Category Archives: insurrections

January 21, 2025 · 12:51 am

Victor Ivan, RIP: …. The Wikipedia Memo on Victor

Michael Roberts,

 I got to know Victor at a convivial session at Ananda Chittambalam’s house in Bambalapitiya in 1989. Our common interests in the island’s history and its tempestuous present meant that we kept in sporadic touch. I have his illustrated book PARADISE IN TEARS  …. and I will present a Vale as well as items referring to his articles and work in Thuppahi. His demise at a relatively early age is a blow to all Sri Lankan patriots.

WIKIPEDIA

Majuwana Kankanamage Victor Ivan (Sinhala: මාජුවානා කන්කානම්ගේ වික්ටර් අයිවන්; 26 June 1949 – 19 January 2025) was a Sri Lankan journalist. He was a Marxist rebel in his youth and later became the Editor of the controversial Sinhalese newspaper Ravaya. He served as the Editor of Ravaya for 25 years consecutively from its inception. Victor was an investigative journalist, political critic, a theorist, social activist and also an author of several books.

Continue reading →

1 Comment

Filed under accountability, authoritarian regimes, caste issues, centre-periphery relations, citizen journalism, communal relations, cultural transmission, democratic measures, economic processes, education, governance, historical interpretation, insurrections, island economy, JVP, language policies, Left politics, life stories, modernity & modernization, nationalism, parliamentary elections, patriotism, political demonstrations, politIcal discourse, power politics, self-reflexivity, Sinhala-Tamil Relations, social justice, sri lankan society, unusual people

January 21, 2025 · 12:00 am

Kittu as LTTE Commander: A Violent, Tempestuous History

DBS Jeyaraj in The Daily Mirror,  20 January 2025, where the title reads “How Tiger ‘Col’ Kittu lost a leg when a bomb was thrown at him in Jaffna”

Former Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) Jaffna District Commander Sathasivamillai Krishnakumar alias ‘Col’ Kittu was regarded as the uncrowned king of Jaffna in the mid-eighties of the twentieth century. The greater part of Jaffna peninsula was under LTTE control then. This state of affairs [received] a rude shock when an unknown person lobbed a bomb into the vehicle driven by Kittu. The incident which rocked Jaffna in 1987 resulted in the Tiger commander losing a leg. The third part of this article focuses primarily on matters related to that explosive incident.

Continue reading →

Leave a comment

Filed under atrocities, authoritarian regimes, centre-periphery relations, communal relations, discrimination, Eelam, ethnicity, historical interpretation, insurrections, legal issues, life stories, LTTE, military strategy, nationalism, patriotism, performance, politIcal discourse, power politics, prabhakaran, self-reflexivity, Sinhala-Tamil Relations, sri lankan society, Tamil civilians, Tamil Tiger fighters, trauma, truth as casualty of war, unusual people, vengeance, war reportage, world events & processes, zealotry

January 12, 2025 · 1:54 pm

The Maaveerar Dead as A Perpetual Inspiration For Eelam

Mario Arulthas, in Al-Jazeera,  9 January 2025 …. with highlightinging emphasia imposed by The Editor, Thuppahi

The Maaveerar Dead as A Perpetual Inspiration For Eelam

The nationwide electoral success of the anti-establishment NPP does not mean Tamil nationalism is on the decline.

An election official holding a ballot box gets off the bus outside a vote counting centre after the voting ended for the parliamentary election in Colombo, Sri Lanka, November 14, 2024 [Thilina Kaluthotage/Reuters]

“They’re trampling on our graves with their boots,” said Kavitha, a Tamil woman, as the torrential rain lashing our faces washed away her tears. Standing barefoot and ankle-deep in mud at the site of a former cemetery in Visuvamadu, Sri Lanka, she was lamenting the adjacent military base built on the graves of fallen Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) fighters, including that of her brother.

Continue reading →

Leave a comment

Filed under accountability, anti-racism, authoritarian regimes, centre-periphery relations, chauvinism, communal relations, cultural transmission, democratic measures, disparagement, economic processes, education, Eelam, electoral structures, ethnicity, fundamentalism, governance, heritage, historical interpretation, Indian Ocean politics, insurrections, language policies, legal issues, life stories, LTTE, military strategy, parliamentary elections, patriotism, political demonstrations, politIcal discourse, power politics, power sharing, prabhakaran, propaganda, racist thinking, religiosity, self-reflexivity, Sinhala-Tamil Relations, slanted reportage, sri lankan society, Tamil civilians, Tamil migration, Tamil Tiger fighters, terrorism, the imaginary and the real, trauma, truth as casualty of war, unusual people, vengeance, war reportage, world events & processes, zealotry

November 25, 2024 · 6:00 pm

Tamil Tiger Maaveerar Rallies Crop Up Again in Australia

A Circular Memo that reached the Thuppahiyaa, 25 November 2024

Big Tiger Event this week in every major city in Australia – share with Sri Lankans Aussies. ………….Please see the attached document and once you have read the contents, consider these actions:

  1. Download the pdf attachment. Starting a new email (instead of forwarding this), send the pdf version via email to your local federal MP and Senators of your state. Their email addresses can be found here (some have not given their emails so you will have to use the online form or call the office and get an email address): https://www.aph.gov.au/Senators_and_Members Maaveer celebration ….

