September 2026

Tamil Society Cannot Confront Its Past Until It Acknowledges Its Own Victims
The memorial to former MP V. Dharmalingam in Thavady, Jaffna, at the site where his body was found after he was abducted and killed in 1985.

Tamil Society Cannot Confront Its Past Until It Acknowledges Its Own Victims

By: Jeevan Thiyagaraja The recent public statement by PLOTE leader Dharmalingam Siddharthan perfectly illustrates the central tragedy of the Tamil militant struggle in Sri Lanka: the transition from armed groups that eliminated their own people. Speaking at a memorial for his father, V. Dharmalingam, a former Member of Parliament, Siddharthan publicly accused the Tamil Eelam Liberation Organization (TELO)—a group that now sits in the same political alliance as his own—of carrying out the assass
Guest Column September 2026
Jeevan Thiyagaraja

Jeevan Thiyagaraja
AKD Vows to Press Ahead With Judicial Amendment

AKD Vows to Press Ahead With Judicial Amendment

COLOMBO, Sri Lanka — President Anura Kumara Dissanayake said on Sunday that his government would not withdraw a proposed constitutional amendment extending the retirement ages of Sri Lanka's senior judges, and that he intended to move it through Parliament as soon as the Supreme Court delivers its determination on a record number of legal challenges. Speaking at a public rally in Bulathsinhala, in the Kalutara district south of Colombo, Mr. Dissanayake presented the proposed 22nd Amendment as p
September 2026
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Aid, poverty and the illusion of better health
USAID-funded projects to supply water in Africa (Source: Wikimedia Commons)

Aid, poverty and the illusion of better health

By Mahesh Nirmalan, MD, FRCA, PhD, FFICM, and Jared Mecha, MD, MPH Mahesh Nirmalan is Professor of Medical Education and Associate Vice President at the University of Manchester, United Kingdom. Jared Mecha is a Lecturer, Consultant Physician and Global Health Specialist at the University of Nairobi, Kenya. International development agencies, philanthropy, and health research funding agencies largely approach health outcomes in less developed countries (LDCs) as a problem to be solved within
Guest Column September 2026
Prof. Mahesh Nirmalan

Prof. Mahesh Nirmalan
Rajnath Singh Heads to Sri Lanka Tuesday as India Deepens Defence Ties

Rajnath Singh Heads to Sri Lanka Tuesday as India Deepens Defence Ties

COLOMBO, Sri Lanka — India’s defence minister, Rajnath Singh, will arrive in Sri Lanka on Tuesday for a three-day official visit, leading a high-level delegation for talks aimed at strengthening the two countries’ defence and maritime partnership. The visit, from Sept. 8 to 10, will be a rare one at the ministerial level: Mr. Singh is set to become the first Indian defence minister to visit Sri Lanka in nearly four decades. The last such visit was by K.C. Pant, who served as defence minister un
September 2026
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Thirty Years On, Krishanthi’s Memorial Becomes a Campaign for Mass-Grave Investigations

Thirty Years On, Krishanthi’s Memorial Becomes a Campaign for Mass-Grave Investigations

JAFFNA, Sri Lanka — Groups organising a memorial for Krishanthi Kumaraswamy on Monday, 30 years after the schoolgirl was raped and murdered by soldiers at an army checkpoint outside Jaffna, said the event will also launch a campaign to identify suspected mass graves across the Northern and Eastern Provinces and to press the courts for their excavation. The organising committee announced the plans at a news conference. The main event begins at 3:30 p.m. on Monday, Sept. 7, and will open with a f
September 2026
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People’s Struggle Alliance Says Sri Lanka’s 22nd Amendment Is Designed to Benefit Individuals

People’s Struggle Alliance Says Sri Lanka’s 22nd Amendment Is Designed to Benefit Individuals

COLOMBO, Sri Lanka — The People’s Struggle Alliance has accused the government of introducing Sri Lanka’s proposed 22nd Amendment to the Constitution to benefit particular individuals and groups, saying the measure offers no meaningful benefit to the country or its people. Nuwan Bopage, a lawyer and national executive committee member of the alliance, made the accusation at a news conference at the group’s office in Nugegoda on Friday. “The 22nd Amendment is being brought for the benefit of in
September 2026 Monitor Memo
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‘Astrology Ritual’ Turns Into Blackmail for Sri Lankan Tamil Canadian Woman in Chennai

‘Astrology Ritual’ Turns Into Blackmail for Sri Lankan Tamil Canadian Woman in Chennai

CHENNAI, India — Police in Chennai have arrested a fortune teller accused of persuading a Canadian woman of Sri Lankan Tamil origin to appear naked during video calls as part of an astrological ritual, secretly recording the calls and later using the footage to extort money and demand sex from her, police said. The suspect, Isakki Muthu, 45, was arrested in Courtallam in Tamil Nadu’s Tenkasi district after officers traced his cellphone. Police seized his phone and are investigating whether othe
September 2026
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IMF Team to Visit Sri Lanka for Seventh Review of Economic Program
Evan Papageorgiou

IMF Team to Visit Sri Lanka for Seventh Review of Economic Program

COLOMBO, Sri Lanka — An International Monetary Fund team will visit Sri Lanka this month to conduct the seventh review of the country’s economic program and assess its broader economic outlook, the Fund said. The team, led by Evan Papageorgiou, the IMF’s mission chief for Sri Lanka, will be in the country from Sept. 10 to 23 for discussions with government officials on the Seventh Review of Sri Lanka’s program under the Extended Fund Facility and the 2026 Article IV Consultation. The mission w
September 2026
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