Major stories in the Sinhala and Tamil press: Aug.4 – 10

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 five main stories. The five stories were on the: (i) alleged attempts by the government to establish control over youth clubs; (ii) removal of Deshabandu Tennakoon from the office of Inspector General of Police (IGP) through a parliamentary vote; (iii) reduction of the U.S. reciprocal tariff to 20 percent; (iv) misuse of the President’s Fund by politicians of past governments; and (v) enforcement of the law against politicians of past governments on charges of corruption. The Sinhala press exclusively featured two main stories, and they were on the: (i) debate over the financial records of the SupremeSAT company and (ii) Yatinuwara Pradeshiya Sabha opposition leader reportedly murdering two family members before dying by suicide. The Tamil press exclusively featured four main stories, and they were on the: (i) ongoing excavations at the Chemmani mass grave in Jaffna and the investigations into the skeletal remains uncovered in Sampur, Trincomalee; (ii) plans to enact a new constitution and amend or repeal the Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA) and the Online Safety Act (OSA); (iii) demands to demilitarise the North and East by releasing lands occupied by the military and the plans to hold a hartal on August 15; and (iv) escalating humanitarian crisis in Gaza amidst the ongoing Palestine-Israel conflict.