Category Archives: Eelam

June 13, 2022 · 9:12 pm

Gamini Goonetilleke’s Medical Services Across Battle Zones during the Eelam Wars

Vijitha Yapa, reviewing The Extra Mile …. with highlighting emphasis imposed by The Editor Thuppahi

The ‘ethnic conflict’ in Sri Lanka had another side to it: writers in uniform whose existence was known only by a name in some instances have come forward to record their memoirs. General Kamal Gunaratne, now Secretary of Defence, led the way with his classic Road to Nandikadal. The book estab­lished records and remains a bestseller as he wrote not only about victories, but also mistakes made – and what really went on in the army.

However, the book authored by Dr. Gamini Goonetilleke explains how he didn’t fight the same war with guns, but syringes and a surgeon’s skills instead.

Continue reading →

1 Comment

Filed under authoritarian regimes, charitable outreach, Eelam, ethnicity, heritage, historical interpretation, human rights, landscape wondrous, law of armed conflict, life stories, medical marvels, meditations, performance, politIcal discourse, rehabilitation, self-reflexivity, Sinhala-Tamil Relations, sri lankan society, Tamil Tiger fighters, trauma, unusual people

April 28, 2022 · 1:03 am

Anzac Day, 25th April. Dying for Country ….. Sacrificial Devotion

Michael Roberts

On the 25th of April, ANZAC DAY, Australia honoured its war dead in ceremonies large and small throughout the country. This moment has been marked every year –beginning with a ceremony in London in 1916 which recognised the deadly toll and the bravery shown on the Gallipoli Peninsula in Turkey where so many colonial Aussies fought … and died … on behalf of the British state (their “mother-country” to many Aussies then).

Continue reading →

Leave a comment

Filed under accountability, Australian culture, australian media, centre-periphery relations, cultural transmission, Eelam, ethnicity, governance, heritage, historical interpretation, jihad, landscape wondrous, law of armed conflict, life stories, LTTE, martyrdom, military strategy, modernity & modernization, nationalism, patriotism, politIcal discourse, power politics, prabhakaran, religiosity, self-reflexivity, Sinhala-Tamil Relations, sri lankan society, Tamil Tiger fighters, the imaginary and the real, unusual people, vengeance, war reportage, world events & processes

March 17, 2022 · 6:25 pm

A Tamil Tiger Migrant who Dares to Differ

Sabaratnam Sundaramoorthy

The book, Dare to Differ, is a short account of the long struggle of the Tamils to establish a separate state. It is written from the point of view of a Tamil expatriate living in Australia. The author is well equipped to write this account as he was an active member of the pro-LTTE Tamil diaspora which was the second front opened by the Tamil separatists. The Australian branch of the Tamil diaspora was a leading contributor to the cause. As a political activist and sympathiser of his people, he had close access to leading members of the LTTE. This has enabled him to give an insider’s view of some of the events that shaped the movement. His interactions with the Tamil leaders are revealing. His narrative runs smoothly. It is a MUST read for anyone interested in understanding the role played by the Tamil diaspora in the LTTE struggle.

2 Comments

Filed under accountability, authoritarian regimes, centre-periphery relations, communal relations, discrimination, economic processes, Eelam, ethnicity, governance, historical interpretation, insurrections, language policies, life stories, LTTE, martyrdom, military strategy, nationalism, politIcal discourse, power sharing, prabhakaran, self-reflexivity, Sinhala-Tamil Relations, slanted reportage, sri lankan society, Tamil migration, tamil refugees, Tamil Tiger fighters, truth as casualty of war, unusual people, vengeance, war reportage, world events & processes

February 14, 2022 · 5:04 pm

Penetration: Tammita-Delgoda’s Essays on Eelam War IV

SELECT REFERENCES: WRITNGS FROM TAMMITA-DELGODA

Tammita-Delgoda, S. 2009 “The Casualties of Sri Lanka’s Brutal Civil War,” 16 April 2009, https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/asia/the-casualties-of-sri-lankas-brutal-civil-war-1669280.html

