Category Archives: LTTE

October 15, 2016 · 8:32 am

Tirimanne’s and Kohona’s Talks at GENEVA AND YOU …..for You Sri Lankans

Supplementing the previous presentations (see Bibliography at end) and presenting textual versions of speeches also available on YouTube…. Emphasis has been tacked on by the Editor via highlighting.

geneva-and-you gyou-11

ONE:  Fr. Vimal Tirimanne

“There is neither legal nor moral justification for ‘War Crime’ probes in Sri Lanka” In this presentation, I wish to point out that the so-called “international” probe on the internal affairs of Sri Lanka, namely, the defeating militarily of what the FBI called “the most ruthless terrorist organization in the world” has neither legal nor moral justification. Thereafter, a word about the need to be doubly cautious when we use negatively loaded terms such as “genocide”, “war crimes”. Finally, I would point out that the enigmatic role played by the present Sri Lankan government at the UNHRC with regard to the “war crimes” episode is bound to boomerang on Sri Lanka as a nation, sooner or later. Continue reading →

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October 10, 2016 · 10:35 am

Homemade Culinary Art in Surviving the Eelam Wars

Vidya Balachander, 9 October 2016, whose chosen title is. “Cookbook Tells The Story Of Sri Lanka’s Civil War Through Food.” ….…. http://www.npr.org/sections/thesalt/2016/10/09/496867198/cookbook-tells-the-story-of-sri-lanka-s-civil-war-through-food

Even if you knew nothing about Vijaya, her haunting portrait would likely give you pause. She peers out of the page, unsmiling, her silver hair pulled back and her eyes conveying an unspoken anguish. From the accompanying narrative, we learn that a few years ago, almost overnight, Vijaya became her granddaughter Anjali’s primary caretaker. Her daughter, Gayathri, set out to find nutritious food for the family amidst heavy shelling, at the violent end of Sri Lanka’s decades-long civil war, and never returned home. In the years since, money has been scarce and fresh vegetables in limited supply. But Vijaya and her granddaughter survived on creamy, coconut milk-laced sothis, mild gravies that act as soothing antidotes to the scorching cuisine of Sri Lanka’s Tamil-dominated north. Sothis are a common part of everyday meals. But seen through the lens of war — and Vijaya’s lingering loss — this simple side dish acquires a new depth.

aa-vijaya After losing her daughter during the war, Vijaya cares for her granddaughter Anjali. Despite not being able to afford freshvegetables, she cooks nourishing sothis or stews made of coconut milk.–Palmera

It is this exploration of food — both as a source of sustenance and a repository of memories — in the context of war that makes Handmade, a cookbook published by Palmera, a not-for-profit organization based in Australia, different from the other Sri Lankan cookbooks to have come out in recent times. Continue reading →

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October 9, 2016 · 2:36 pm

Palitha Kohona’s Review of USA’s Relations with Sri Lanka, 1948-2016

palitha_kohona-blogs-uvu-eduPalitha Kohona, courtesy of the International Press Syndicate, October 2016, where the title is “Sri Lanka and the US – The Past, the Present and the Future.”  Kohona’s sub-titles are in red.  Emphasisin blue highlighting has beena dded by the Editor, Thuppahi.

Sri Lanka’s relations with the US go back a long way and have encompassed many different areas of interest. These have mostly enriched the relationship. In recent times, the bilateral relationship has undergone considerable stress. As to whether Sri Lanka occupied the central attention of US foreign policy makers to any significant degree in the past, or even at present, can be the subject of a useful discussion, perhaps after a few glasses of good Californian wine. But for Sri Lanka, the US has been a vital foreign policy concern, especially in the recent past. A brief survey of the relationship in the past reveals that the US established a consulate in Galle as far back as 1857, at a time when many of the countries with embassies in Colombo today, did not even exist as countries. Then, the main interest of the US was the need to provide consular services to the US whaling fleet operating in the Indian Ocean. Continue reading →

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October 5, 2016 · 1:20 pm

Rathika Pathmanathan Face-to-Face and Woman-to-Woman

Frances Bulathsinghala, courtesy of Daily FT, 5 October 2016, where the title reads “Facing the past, bridging the divide” ... with emphasis inblue highlghts added by the Editor, Thuppahi.

