Category Archives: anton balasingham

July 30, 2020 · 2:39 pm

Lord Naseby castigates the LTTE past … and the TGTE present … Today

Yesterday (29/07/20) in the House of Lords, Lord Naseby spoke in the debate on Global Human Rights Sanctions Regulations 2020: “My Lords, I have no problem at all with the financial aspects of this SI. I think there is a big challenge with individuals and human rights; I remember Gaddafi, Saddam Hussein and Assad, all of whose communities we interfered in at huge human cost to those communities. I want to focus, though, sadly, on the Sri Lankan Tamil Tigers—LTTE—which we proscribed in 2001. It was succeeded by the Transnational Government of Tamil Eelam—TGTE—itself proscribed in Sri Lanka. It is staffed and organised by former LTTE people and yesterday it started a legal action in the courts here in the UK to lift the proscription on the Tamil Tigers.

Continue reading →

3 Comments

Filed under accountability, anton balasingham, atrocities, authoritarian regimes, centre-periphery relations, communal relations, disparagement, education, ethnicity, female empowerment, governance, historical interpretation, insurrections, landscape wondrous, legal issues, life stories, politIcal discourse, power politics, prabhakaran, religiosity, Saivism, security, self-reflexivity, Sinhala-Tamil Relations, slanted reportage, sri lankan society, suicide bombing, Tamil civilians, Tamil migration, tamil refugees, Tamil Tiger fighters, terrorism, the imaginary and the real, trauma, unusual people, war crimes, women in ethnic conflcits, world events & processes

June 3, 2020 · 6:35 pm

The Web Site on “Sacrificial Devotion” …. Its Short Run

Recent Thuppahi entries have highlighted the Workshop on “Sacrificial Devotion” held in Adelaide University in late 2005, one framed within the concept fashioned by Michael Roberts to study and comprehend suicidal commitments to political cause. Note the ITEM

Thilipan on Fast unto death in 1987

Continue reading →

Leave a comment

Filed under accountability, anton balasingham, atrocities, authoritarian regimes, communal relations, cultural transmission, discrimination, ethnicity, fundamentalism, heritage, historical interpretation, Indian Ocean politics, insurrections, jihad, landscape wondrous, life stories, LTTE, martyrdom, politIcal discourse, power politics, prabhakaran, propaganda, psychological urges, racist thinking, religiosity, self-reflexivity, Sinhala-Tamil Relations, sri lankan society, suicide bombing, Tamil Tiger fighters, the imaginary and the real, world events & processes

April 30, 2020 · 6:34 pm

Pirapāharan the Megalomaniac: Stephen Champion’s Reading from 2007

A Composite Collection

Michael Roberts: An Introductory Note, 30 April 2020

In early April this year 2020 I came across new data – or rather, information which had bypassed me earlier – garnered by DBS Jeyaraj via his exchanges with KP Pathmanāthan[1] in KP’s capacity as the head of the international arm of the LTTE from 31 December 2008.[2] This data confirmed and elaborated on the processes of Western imperialistic intervention in Sri Lanka in 2009 as the LTTE slid to defeat.

Continue reading →

1 Comment

Filed under accountability, american imperialism, anton balasingham, authoritarian regimes, centre-periphery relations, communal relations, conspiracies, disparagement, Eelam, historical interpretation, Indian Ocean politics, landscape wondrous, law of armed conflict, legal issues, life stories, LTTE, military strategy, photography, politIcal discourse, power sharing, prabhakaran, Rajapaksa regime, self-reflexivity, Sinhala-Tamil Relations, sri lankan society, Tamil civilians, Tamil Tiger fighters, the imaginary and the real, trauma, unusual people, vengeance, war reportage, world events & processes

April 8, 2020 · 5:10 am

Rescuing the Tigers in 2009: KP, Norway and the West

It is unclear whether this item is from today in 2020 in the Daily Mirror online …. or …. from 23rd November 2012

TITLE = “LTTE Leader thwarted Oslo’s Moves for a Ceasefire in 2009”

By D.B.S. JEYARAJ
Q: The recent media exposure about an internal report compiled by the UN regarding its role and conduct in Sri Lanka has focused much attention on the final phase of the war against the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) in 2009. You also made several observations in this respect when I interviewed you in detail in 2010 for the “Daily Mirror”. In view of the media spotlight on this issue I am thinking of focusing on it again to clarify certain matters. Shall we re-visit those past events again?
Yes. I am also seeing a lot of interest in the subject again. Old things are being dug up again. As usual some facts are being suppressed or distorted by interested people. I am ready to talk about whatever I know in this so that some aspects of the truth are made known.