Continue reading →

Leave a comment

Filed under accountability, atrocities, centre-periphery relations, chauvinism, communal relations, counter-insurgency, doctoring evidence, Eelam, ethnicity, fundamentalism, governance, historical interpretation, human rights, insurrections, law of armed conflict, legal issues, life stories, LTTE, martyrdom, military strategy, patriotism, performance, photography, politIcal discourse, power politics, racism, religious nationalism, sea warfare, security, self-reflexivity, Sinhala-Tamil Relations, slanted reportage, sri lankan society, suicide bombing, Tamil civilians, Tamil migration, tamil refugees, Tamil Tiger fighters, terrorism, trauma, truth as casualty of war, vengeance, violence of language, war reportage, world events & processes, zealotry

November 20, 2024 · 9:35 pm

Gerald Peiris: A Lifetime of Wide-Ranging Research & Service

These are but some of his publications over a career spanning the 1950s to 2020s — with eyesight deterioration blighting his last platform of life. No more table tennis, but much to remember. So, here. let me doff my cap to thee, Gerry Machang, …. Mike

Continue reading →

2 Comments

Filed under art & allure bewitching, centre-periphery relations, commoditification, communal relations, counter-insurgency, cultural transmission, democratic measures, demography, devolution, economic processes, Eelam, electoral structures, ethnicity, governance, growth pole, heritage, historical interpretation, Indian Ocean politics, insurrections, irrigation, island economy, land policies, landscape wondrous, language policies, law of armed conflict, legal issues, life stories, LTTE, military strategy, modernity & modernization, Muslims in Lanka, nationalism, parliamentary elections, patriotism, politIcal discourse, population, power politics, power sharing, prabhakaran, rehabilitation, security, self-reflexivity, Sinhala-Tamil Relations, social justice, sri lankan society, Tamil civilians, tamil refugees, Tamil Tiger fighters, teaching profession, terrorism, transport and communications, truth as casualty of war, UN reports, unusual people, war crimes, war reportage, welfare & philanthophy, working class conditions, world events & processes, zealotry

November 12, 2024 · 12:46 am

Rajiv Gandhi’s Reasoning behind the IPKF Operation

Madhur Sharma, in Outlook.com, 28 November 2022, where the title runs thus “Why Rajiv Gandhi Sent IPKF To Sri Lanka And How LTTE Played Both Sides” .… with highlighting imposed by The Editor, Thuppahi

Former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi signed the Indo-Sri Lanka Accord with Sri Lankan President Junius Richard Jayawardene in 1987. Under the pact, the Indian military was deployed as the Indian Peace Keeping Force (IPKF) to Sri Lanka. Soon after the deployment, the circumstances changed and IPKF was engaged in combat by the Tamil armed group LTTE.

Rajiv Gandhi with Anton Balasingham, Pirapaharan & AN Other in India ….. and Pirapahrana & MGR chat in South India

Continue reading →

1 Comment

Filed under accountability, authoritarian regimes, centre-periphery relations, communal relations, counter-insurgency, Eelam, ethnicity, foreign policy, governance, historical interpretation, Indian Ocean politics, insurrections, island economy, language policies, legal issues, life stories, LTTE, military strategy, nationalism, political demonstrations, politIcal discourse, power politics, prabhakaran, Rajapaksa regime, security, Sinhala-Tamil Relations, sri lankan society, tamil refugees, Tamil Tiger fighters, trauma, truth as casualty of war, unusual people, vengeance, world events & processes, zealotry

November 11, 2024 · 8:19 pm

Brig. Halangode’s Random Thoughts on the Eelam Wars

AN INTRODUCTORY NOTE by Michael Roberts, 11 November 2024

Brig Retd Hiran Halangode sent me the Memorandum presented below as a RESPONSE to one of my reprinted articles on ‘’Religious Strands in the SL Tamil Rebellions of the 1970s to 2009.’’[1] As indicated by him, the memo presents a series of desultory thoughts and do not amount to a thorough-going academic essay. However, they serve as an incentive towards reflection. I have taken the liberty of inserting highlights to spotlight especially significant or controversial thoughts.

