A Sri Lankan Diplomat
Filed under accountability, american imperialism, authoritarian regimes, centre-periphery relations, economic processes, foreign policy, governance, legal issues, life stories, Pacific Ocean politics, politIcal discourse, power politics, propaganda, security, self-reflexivity, slanted reportage, the imaginary and the real, truth as casualty of war, world events & processes
An Item from Wikipedia sent by David Sansoni of Sydney
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Robert Siddharthan Perinpanayagam, in Groundviews, 22 August 2011, where the title reads “Caste And Politics” …. An article that drew 19 comments including some responses from “Sid”… reproduced here with highlighting imposed by The Editor in circumstances where my friend “Sid” from Peradeniya days is no longer around to dispute matters … as he surely would have.
Over the years, the claims of the Tamil people for justice, equalty and dignity have been rejected with a variety of specious arguments. It is not necessary to go into these exercises here again. However, the latest attempt in this direction is to raise the issue of caste in Jaffna society. Former civil servants, who spent three or four years being de facto kings of the North, have sought to comment on this issue in many recent hero-stories that they have published in the newspapers. In these hero-stories they report not only how they defeated one departmental head or another or humiliated a hapless village headman, but how they vanquished the evil designs of the Tamils as well. Indeed everything seems to become grist to the mill of Tamil-bashing. Even a casual remark made in a cricket match is used by a famous historian to claim that the Tamils of Jaffna are cravenly caste-conscious. Off-the-cuff social commentators as well as the tribalist pundits in the newspapers have also got into this act. The implication of these commentaries is that the Sinhalese do not have the problem of castism and only Tamils do. One recent commentator is so ignorant of the political history of the island as to invoke Ponnambalam Ramanathan’s castism! It was indeed the fear of Karava ascendancy by the Goigamas that elevated Ramanathan to high stature by making him the representative of the “Educated Ceylonese” in the Legislative Council.
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The presentation of an essay in the Sinhala language on “Caste in Sinhala Society”[1] in April 2017 within Thuppahi came to the attention of Thomas Fernando in UK recently. Tommy promptly took up the challenge and is now proceeding to address the article and topic. This is his NOTE to me: “however laborious it is to plough through the Sinhala text, I hope to have a good look at this article on caste in SL as I have not read a good description on this important topic which has a very significant impact on life even today in SL.”
Batgam kulayey nivasak
Filed under accountability, ancient civilisations, caste issues, centre-periphery relations, communal relations, cultural transmission, democratic measures, demography, discrimination, economic processes, education, heritage, historical interpretation, island economy, landscape wondrous, legal issues, life stories, politIcal discourse, power politics, racist thinking, self-reflexivity, social justice, sri lankan society, travelogue, unusual people, welfare & philanthophy, working class conditions, world events & processes
Paul Gregoire in Sydney with “Sydney Lawyers” at masthead and this title = “AUKUS power are militárising Papua New Guinea in Preparation for War with China,” 16 May 2023, … ………………………. https://www.sydneycriminallawyers.com.au/blog/aukus-powers-are-militarising-papua-new-guinea-in-preparation-for-war-with-china
Journalist John Pilger’s 2017 documentary The Coming War With China warned that the US had established a “perfect noose” of 400-odd military bases surrounding China, while former Australian PM Paul Keating recently asserted that the AUKUS deal makes us part of this “containment policy”.
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Items in The Island, 19 May 2023 ….
ONE: https://island.lk/navy-takes-hold-of-smuggled-dried-sea-cucumber-and-contraband-in-kalpitiya-seas/
A search operation conducted by the Sri Lanka Navy off Sinnaarichchalai, Kalpitiya on Thursday night, led to the apprehension of 02 suspects with about 193kg of dried sea cucumber and several other contraband items which were being smuggled.
Among the recovered items were; about 193kg of dried sea cucumber, 33600 shampoo packets (6ml each), 198 balm vials (50g each), 1 A/C plant and 1 Voltage Stabilizer (230 V). The suspects, contraband items and the dinghy were taken into naval custody and were handed over to the Customs Preventive Office in Katunayake for onward legal action.
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Krishna Srinivasan’s Address in Colombo in His Capacity as Director of Asia and Pacific Department, IMF, May 15, 2023
What does this challenging global environment mean for Sri Lanka?
Sri Lanka, as you know, has been facing a severe crisis (A) involving back-to-back economic shocks. We have been deeply concerned about the impact of the crisis on the Sri Lankan people, particularly the poor and vulnerable groups, and about the economic costs arising from the delay (B) in the country’s access to external financing.
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X … with highlights imposed by The Editor, Thuppahi
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Volaare! Canrtaare! …. Wonders in This New World!
HEADLINE: “The 15-member Sri Lanka Emerging Squad has been announced for the tour of Japan.”
Former Thomian cricketer Dellon Peiris will lead the touring Sri Lankan contingent. Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) announced that as per a request made by the Japan Cricket Association, Sri Lanka Emerging Team will tour Japan during the month of May 2023. The team will leave for Japan on the 8th May.
thuppahi