Continue reading →

7 Comments

Filed under accountability, american imperialism, anton balasingham, authoritarian regimes, British imperialism, conspiracies, historical interpretation, Indian General Elections, Indian Ocean politics, landscape wondrous, life stories, LTTE, military strategy, politIcal discourse, power politics, prabhakaran, Rajapaksa regime, Sinhala-Tamil Relations, sri lankan society, Tamil civilians, Tamil Tiger fighters, transport and communications, truth as casualty of war, unusual people, war reportage, world events & processes

August 3, 2019 · 7:09 am

Harvesting the Talents of the Sri Lankan Diaspora

Jeevan Thiagarajah, in Daily News, 29 July 2019, where the title is “Implementing Brain gain initiative. Our diaspora”

There is sheer waste of rich resource and benefit to Sri Lanka by our failure to tap into the rich resource available in the Sri Lankan Overseas Communities. There is no co-ordinated effort to tap into this rich willing resource. In the end what most do is undertake personal initiatives. This is what a lot of people do.There are two ways to implement the brain gain: either through the return of the expatriates to the country of origin (Return Option) or through their remote mobilization and association to its development (Diaspora Option).

Continue reading →

Leave a comment

Filed under anton balasingham, centre-periphery relations, cultural transmission, democratic measures, economic processes, governance, heritage, island economy, legal issues, life stories, modernity & modernization, politIcal discourse, rehabilitation, self-reflexivity, sri lankan society, tourism, transport and communications, welfare & philanthophy, world events & processes

November 27, 2018 · 1:15 pm

The Role of Religion in Tamil Militancy in Sri Lanka

Iselin Frydenlund, …..  which reached me via the University of Adelaide circuit and where the title is “Tamil Militancy in Sri Lanka and the Role of Religion”. It is presented here against the wishes of the author, with a change of title, modifications in the hyphenation style, the addition of illustrative photographs from my own stock and the use of coloured  highlighting to mark significant passages….. The Editor, Thuppahi

From the late 1970s to its defeat by the Government of Sri Lanka in 2009, the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) fought for Tamil independence in Sri Lanka. The ultimate aim of what was often considered to be one of the world‘s most disciplined and efficient insurgency groups was to create an independent Tamil homeland (which they called Tamil Eelam) in the northern and eastern parts of the island. The LTTE based itself on a unique mix of Tamil nationalist, socialist, and feminist visions of a new future for the marginalized Tamil communities of Sri Lanka.

Tiger fighters

Continue reading →

1 Comment

Filed under anton balasingham, art & allure bewitching, cultural transmission, historical interpretation, landscape wondrous, life stories, LTTE, martyrdom, Muslims in Lanka, nationalism, patriotism, politIcal discourse, power politics, religiosity, Saivism, Sinhala-Tamil Relations, sri lankan society, terrorism, the imaginary and the real, truth as casualty of war, unusual people, war crimes, war reportage, women in ethnic conflcits, world events & processes

September 6, 2018 · 7:55 am

Pirapāharan’s Thamilīlam, 1990-2009: Aspirations and Achievements

Michael Roberts, courtesy of Daily Mirror, 6 September 2018. where the title reads “The State of Tamil Eelam, 1990-2009″

This article is the second of those preparing the ground for a review of the new data on the last phase of Eelam War IV served up by access to the despatches of British Defence Attache Lt. Col. Gash (the first being my analysis of Pirapāharan’s strategy of assassinations). It concentrates on the character of the state of Thamilīlam­ throughout its period of existence, viz. from 1990-2009. It by-passes the pre-history when the Tamil New Tigers-become-LTTE was an incipient insurgent force competing with other Tamil militant organisations and with the GoSL and/or the IPKF for control of terrain.