Tammita-Delgoda, S. 2009 “Sri Lanka: The Last Phase in Eelam War IV. From Chundikulam to Pudukulam,” New Delhi: Centre for Land Warfare, Manekshaw Paper No. 13, http://www.claws.in/administrator/uploaded_files/1274263403MP%2022.pdf

Continue reading →

Leave a comment

Filed under accountability, Eelam, ethnicity, historical interpretation, human rights, insurrections, landscape wondrous, law of armed conflict, life stories, LTTE, martyrdom, military strategy, nationalism, NGOs, patriotism, photography, politIcal discourse, security, self-reflexivity, Sinhala-Tamil Relations, sri lankan society, suicide bombing, Tamil civilians, Tamil Tiger fighters, terrorism, trauma, truth as casualty of war, war reportage, world events & processes, zealotry

February 9, 2022 · 10:15 am

Addressing Sri Lanka’s Future in June 2009

Michael Roberts, reprinting here an article that appeared in FRONTLINE vol. 26/12, 19 June 2009 … with this title “Some Pillars for Lanka’s Future”

“One can win the War, but lose the Peace” — A cliche this may be, but it is also a hoary truism that looms over the post-war scenario in Sri Lanka. The triumphant Sri Lankan government now [must] address the human terrain rather than the fields of battle.

 

Continue reading →

Leave a comment

Filed under accountability, authoritarian regimes, centre-periphery relations, communal relations, cultural transmission, democratic measures, demography, devolution, discrimination, economic processes, education policy, Eelam, electoral structures, ethnicity, governance, heritage, historical interpretation, island economy, landscape wondrous, language policies, legal issues, life stories, LTTE, modernity & modernization, plural society, politIcal discourse, power politics, power sharing, prabhakaran, Rajapaksa regime, reconciliation, rehabilitation, self-reflexivity, Sinhala-Tamil Relations, sri lankan society, suicide bombing, Tamil civilians, tamil refugees, Tamil Tiger fighters, the imaginary and the real, truth as casualty of war, UN reports, vengeance, war reportage, welfare & philanthophy, world events & processes

February 7, 2022 · 10:28 pm

A Crunch Situation at Nandhikadal, April-May 2009: The Stark Realities of War

Michael Roberts, reprinting an article entitled “Realties of War” and drafted in late April or early May 2009  following an invitation from Muralidhar Reddy (the Frontline correspondent in Colombo).… and now retrieved for me by my old schoolmate KK De Silva *** 

WITH the LTTE cornered and restricted to a tiny patch of isthmus beside Nanthi Kadal Lagoon ever since April 6 [2009], the world has witnessed a menagerie of world leaders playing the game throw egg on my face.

Tamil civilians who succeeded in fleeing their trapped situation at night are seen assembled by the SL Navy in safe territory Continue reading →

3 Comments

Filed under accountability, atrocities, communal relations, Eelam, historical interpretation, landscape wondrous, life stories, LTTE, military strategy, performance, photography, politIcal discourse, power politics, prabhakaran, Rajapaksa regime, security, self-reflexivity, Sinhala-Tamil Relations, sri lankan society, Tamil civilians, tamil refugees, Tamil Tiger fighters, trauma, truth as casualty of war, unusual people, war reportage, world events & processes

February 3, 2022 · 7:56 pm

Anuk Arudpragasam’s Book reviewed by Ru Freeman

Ru Freeman, reviewing Anuk Arudpragasam’s “The Story of a Brief Marriage,” published: 6th July 2017, …. ISBN: 9781783782383, pp 208

War is a constant wellspring of literature, and the best of it looks not for the obvious and sensationally violent, but instead searches for the subtle ways that life unfolds regardless. WhileSri Lankans writing in Sinhala and Tamil have long borne nuanced witness to the country’s three decades of civil war, writing in English has been much slower to respond. And too much of it hastaken the easy route, giving a foreign readership what it desires: a voyeuristic, and ultimatelyunengaged, affirmation of what it believes is true of savage peoples in other countries.

