaran

Seventeen Years Without Prabhakaran

By: A. Jathindra Thiruvengadam Velupillai Prabhakaran was a man who held Eelam Tamil politics under his control for nearly three decades. There has been no other figure in history who exercised such complete dominance over Eelam Tamil politics through the force of his own personality and authority. If the Eelam Tamil people could ever have achieved their highest political aspirations, it should have been possible during the period in which he lived and led — but that did not happen. And if res
May 2026 OP-ED
Jathindra

Jathindra
From Monument to Movement: Why the Thiruvalluvar Cultural Centre Needs India’s Direct Stewardship

From Monument to Movement: Why the Thiruvalluvar Cultural Centre Needs India’s Direct Stewardship

When a government builds a bridge, the measure of its generosity is not the span of the arch but the lives it connects. By that measure, the Thiruvalluvar Cultural Centre — an eleven-storey edifice standing at the waterfront of Jaffna, conceived and constructed as a government-to-government gesture of friendship between India and Sri Lanka — is among the most consequential gifts this province has ever received. This is my third submission on the subject. As Governor of the Northern Province, I
May 2026 OP-ED
Jeevan Thiyagaraja

Jeevan Thiyagaraja
Could Prabhakaran Have Ever Succeeded?

Could Prabhakaran Have Ever Succeeded?

By M.R. Narayan Swamy When Velupillai Prabhakaran walked into Chanakya cinema in Delhi in 1985, no one packing the air-conditioned hall could have guessed that this man would soon become one of the world’s most feared and powerful insurgents. But for his stocky build, there was nothing to distinguish him from the three other Sri Lankan Tamils with him who, away from the war theatre, had decided to see an English movie. The young men were in Delhi to meet Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi and his of
May 2026 OP-ED
M.R. Narayan Swamy

M.R. Narayan Swamy
A Strategic Framework for Sea Transport and Tourism in the Northern Provin

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

Jeevan Thiyagaraja
Cricket in Jaffna: Past, Present, Future and the Debate Over a New International Stadium

Cricket in Jaffna: Past, Present, Future and the Debate Over a New International Stadium

Cricket occupies a unique and powerful place in Sri Lanka’s national identity. No other sport evokes the same depth of passion or collective pride. The 1996 Cricket World Cup victory transformed cricket from a popular pastime into a unifying national obsession—an emblem of hope, joy, resilience, and belonging. For decades, Sri Lankans have believed that cricket transcends geography, ethnicity, class, and political divisions. From the urban centres of Colombo, Galle, and Kandy to the rural heartl
Opinion January 2026
Dr. Gamini Goonetilleke

Dr. Gamini Goonetilleke
Ranil on Nepal: Buddha’s Teachings Abroad, Forgotten at Home
Ranil on Nepal: Buddha’s Teachings Abroad, Forgotten at Home

Ranil on Nepal: Buddha’s Teachings Abroad, Forgotten at Home

Sri Lanka’s former President Ranil Wickremesinghe issued a strongly worded statement this week on the unfolding crisis in Nepal. He condemned the police shootings in Kathmandu, the killing of the former Prime Minister’s wife, and the burning of Parliament and court buildings by Gen-Z protestors. He also warned of the role of American-owned social media platforms like Google and Facebook in destabilizing governments. Most strikingly, Wickremesinghe ended his statement by invoking the Buddha: “N
Opinion September 2025
K.S. Lakshmi

K.S. Lakshmi