Michael Roberts
It has been something of a shock for me to discover that the Sri Lankan authoress Karen Roberts[1] had passed away in USA in 2018 while only in her middle-aged fifties (about the same age as my daughters). What a tragedy!
Category Archives: Muslims in Lanka
A Critical Interpretation of Gotabaya’s Political Programme
ACL Ameer Ali, in Daily FT, 20 December 2019, where the title is “GR’s political exclusion and economic inclusion”
“There should be a huge program to make them (bhikkus) aware of what a modern state is. This has to be a secular state and politicians – not monks – should make the decisions. We have not fully developed the idea or understanding of the modern state. Religion should not be a factor… Buddhism is myself, and how I treat you…” – Ven. Galkande Dhammananda Thera, 18 July 2006.
President Gotabaya Rajapaksa (PGR) appears to have found a magic solution to the national question of ethnic division and religious turbulence in Sri Lanka, a solution that somehow seems to have escaped the minds of previous political leaders and social scientists. He consistently maintained that the majority is against devolution of power to north and east.
Filed under accountability, authoritarian regimes, chauvinism, communal relations, disparagement, governance, historical interpretation, life stories, Muslims in Lanka, politIcal discourse, power politics, power sharing, Rajapaksa regime, self-reflexivity, Sinhala-Tamil Relations, sri lankan society, world events & processes
The Vicious Political Fervour promoted by Social Media Today
Michael Roberts
My past studies of ethnic pogroms in Sri Lanka and India alerted me to the power of oral communication and emotional voices in sparking retaliation against an ethnic other in neighbourhood or region.[1] In May-June 1915 oral tales of Muslim atrocity (mostly concocted one can assume) were carried along the railway tracks and thus converted a clash at Castle Street Kandy on the night of the 28th May night into a series of violent attacks on Muslims residing in such towns as Kegalle, Rambukkana, Colombo, Panadura on the 29th and 30th May and thence to Galle and Matara and their outlying road networks between the 1st and 4th June.
Filed under accountability, atrocities, chauvinism, communal relations, cultural transmission, disparagement, ethnicity, heritage, historical interpretation, life stories, Muslims in Lanka, politIcal discourse, power politics, psychological urges, racist thinking, self-reflexivity, Sinhala-Tamil Relations, Tamil migration, tolerance, trauma, vengeance, world events & processes
The Amazing Treasures of Leyn Baan Street in the Fort of Galle
Juliet Coombe, in Ceylon Digest, 19 December 2019,where the title is “Galle Fort’s hidden treasure Leyn Baan”
The Fort from the air showing the magnificence of the old city
Filed under art & allure bewitching, commoditification, cultural transmission, economic processes, heritage, historical interpretation, island economy, landscape wondrous, life stories, Muslims in Lanka, patriotism, performance, self-reflexivity, tolerance, travelogue, unusual people, welfare & philanthophy, working class conditions, world events & processes
The Rajapaksas as Pillars of Populism and Authoritarianism
Kanishka Jayasuriya, in East Asia Forum, 27 November 2019, where the title reads “The Sri Lankan election and authoritarian populism” … with highlights initiated by The Editor, Thuppahi
The election on 16 November 2019 of Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa — the brother of former president Mahinda Rajapaksa — ushers in an authoritarian populist regime that upholds a form of ethno-religious nationalism. The foundation of such a regime is in the new bourgeoisie that has emerged over the last two decades.
Filed under accountability, authoritarian regimes, Bodu Bala Sena, centre-periphery relations, chauvinism, China and Chinese influences, communal relations, constitutional amendments, disparagement, economic processes, electoral structures, governance, historical interpretation, Indian Ocean politics, island economy, landscape wondrous, legal issues, life stories, modernity & modernization, Muslims in Lanka, politIcal discourse, Rajapaksa regime, security, self-reflexivity, Sinhala-Tamil Relations, sri lankan society, world events & processes
The Fundamental Oppositions: Lakshman Gunasekara challenges Jayaweera & Roberts
Email Memo from Lakshman F. B. Gunasekara, 5 November 2019 directed at
Mike, …. You quote with approval one ‘Rajeewa’ as saying: “The final result proved without ambiguity, the disconnect between the small group of elitist city dwellers and the rural masses.” ………………………..And then you say:- … “leads me to present a thesis** that this political tussle was an instance of the provinces ranged against metropolitan Colombo – that is, the rural vs the city (with a proviso excluding the rural Tamils and rural Muslims of east and north-west from this simplification).”
Filed under accountability, centre-periphery relations, chauvinism, communal relations, democratic measures, devolution, disparagement, ethnicity, governance, historical interpretation, landscape wondrous, life stories, Muslims in Lanka, politIcal discourse, power politics, Presidential elections, Sinhala-Tamil Relations, sri lankan society, Tamil civilians, world events & processes
Facing Overt and Covert Pressure from USA
Asoka Bandarage in the CovertAction Magazine, 19 November 2019, where the title reads “U.S. military presence and popular resistance in Sri Lanka”
The Indian Ocean is one of the most contested regions in the world today. China, the United States, India, and also Japan, Saudi Arabia and other rich and powerful states are struggling for influence over Sri Lanka, located in the geographical heart of the Indian Ocean. The sea lanes of the Indian Ocean are considered to be the busiest in the world with more than 80% of global seaborne oil trade estimated to be passing through them.
Indian Ocean, Sri Lanka and the joint UK/U.S. Diego Garcia Naval and Military Base
Filed under accountability, american imperialism, centre-periphery relations, China and Chinese influences, cultural transmission, disparagement, economic processes, foreign policy, governance, historical interpretation, Indian Ocean politics, Islamic fundamentalism, legal issues, life stories, military strategy, modernity & modernization, Muslims in Lanka, patriotism, politIcal discourse, power politics, security, self-reflexivity, Sinhala-Tamil Relations, sri lankan society, transport and communications, unusual people, world events & processes
A Debate on the Implications of Jayaweera’s Statistical Tabulation of the Presidential Voting Patterns
THESE are Email Exchanges amongst Personnel in the Rajeewa Jayaweera Circle — mostly hostile to the messy politics of the Yahapaalana Era, 2015-19 …. with highlighting emphasis being the imprint of The Editor, Thuppahi
A = Prithi Perera to the Jayaweera Circle, 21 November 2019
Thank you Rajeewa for the most useful tabulation. Much pains taking and time would have gone into it.
The following are my observations;
- Nearly 60%-70% of the Sinhala Majority Votes in the South were with GR and 80% -90% of the Tamil/Muslim Minority Votes in the North East of SL were with Sajith. This shows an obvious polarization of society in Sri Lanka, between the south and the north/east, between the Sinhala majority in the South and the Tamil/Muslim minorities in the North/East. The 30 year war where the wounds seem not to have healed as yet and the 21 April 2019 Easter Bombings have also given added strength to the anti Tamil/Islam lobbies. This can be adduced to be the reasons for the further accentuation of the extremist lobbies supporting the Rajapaksa dynastic politics. They seem to be successfully fanning these extremist elements during given periods, particularly when issues in economy and governance appear to go against them if and when they are in power, or when elections are in sight, if they are out of power. Anyone studying these patterns will find them to be more factual than fiction. Unfortunately, we also have some of the clergy making remarks that seem to encourage extremism, like in the case of Gnanasara Thera who has openly said that the BBS movement will be disbanded after the upcoming Parliamentary Elections in 2020 once victory is assured for the Rajapaksa’s.
Filed under accountability, authoritarian regimes, Bodu Bala Sena, chauvinism, conspiracies, economic processes, electoral structures, ethnicity, governance, historical interpretation, island economy, landscape wondrous, life stories, Muslims in Lanka, performance, politIcal discourse, power sharing, Presidential elections, Rajapaksa regime, security, self-reflexivity, Sinhala-Tamil Relations, sri lankan society, unusual people, welfare & philanthophy, working class conditions, world events & processes
The Economist reviews the Presidential Elections from Its Seat in the Clouds
The Economist: “The Rajapaksa brothers are back in Sri Lanka,” ….. A convincing win for Gotabaya Rajapaksa in the presidential election divides the electorate on communal lines, 17 November 2019**
FOR NEARLY ten years the Rajapaksa family ran Sri Lanka. Now, after a five-year hiatus and a bit of a reshuffle, they are back. On November 16th an unprecedented 84% of voters turned out to crown Gotabaya Rajapaksa president, handing him well over half the votes in a crowded field of 35 candidates. Mr Rajapaksa had served as defence chief during the 2005-15 reign of his brother Mahinda. The latter, blocked by the constitution from becoming head of state again, is likely to serve as his younger brother’s prime minister.
Filed under accountability, British imperialism, centre-periphery relations, doctoring evidence, economic processes, electoral structures, ethnicity, fundamentalism, governance, historical interpretation, island economy, life stories, LTTE, military strategy, Muslims in Lanka, politIcal discourse, power politics, self-reflexivity, Sinhala-Tamil Relations, slanted reportage, sri lankan society, the imaginary and the real, truth as casualty of war, unusual people, world events & processes
Alan Keenan of the ICG comments on the Presidential Election Results in Sri Lanka
Alan Keenan of the International Crisis Group, …. deploying this title “Sri Lanka’s Presidential Election Brings Back a Polarising Wartime Figure”
Filed under accountability, american imperialism, British imperialism, centre-periphery relations, cultural transmission, economic processes, foreign policy, governance, historical interpretation, human rights, Indian Ocean politics, landscape wondrous, legal issues, life stories, modernity & modernization, Muslims in Lanka, NGOs, performance, politIcal discourse, power politics, Presidential elections, propaganda, Rajapaksa regime, Responsibility to Protect or R2P, security, Sinhala-Tamil Relations, sri lankan society, truth as casualty of war, world events & processes