 

 

Continue reading →

Leave a comment

Filed under accountability, asylum-seekers, atrocities, authoritarian regimes, communal relations, Eelam, ethnicity, governance, historical interpretation, human rights, IDP camps, landscape wondrous, life stories, literary achievements, military strategy, performance, photography, politIcal discourse, Rajapaksa regime, refugees, self-reflexivity, sri lankan society, Tamil civilians, tamil refugees, the imaginary and the real, trauma, unusual people, war reportage, welfare & philanthophy, world events & processes, zealotry

October 22, 2021 · 7:53 pm

LTTE Activists at Work in Britain, 2021 …. stirring both Labour and Tories

Maya Anthony, in Ceylon Today, 14 October 2021,where the title reads  “The LTTE Born Again; Second-Generation Terrorists”

The remnants of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) are regrouping in the UK. Like Osama bin Laden groomed Hamza bin Laden to succeed him, the LTTE leaders and members are grooming their own children. Prabhakaran too set an example by training and grooming his children; Charles Anthony, Dwarka and Balachandran. To radicalise their next generation, the separatists are promoting a false narrative. Using funds and votes, the terrorists are planning to penetrate both the Labour and Conservative Parties in the UK. 

Continue reading →

1 Comment

Filed under accountability, chauvinism, communal relations, Eelam, ethnicity, fundamentalism, heritage, insurrections, legal issues, life stories, LTTE, martyrdom, political demonstrations, politIcal discourse, power politics, prabhakaran, security, self-reflexivity, Sinhala-Tamil Relations, sri lankan society, Tamil civilians, Tamil migration, tamil refugees, Tamil Tiger fighters, terrorism, truth as casualty of war, unusual people, vengeance, war crimes, war reportage, world events & processes

October 10, 2021 · 1:40 pm

When Tamilnadu’s LTTE Stalwarts attacked Thiru Nadesan at Rameswaram Temple in 2012 –DBS Jeyaraj

 D.B.S.Jeyaraj, in his website on 9th October 2021 with the following title “Revisiting the Attack on Thirukumar Nadesan in India”

Though Thirukumar Nadesan is a well-known businessman, it was the Rajapaksa connection of his spouse Nirupama that captured headlines in national and international media

Continue reading →

Leave a comment

Filed under accountability, art & allure bewitching, chauvinism, citizen journalism, communal relations, cultural transmission, discrimination, disparagement, Eelam, ethnicity, heritage, historical interpretation, Indian Ocean politics, Indian traditions, insurrections, landscape wondrous, legal issues, life stories, LTTE, pilgrimages, political demonstrations, politIcal discourse, power politics, Rajapaksa regime, religiosity, Saivism, self-reflexivity, Sinhala-Tamil Relations, slanted reportage, Sri Lankan scoiety, taking the piss, Tamil migration, terrorism, trauma, travelogue, unusual people, vengeance, war reportage, wikileaks, world events & processes

October 3, 2021 · 5:06 pm

Reflections on the Commentary on “Sinhala Mindset”

Michael Roberts

When I set up the THUPPAHI WEBSITE in late 2009 I imprinted two project statements: one entitled “WHY THUPPAHI”;[1] the other bearing the heading ‘SINHALA MINDSET.” Readers can access these two items via the sub-headings within the website – so I will not reiterate the latter here.

This set of project statements was crafted after the LTTE-led drive to create an independent SL Tamil nation state had been defeated over the course of Eelam War IV. I had been in Colombo from April-mid-June 2009, so I had vivid experiences of the last stages of this ‘encounter’ and the triumphant sentiments expressed in the Colombo area when the war was won. More vitally, I had been commissioned by Muralidhar Reddy,[2] the correspondent from the Hindu newspaper chain based in Colombo to present analytic essays for their magazine FRONTLINE.

Continue reading →

1 Comment

Filed under accountability, atrocities, centre-periphery relations, communal relations, conspiracies, devolution, economic processes, education, Eelam, ethnicity, female empowerment, governance, historical interpretation, land policies, language policies, life stories, LTTE, military strategy, nationalism, patriotism, politIcal discourse, power politics, power sharing, prabhakaran, security, self-reflexivity, Sinhala-Tamil Relations, sri lankan society, Tamil civilians, Tamil Tiger fighters, transport and communications, trauma, truth as casualty of war, unusual people, vengeance, world events & processes, zealotry