Major stories in the Sinhala and Tamil press: Jul.14 – 20

Signposts the differences and nuances in reporting between Sinhala and Tamil language newspapers.

Over the past week, the Sinhala and Tamil press converged in relation to six main stories. The six stories were on: (i) the government’s proposals to reform the education system; (ii) the government’s tax policy and the imposition of a 30 percent tariff by the U.S.; (iii) President Anura Kumara Dissanayake’s participation at the special District Coordination Committee meetings in Hambantota and Matara; (v) the enforcement of the law against politicians of past governments; and (vi) the continuing investigations into the Easter Sunday attacks. The Sinhala press exclusively featured one main story, which was on the death of Bhathiya, a tusker, from a gunshot wound in Polpithigama. The Tamil press exclusively featured three main stories, and they were on: (i) the excavations and investigations into the Chemmani mass grave in Jaffna; (ii) the protests demanding the release of occupied lands in the North and East; and (iii) Sri Lanka’s engagement with the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk.