Major stories in the Sinhala and Tamil press: Feb.10 – 23

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

Over the past two weeks, the Sinhala and Tamil press converged in relation to three main stories. The three stories were on the: (i) presenting of the 2025 Appropriation Bill; (ii) investigations into the shooting of Sanjeewa Samararatne (alias Ganemulla Sanjeewa) at the Aluthkade Court Complex; and (iv) reported escalation of underworld crimes in the country. There were two main stories featured exclusively in the Sinhala press. Those were on the: (i) selling of paddy by farmers to large-scale rice mill owners despite the introduction of a controlled price for paddy by the government and (ii) island-wide power outage. The Tamil press exclusively featured four main stories, and they were on the: (i) protests regarding the contested site in Thayiddi, Jaffna; (ii) demonstration marking eight years of continuous protests by the relatives of missing persons in Kilinochchi; (iii) singing of the national anthem in Tamil during the Independence Day celebrations; and (iv) appointment of former MP M.A. Sumanthiran as the acting general secretary of the ITAK, and the reported tussle within the party.