The life of 25-year-old Rathika Pathmanathan is a testimony of a post-war nation at the crossroads. She has lived the hideous gore of war, bloodied trenches and is now living the possibilities of peace. She has dared to trust and she has dared to forgive.  In her book ‘There is a Darkness Called Light and I Grope for Myself in the Thick of It,’ published in English, Sinhala and Tamil, recounts her days as a teenaged fighter in the LTTE frontlines of the last phase of the war; the nights and days of starvation in the trenches, the excruciating combat training, the loss of family and the new world of Colombo where she arrived for medical treatment for the leg she almost lost. Seated in the small, sparsely-furnished room she occupies on rent in a remote Sinhala majority suburb in the outer periphery of Colombo, Rathika speaks of wanting to rebuild her life, to study and most of all to actively work towards reconciliation in Sri Lanka, a task she is engaged in at present through her book and as an activist.

rathika

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October 4, 2016 · 7:55 pm

Mahinda Rajapaksa commences Process of Losing the Peace, May-June 2009

Michael Roberts, drafted on 23rd May and printed in  Frontline, 26/12 of 6-19 June 2009. The original title was “Some Pillars for Lanka’s Future.” The reproduction here has been supplemented by the use of highlighting colours in blue and red… and different pictorial illustrations to that in Frontline.

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 has to address the human terrain rather than the fields of battle. In facing this challenge, both government and people concerned must attend to another truism: as Sinnappah Arasaratnam pointed out long ago, extremisms have been feeding off each other and undermining political compromise in Sri Lanka over a long period of time. Now, apart from the well-known Sinhala chauvinist forces outside and within the Rajapaksa government, we must attend to the Tamil chauvinist forces in the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) and elsewhere in Sri Lanka, in Tamil Nadu and in the ranks of the vociferous Sri Lankan Tamil diaspora across the world. These forces have to be undermined.

mr-and-statuesmr-proudmr-as-raja

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October 4, 2016 · 6:48 pm

Murali Reddy evaluates the Ram-Rajapaksa Conversation in July 2009

B. Muralidhar Reddy in Frontline, Volume 26 – Issue 15 :: Jul. 18-31, 2009, where the title is “Sri Lanka — A New Dawn? ... emphasis is the hand of The editor, Thuppahi

“The fast-moving developments in the country since the end of the war seem to show that the President’s strategy is working.”

redyy-on-mr-and-gsl-plans-july-2009President Mahinda Rajapaksa and Prime Minister Ratnasiri Wickremanayake at the all-party meeting called by the government—Pic by Eranga Jaywardena

THE pieces of the jigsaw puzzle of what could be the future of post-Prabakaran Sri Lanka appear to be falling into place. A three-hour, no-holds-barred interview of President Mahinda Rajapaksa to N. Ram, Editor-in-Chief of The Hindu group of publications, on the evening of June 30 appears to throw up several pieces that could fit into the puzzle.

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October 4, 2016 · 2:58 pm

Mahinda Rajapaksa meets “The Hindu” in July 2009

I. Preamble by Michael Roberts

I was in Colombo from mid-April 2009 to early June and observed the local coverage of Eelam War IV at its bitter end. I was invited by Muralidhar Reddy[i] to write articles for Frontline on aspects of the politics surrounding the war. Though Frontline is a magazine produced by The Hindu consortium, I was not a regular follower of that newspaper on web — even though I had once been introduced to its owner and chief executive, N. Ram, way back in time by Chandra Schafter and had also had an extended chat with him in Delhi in 1995.[ii]

n_ram_20120625_350_630 N Ram talking to Mahinda Rajapaksa, mid-2009 mahinda-with-ram

Thus the receipt of a Hindu report on President Mahinda Rajapaksa’s thoughts in mid-2009, expressed in an extended session with him conducted by N. Ram, serves up new material from my position. In step with my policy of raising significant episodes in the course of Eelam War IV to public notice,[iii] I  hasten to place this exchange in the public domain. Continue reading →

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October 4, 2016 · 1:17 pm

The Geneva Juggernaut and the Yahapalanaya Complicity

gyou-11A Panel Discussion entitled “Geneva and You” was organized by the civil society group Sri Lanka Inc. on 29th September 2016 at the Sri Lanka Foundation institute. The event aimed to educate people about the US led UNHRC Resolution which was co-sponsored by Sri Lanka by exploring the events surrounding the adoption of the resolution and its possible impacts on Sri Lanka as a whole. In this manner the aim was to stimulate discussions on the issues developing from this process.

