Special Interview

“Had Prabhakaran Accepted the International Rescue Plan, Thousands — Including Himself — Would Have Survived” — Erik Solheim

“Had Prabhakaran Accepted the International Rescue Plan, Thousands — Including Himself — Would Have Survived” — Erik Solheim

For a generation of Sri Lankans who came of age during the ceasefire years, the name Erik Solheim was never far from the headlines. As Norway’s chief peace facilitator in Sri Lanka’s conflict, he was a constant presence. For me personally, his name was woven into my teenage years. He was on the news almost daily — praised by some, vilified by others — yet always central to the unfolding drama of a country at war and searching, however briefly, for peace. Today, Solheim is known globally as an
Exclusive Interview February 2026
Aruliniyan Mahalingam

Aruliniyan Mahalingam
“Balasingham Saw the End — Prabhakaran Believed He Was Invincible”: G. L. Peiris on Sri Lanka’s Failed Peace Process

“Balasingham Saw the End — Prabhakaran Believed He Was Invincible”: G. L. Peiris on Sri Lanka’s Failed Peace Process

G. L. Peiris was at the epicentre of Sri Lanka’s peace negotiations with the LTTE and occupied senior office under three successive governments during one of the most consequential phases of the conflict. In his new book, The Sri Lanka Peace Process: An Inside View, he revisits that period with the benefit of temporal distance and retrospective clarity. In this interview with Jaffna Monitor, Peiris confronts the charge that his narrative assumes the posture of a detached observer and explains w
Exclusive Interview January 2026
Aruliniyan Mahalingam

Aruliniyan Mahalingam
“India Has Not Softened Its Position on the 13th Amendment”: Indian High Commissioner Santosh Jha Tells Jaffna Monitor

“India Has Not Softened Its Position on the 13th Amendment”: Indian High Commissioner Santosh Jha Tells Jaffna Monitor

On India’s 77th Republic Day, Jaffna Monitor sat down with Indian High Commissioner to Sri Lanka, Santosh Jha, for a wide-ranging conversation on constitutional devolution, cyclone relief, fishermen’s disputes, stalled port projects, and other key issues. Jha is no stranger to Sri Lanka's complex political terrain. He first served in Colombo from 2007 to 2010 as Counsellor at the High Commission, handling commercial and economic affairs during the critical post-conflict transition. It was durin
Exclusive Interview January 2026
Aruliniyan Mahalingam

Aruliniyan Mahalingam
“ICCR scholars have shaped Sri Lanka’s higher education landscape,” says Ankuran Dutta

“ICCR scholars have shaped Sri Lanka’s higher education landscape,” says Ankuran Dutta

Prof. (Dr.) Ankuran Dutta is an academic and public intellectual who serves as the Director of the Swami Vivekananda Cultural Centre (SVCC), the cultural arm of the High Commission of India in Sri Lanka. SVCC functions under the Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR), which oversees India’s cultural and educational outreach abroad. He recently visited Jaffna, where SVCC is a major partner of the Jaffna International Cinema Festival. In this interview with us, Prof. Dutta discusses SVCC’s
Special Interview January 2026
Our Special Correspondent

Our Special Correspondent
“My Fellow Russians, Avoid Europe and Unfriendly Countries—Visit Sri Lanka Instead,” Says Russian Ambassador Levan S. Dzhagaryan

“My Fellow Russians, Avoid Europe and Unfriendly Countries—Visit Sri Lanka Instead,” Says Russian Ambassador Levan S. Dzhagaryan

On January 5 and 6, Jaffna received a rare diplomatic visitor. Levan S. Dzhagaryan, Ambassador of the Russian Federation to Sri Lanka and the Maldives, spent two days in the Northern Province at a time when international attention is slowly returning to the region. Against this backdrop, Jaffna Monitor sat down with him for an exclusive conversation, discussing geopolitics, cultural ties, tourism, education, and Russia’s engagement with Sri Lanka’s North and East. How has your visit to Jaffna b
Special Interview January 2026
Our Special Correspondent

Our Special Correspondent
“Be it LTTE, Hamas, or ISIS — You Can’t Create a Country Through Terror”: UN Whistleblower Mukesh Kapila, Who Exposed the Darfur Genocide, Speaks to Jaffna Monitor
Prof. Mukesh Kapila

“Be it LTTE, Hamas, or ISIS — You Can’t Create a Country Through Terror”: UN Whistleblower Mukesh Kapila, Who Exposed the Darfur Genocide, Speaks to Jaffna Monitor

When Dr. Mukesh Kapila arrived in Khartoum in March 2003 as the United Nations Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator for Sudan — the UN’s most senior official in the country — he carried with him the weight of witness: Rwanda’s killing fields, Srebrenica’s mass graves, and the scarred landscapes of Afghanistan, Sierra Leone, Angola, and Myanmar. An Oxford-trained physician who once stitched wounds in Cambridge’s quiet wards, he had long since traded scalpels for cables, convinced that saving a s
November 2025 Special Interview
Kaniyan Pungundran

Kaniyan Pungundran
“We’ve Funded Temples. We’ve Funded Bullets. Maybe It’s Time We Fund Trauma Centres and Teacher Salaries”:

“We’ve Funded Temples. We’ve Funded Bullets. Maybe It’s Time We Fund Trauma Centres and Teacher Salaries”:

When entrepreneur and strategist Abbi Kanthasamy published his deeply personal essay, ''A Beacon Amidst the Bleeding: What Jaffna’s Doctors Taught Me About Life'', he may not have anticipated the resonance it would spark. Yet within hours, the piece went viral across social media — striking a nerve in a nation numbed by crisis. Born in Jaffna to a Director of Education father and a university lecturer mother, Abbi spent much of his early life in the North. Today, he is a dynamic figure in globa
June 2025 Special Interview
Our Special Correspondent

Our Special Correspondent