SL Army troops in defensive positions in the Vanni circa 2008

 

BRIG. HIRAN HALANGODE (retd) in Response to MR On Fri, Nov 8, 2024 …… presenting …… https://thuppahis.com/2022/10/02/religion-within-tamil-militancy-and-the-ltte/

Hi Michael,

An excellent effort. I have a few points which may be of interest to you. Random thoughts in fact.

Continue reading →

1 Comment

Filed under accountability, authoritarian regimes, centre-periphery relations, communal relations, counter-insurgency, demography, devolution, ethnicity, historical interpretation, insurrections, law of armed conflict, life stories, LTTE, martyrdom, military strategy, nationalism, patriotism, photography, politIcal discourse, power politics, prabhakaran, religiosity, security, self-reflexivity, Sinhala-Tamil Relations, slanted reportage, sri lankan society, Tamil civilians, Tamil migration, Tamil Tiger fighters, terrorism, trauma, truth as casualty of war, vengeance, war crimes, war reportage, world events & processes, zealotry

November 2, 2024 · 11:55 pm

Remembering Professor Margaret Trawick,  American Anthropologist in Tamil Lanka

N. Malathy =  Obituary,  7 January 2022 … ”Margaret Trawick Wanted to Retire in the LTTE’s Vanni”

I first heard about Margaret Trawick through the “Tamil Circle” email group during the late 1990’s. This was before internet-based news sites had become common. ‘Tamil Circle” was a way to share news about the homeland. From a university library, I borrowed Margaret’s book cum her PhD thesis, “Notes on Love in a Tamil Family”, which was based on her anthropological work in Tamil Nadu. That was the beginning of my journey to understand my own society. Margaret’s book taught me a lot about the anthropological perspective of societies, a perspective that the science-focused Tamil elite of my generation lacks. It remains a weakness of my society.

Version 1.0.0

Continue reading →

Leave a comment

Filed under centre-periphery relations, communal relations, Eelam, ethnicity, female empowerment, historical interpretation, insurrections, life stories, LTTE, politIcal discourse, self-reflexivity, Sinhala-Tamil Relations, sri lankan society, Tamil civilians, Tamil Tiger fighters, trauma, travelogue, world events & processes, zealotry

October 14, 2024 · 7:38 pm

Justice: Another Opportunity Lost

A DailyFT item, 14 October 2024, entitled “Another Lost Opportunity”

The new administration of President Anura Kumara Dissanayake lost yet another opportunity in the international stage to rectify past wrongs and charter a new course. This time at the UN Human Rights Council (HRC), keeping with the policies of the Rajapaksa-Wickremesinghe administrations, the Government rejected international efforts to deliver justice for the tens of thousands of victims of State atrocities. 

Continue reading →

Leave a comment

Filed under accountability, atrocities, authoritarian regimes, communal relations, conspiracies, democratic measures, discrimination, doctoring evidence, ethnicity, historical interpretation, human rights, insurrections, Left politics, legal issues, life stories, LTTE, Muslims in Lanka, news fabrication, politIcal discourse, power politics, rehabilitation, self-reflexivity, Sinhala-Tamil Relations, slanted reportage, social justice, sri lankan society, Tamil civilians, terrorism, the imaginary and the real, truth as casualty of war, vengeance, war crimes, war reportage, world events & processes, zealotry

October 13, 2024 · 5:07 pm

Nishan Vellupillai Slams A Goal for the Socceroos

NISHAN VELUPILLAI  …. of Sri Lankan TAMIL migrant stock is now a member of the Socceroos and scored one  of the goals against China at the Adelaide Oval

ALAS I was not present because slow on the ticket uptake [it was a sell-out]

https://news.sbisiali.com/en/news/article/australia-sweeps-china-to-continue-journey-to-2026-world-cup

 

https://www.socceroos.com.au/news/tony-popovic-socceroos-squad-theyre-quality-players

ALSO see = https://www.elanka.com.au/23-yo-sri-lankan-tamil-origin-nishan-velupillay-scores-for-australia-in-the-asian-world-cup-q

 ​PS …. he is not related to VELUPILLAI PIRAPAHARAN aka PRABHAKARAN …. though both are good shooters 

Continue reading →

Leave a comment

Filed under accountability, ethnicity, historical interpretation, insurrections, landscape wondrous, life stories, LTTE, martyrdom, nationalism, performance, politIcal discourse, power politics, prabhakaran, self-reflexivity, Sinhala-Tamil Relations, sri lankan society, Tamil migration, Tamil Tiger fighters, trauma, unusual people, world events & processes, zealotry