Editorial Cartoon in The Australian, 9 Septmber 2021
Category Archives: accountability
American Schemes of Global Bifurcation behind Hillman’s Story on Hambantota Port
Fair Dinkum
I am unfamiliar with the work of Jonathan E. Hillman. So, I spent time researching his background before reading this article. I wanted to read the article with an open mind. With this type of article, it is important know who the author is; what his relationship is with Sri Lanka, China and the US; the organisation he is affiliated with and what their goals are; and why did he decide to write this essay and for what purpose?
Greece may be on the fringe of the EU geographically, but it has become a key focus in the intensifying scramble for global influence. Sri Lanka could go the same way. Illustration by Henry Wong
Filed under accountability, american imperialism, authoritarian regimes, centre-periphery relations, China and Chinese influences, economic processes, foreign policy, governance, historical interpretation, Indian Ocean politics, island economy, landscape wondrous, legal issues, life stories, modernity & modernization, politIcal discourse, power politics, security, self-reflexivity, the imaginary and the real, transport and communications, truth as casualty of war, unusual people, world events & processes
The Story behind the Rise of Hambantota Port: An American Twist
Jonathan E. Hillman, 26 August 2021, whose title runs thus: “The Secret History of Hambantota” …. while the presentation here is marked by the imposition of highlights, let me prefigure the prospect of critical commentary from knowledgeable specialists sought out by Thuppahi.
If Chinese loans were cigarettes, Sri Lanka’s Hambantota Port would be the cancerous lung on the warning label. Some observers have pointed to the underperforming port and alleged that China is using “debt trap diplomacy,” loading countries up with loans and seizing strategic assets after they cannot repay. Others have argued that Sri Lanka, not China, is responsible for its debt woes. The debate is important for understanding the risks lurking in China’s Belt and Road Initiative, especially as the pandemic pushes more of China’s borrowers to the brink.
Filed under accountability, american imperialism, authoritarian regimes, centre-periphery relations, China and Chinese influences, communal relations, demography, economic processes, export issues, growth pole, historical interpretation, Indian Ocean politics, island economy, landscape wondrous, life stories, photography, politIcal discourse, power politics, security, self-reflexivity, slanted reportage, sri lankan society, the imaginary and the real, transport and communications, truth as casualty of war, unusual people, world events & processes
Comedy ‘Acts’ in the World of Wild Life
Courtesy of https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-09-03/comedy-wildlife-photography-awards-2021-finalists/100432524
………………. Continue reading
Filed under accountability, landscape wondrous, performance, photography, travelogue, wild life
Auckland Atrocities: Grounded Appraisals from Sri Lankans
I present several comments from Sri Lankans in New Zealand and Sri Lanka
A NOTE from SM in Colombo, 7 Sept 2021
It is high time for countries to cut hard on organisations promoting and practicing extremist ideologies whether they be religious, ethnic, separatist, or nationalist. The UK extended its ban on the LTTE a few days back which is a welcome development. Canada should practice what they preach. With an election round the corner, the Liberal Trudeau govt soft peddles the LTTE issue in order to garner Canadian Tamil votes. The Canadian government’s sponsorship of TGWA is a case in point.
Countries that ignore, or aid and abet violent extremism will reap what they sow.
Filed under accountability, asylum-seekers, atrocities, centre-periphery relations, communal relations, cultural transmission, discrimination, disparagement, economic processes, ethnicity, fundamentalism, governance, heritage, historical interpretation, human rights, landscape wondrous, legal issues, life stories, martyrdom, Muslims in Lanka, politIcal discourse, press freedom & censorship, self-reflexivity, Sinhala-Tamil Relations, slanted reportage, sri lankan society, taking the piss, terrorism, the imaginary and the real, tolerance, trauma, travelogue, truth as casualty of war, unusual people, vengeance, violence of language, world events & processes, zealotry
Revealing Headlines & Videos from Afghanistan
- Anthony Loyd in The Weekend Australian, 3 September 2021: “Battle is joined for Afghanistan’s never-conquered guerrilla heartland,”
- Rodger Shanahan: in The Weekend Australian, 3 September 2021: “Impacts on Western security of Afghanistan withdrawal far from settled”
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Addressing Jehan Perera’s Recent Piece on Reconciliation in Sri Lanka
Lakshman Gunasekara …. with highlighting and a cartoon imposed by The Editor, Thuppahi
What ‘re-conciliation’ ??
Jehan Perera, a very good friend and long-time colleague, at least uses the term “re-conciliation” which was intelligently adopted by the Mahinda regime at the end of the military phase of the ethnic conflict (with a resounding defeat for the LTTE). That regime conveniently picked up that word from among local liberal activists who had begun using it — taking it from South African post-Apartheid peace-building parlance.
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In Appreciation of Professor Lakshman Jayathilake, Committed Engineering Professor & Patriot
Lionel Bopage, in The Sri Lankan Guardian, Septmber 2021, where the title reads “My Indelible Memories of Professor CLV Jayathilake” …. with highlighting emphasis added by The Editor, Thuppahi
I am extremely saddened by the news I heard this morning, that Emeritus Professor CLV (Lakshman) Jayathilake, a Fellow of the Institute of Engineers, Sri Lanka, has succumbed to Covid and passed away. He has impacted my life in many ways on several occasions.
When I was studying at the Faculty of Engineering, University of Peradeniya, he was a lecturer in the Mechanical Engineering Department. I was studying for a Mechanical and Electrical combined degree in engineering, a rare combination at the time.
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Turmoil & Transformation in Afghanistan: A Sri Lankan Writer’s Assessment of the situation NOW
Lynn Ockersz, in The Island, 2 September 2021, where the title is “Power and sovereignty issues come to the fore in Afghanistan”
“More and more strength to those women and other vulnerable groups that are mustering for their rights in Afghanistan right now.” This is likely to be the wish of progressives everywhere. The enormity of their courage could be gauged from the fact that they are in direct confrontation with the Taliban who are no champions of fundamental rights. Now more than ever before, women’s organizations the world over and international progressive opinion need to rally round these protesting sections in Afghanistan.
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Western Imperialism in Retreat …. and in Vain
Filed under accountability, american imperialism, Islamic fundamentalism, landscape wondrous, life stories, military expenditure, military strategy, politIcal discourse, security, self-reflexivity, taking the piss, transport and communications, trauma, truth as casualty of war, vengeance, war crimes, war reportage, world events & processes, zealotry