The line-up of panelists expressed concerns about the nature of events surrounding its adoption and current setting. While all the panelists agreed on the negative aspects of the resolution, views differed on the overall reality behind its adoption and ultimate implementation. The event was chaired by Chamithri Rambukwella, former 2nd Secretary to the Permanent Mission to the UN in New York. The speakers and panelists were Natasha Gooneratne Maurice, Fr. Vimal Tirimanne, Chris Dharmakirti, Dr Palitha Kohona and Dr. Dayan Jaytilleka.

gyou-11-rambukwellaChamithri Rambukwella opens the panel  gyou-11-audienceA segment of the audience

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October 3, 2016 · 3:05 pm

Extremisms in Lanka and Worldwide

Rajan Philips,  courtesy of The Island, 1 October 2016, where the title is “With the West sneezing extremism, can Sri Lanka and others avoid catching cold?” .… Emphasis vvia highlighting is from The Editor,Thuppahi.

FILE - In this Sept. 16, 2013 file photo, Donald Trump appears on the "Fox & friends" television program in New York. Trump on Wednesday, Feb. 26, 2014 told a group of New Jersey Republicans he expects New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie to make it through the scandals that are plaguing his administration. (AP Photo/Richard Drew, File)

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One would have thought that the old wisecrack needs to be reversed. The West may not be just sneezing, but has already got the cold, even worse, a bad fever of extremism. And that the worry would be if others can avoid the infection. Not so fast, says the wag, as there is quite a bit of Sri Lankan and South Asian sneezing and coughing going around, and we don’t need infection from the West to make matters worse. Jaffna’s Chief Protestor has signalled his periodical awakening from his chronic administrative sleep with the new “EzhugaThamizh” (linguists use ‘zh’ instead of ‘l’ for a unique Dravidian letter and sound) slogan. “Pongu” relates to the liquid state of matter, Ezhuga could be Freudian. Southern Chief Ministers are weighing in, or rising up, and the SLFP’s two-timing (between Mahinda and Maithri) Nimal Siripala seized on the sneeze from Jaffna to bark out a cough of his own on the inviolability of being unitary. Continue reading →

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October 1, 2016 · 2:26 pm

How Sri Lanka triumphed in Eelam War IV

Ashok Mehta, courtesy of transcurrents and Sri Lanka Guardian  after it appeared in public courtesy of the Centre for Land Warfare Studies where the title is “Sri Lanka’s Ethnic Conflict: How Eelam War IV was Won ... Note that this is is a long article of over 10,000 words. Highlighting stress and the pictures have been added by the Editor, Thuppahi

Four watershed events spurred the ethnic conflict in Sri Lanka – the Sinhala Only Act of 1956, the republican Constitution of 1972, the Parliamentary elections of 1977 and the 1983 ethnic riots.1 The killing of 13 Sri Lankan army (SLA) soldiers by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) on 23 July 1983 marked the initiation of armed hostilities and the beginning of Eelam War I, which ended in 1987. India intervened to end the war in which the SLA had the upper hand.

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satanic-force LTTE book prepared in India by Baby Subramanium and aides 1991

The LTTE’s brush with the Indian Peacekeeping Forces (IPKF) from October 1987 to March 1990 ended inconsequentially. Eelam War II began in July 1990 and closed in a ceasefire in January 1995. The next round of fighting (Eelam War III) began in April 1995, and culminated in the February 2002 ceasefire, the longest in the conflict. It was officially revoked by the Sri Lankan Government (SLG) only in January 2008, though for all practical purposes, it had been broken in 2006. The decisive Eelam War IV started at Mavil Aru in July 2006 and flared up into an all-out offensive. The security forces scored a historic victory on 18 May 2009, when the Tigers capitulated near their stronghold of Mullaithivu. Continue reading →

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