Continue reading →

5 Comments

Filed under accountability, anton balasingham, communal relations, cultural transmission, doctoring evidence, economic processes, female empowerment, governance, historical interpretation, Indian Ocean politics, landscape wondrous, law of armed conflict, life stories, LTTE, military strategy, nationalism, NGOs, politIcal discourse, power politics, prabhakaran, Rajapaksa regime, security, self-reflexivity, Sinhala-Tamil Relations, sri lankan society, Tamil civilians, Tamil Tiger fighters, the imaginary and the real, truth as casualty of war, unusual people, war reportage, world events & processes

August 10, 2018 · 2:34 pm

Pirapāharan’s Inspirations and Mind-Set

Michael Roberts … being an expanded and illustrated version of an article that has been presented in the Daily Mirror = http://www.dailymirror.lk/article/Understanding-Velupillai-Pirapaharan-s-mindset-153407.html ...where it has received 1878 hits thus far

Recent revelations on the detailed course of Eelam War IV in its last phase in 2009 made possible by Lord Michael Naseby’s extraction of the contemporary readings of the battle theatre provided by the British Military Attache in Colombo, namely Lt. Col. Gash, permits one to chart specific strands of deceit and conspiratorial design perpetuated by the Western states led by USA and Norway[1] with the implicit or explicit participation of a host of humanitarian agencies, such as ICG, AI and HRW together with several agencies in Colombo.[2]

Continue reading →

7 Comments

Filed under accountability, american imperialism, anton balasingham, atrocities, governance, historical interpretation, Hitler, Indian Ocean politics, insurrections, island economy, landscape wondrous, law of armed conflict, legal issues, life stories, LTTE, modernity & modernization, nationalism, politIcal discourse, power politics, prabhakaran, Rajapaksa regime, Rajiv Gandhi, self-reflexivity, Sinhala-Tamil Relations, sri lankan society, suicide bombing, Tamil Tiger fighters, terrorism, the imaginary and the real, truth as casualty of war, unusual people, vengeance, violence of language, war reportage, world events & processes

February 9, 2018 · 9:07 am

Our Seventieth Year: Reflections on Sri Lanka’s Independence

Jehan Perera, in Island 5 Feb 2018, where the title is”How to celebrate 71st year of our independence with national unity”
article_image

This year’s Independence Day celebration was marked by a strong effort of the government to represent the diversity of the country’s people in the cultural expressions during the official events at Galle Face. In keeping with the new tradition set by the government in 2015, the national anthem was sung in both Sinhala and Tamil. But more than on previous occasions, the traditional dances and other cultural items that were conducted represented all the communities in their diversities. At the level of the people, this cultural expression represented the reality of the capital city, and also other parts, in which there is a strong representation of all the ethnic and religious communities who coexist in friendship and harmony for the most part. Continue reading →

Leave a comment

Filed under accountability, anton balasingham, centre-periphery relations, democratic measures, devolution, electoral structures, governance, historical interpretation, Indian Ocean politics, island economy, legal issues, politIcal discourse, power politics, power sharing, propaganda, self-reflexivity, Sinhala-Tamil Relations, sri lankan society, Tamil civilians, truth as casualty of war, world events & processes

October 31, 2017 · 1:30 pm

Prevent International Conventions creeping in as Law

Sriyan de Silva, Island, 17 October 2017, where the title is “Sri Lanka, International conventions and debasement of our legislative process”

Arising from Sanja de Silva Jayatilleka’s useful article, titled Government has Accepted the ICJ’s Jurisdiction over Sri Lanka [The Island, 18 September 2017], where she has stated that such acceptance is a consequence of the government’s ratification of the Convention on Enforced Disappearances, it is necessary to examine when/where Sri Lanka is legally bound by the International Conventions it has ratified. [Presumably she means the International Criminal Court and not the International Court of Justice].

Continue reading →

Leave a comment

Filed under accountability, anton balasingham, communal relations, constitutional amendments, governance, religious nationalism, Responsibility to Protect or R2P, unusual people, world events & processes