Category Archives: news fabrication
The Tamil Tigers are part of Jeremy Corbyn’s Fantasy World
Padraig Colman, courtesy of https://pcolman.wordpress.com/2016/09/01/corbyn-and-the-tamil-tigers/
Part of the dissatisfaction with Corbyn arises from his tendency to espouse causes which have little to do with the reality of practical politics in the UK itself in 2016. As recently as April 2016, Jeremy Corbyn said he fully supports Tamils in their struggle to achieve self-determination in Sri Lanka.
Corbyn Supports Freedom Fighters: To a certain western mind-set everything is black or white, minorities are always oppressed and discriminated against, governments must be bad, and rebels must be romantic freedom fighters. I recall that in the 1970s, my own trade union in the UK was contributing funds to the LTTE (Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, known as the Tamil Tigers) because they were obviously “freedom fighters” defending the oppressed Tamil minority.
In 1983, Jeremy Corbyn became an MP. In Sri Lanka, 1983 is remembered with horror for the pogrom known as “Black July”. Thirteen soldiers were killed by the LTTE. Anti-Tamil riots ensued and lasted for ten days with property being destroyed and up to 3,000 people being killed and 200,000 displaced. Continue reading
Filed under accountability, centre-periphery relations, devolution, foreign policy, historical interpretation, human rights, landscape wondrous, Left politics, life stories, LTTE, news fabrication, politIcal discourse, prabhakaran, propaganda, reconciliation, security, self-reflexivity, Sinhala-Tamil Relations, slanted reportage, sri lankan society, suicide bombing, the imaginary and the real, truth as casualty of war, war reportage, world events & processes
Kavuda Rajā!! The Jaffna University Clash Clarified: Puritanical Nationalism
Rajan Hoole et al,** courtesy of The Island. 28 July 2016, where the title is “Fallout of freshers’ welcome fiasco in Jaffna: Is our university system equal to challenge of sectarianism?”
The following record of the welcome event is compiled from the experiences of several members of the Science Faculty in Jaffna, who were present. The event is a warning when taken alongside sectarian violence in other Lankan universities, recently in Sabaragamuva, Uva Wellassa and Eastern, where the response of the authorities has been constrained by a number of factors, including local prejudices and peer pressures, bias in the university security services and local readings of the wishes of the authorities in Colombo. The change in attitude of the authorities after the regime change of 8th January 2015 is reflected in their wanting as far as possible for the problems to be tackled on local initiative. The universities should use this opportunity to address, in their locality, causes that threaten the integrity of university values and education. These causes, if left to follow their course, would make peaceful coexistence and pluralism even harder to achieve.
Pic from http://colombogazette.com/2016/07/17/attempt-to-spread-racial-hatred-using-jaffna-clash-condemned/ Continue reading
Filed under accountability, cultural transmission, discrimination, disparagement, education policy, fundamentalism, governance, historical interpretation, life stories, news fabrication, politIcal discourse, power politics, reconciliation, self-reflexivity, Sinhala-Tamil Relations, sri lankan society, terrorism, the imaginary and the real, TNA, tolerance, truth as casualty of war, unusual people, vengeance, world affairs
David Miliband’s Imperious Intervention in Lanka left in Tatters
Michael Roberts, courtesy of Colombo Telegraph, where the title is different
The manner in which President Mahinda Rajapaksa withstood and totally deflated the imperialistic moves by Miliband and Kouchner, respective Foreign Ministers for Britain and France, in late April 2009 has been the stuff of salacious gossip in pro-Rajapaksa and Sri Lankan patriot circles. Any re-telling of this tale in solid detail on the foundations of direct witness will cast me into the same mould in the minds of those beyond that circle — whether sanctimonious, liberal and/or snooty. No matter: historical recording must trump popular polling and moral posturing. Meeting Lalith Weeratunga[1] enables me to present the story in vivid detail.
In this handout picture released by The Sri Lankan Presidential Office, French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner (L) looks on as his British counterpart David Miliband (C) shakes hands with Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa (R) as they arrive for a meeting at Ambilipitiya Photo credit should read HO/AFP/Getty Images
Filed under accountability, american imperialism, authoritarian regimes, British imperialism, centre-periphery relations, disparagement, Eelam, foreign policy, gordon weiss, historical interpretation, human rights, Indian Ocean politics, legal issues, life stories, LTTE, military strategy, news fabrication, politIcal discourse, power politics, Rajapaksa regime, Responsibility to Protect or R2P, security, slanted reportage, sri lankan society, Tamil civilians, Tamil migration, truth as casualty of war, war crimes, war reportage, wikileaks, world events & processes
Yasmin Sooka on the Warpath Again
Shamindra Ferdinando, in The Island, 29 June 2016, where the title is “Sooka’s latest report to UNHRC: Glaring omissions”
An expensive survey carried out by the International Truth and Justice Project (ITJP), affiliated to the Foundation of Human Rights in South Africa, recently released ‘Forgotten Sri Lanka’s exiled victims.’ The release of the report coincided with the commencement of the on-going 32 sessions of the Geneva-based United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC). The report inadvertently revealed the existence of clandestine networks, facilitating Sri Lankans of Tamil origin, including former members of the LTTE, reaching Europe, through illegal means.
The study disclosed that LTTE personnel, including those who had been with Shanmugalingam Sivashankar alias Pottu Amman’s dreaded intelligence service, having secured citizenship in European countries, including the UK. Obviously, the report was meant to intensify pressure on Sri Lanka on the Geneva front, justify hybrid war crimes court on the basis of exaggerated and unsubstantiated accusations directed at the Sri Lankan military. Continue reading
Filed under accountability, american imperialism, asylum-seekers, disparagement, doctoring evidence, governance, historical interpretation, Indian Ocean politics, landscape wondrous, law of armed conflict, life stories, LTTE, news fabrication, NGOs, politIcal discourse, power politics, prabhakaran, propaganda, Rajapaksa regime, reconciliation, Responsibility to Protect or R2P, security, self-reflexivity, Sinhala-Tamil Relations, slanted reportage, social justice, sri lankan society, Tamil civilians, Tamil migration, Tamil Tiger fighters, the imaginary and the real, truth as casualty of war, vengeance, war crimes, war reportage, women in ethnic conflcits, world events & processes, zealotry
Lanka’s Immediate Prospects and Samaraweera
Jehan Perera, in The Island, 28 June 2015, where the title is “Sri Lanka’s Brexit hour still to come”
The Sri Lankan government goes into the current session of the UN Human Rights Council with several accomplishments to show. These are primarily at the level of change of spirit and less as concrete changes that can be quantified. It is difficult to quantify the impact of the lifting of fear of agents of the state and their associates acting with impunity, of white vans into which people disappear and the attitude of confrontation. But these have transformed life in the country. The passage of the Right to Information law in Parliament unanimously, without a vote and therefore without division, is an indication that there is broad acceptance in the polity, to which the government gives leadership, that good governance is good for all. In addition, the government has been able to showcase the draft law setting up the Office of Missing Persons, which is one of the four transitional justice mechanisms that it promised to establish at the October 2015 session of the UNHRC. 
Continue reading
Filed under accountability, american imperialism, atrocities, historical interpretation, human rights, Indian Ocean politics, landscape wondrous, legal issues, life stories, LTTE, news fabrication, politIcal discourse, power politics, press freedom & censorship, reconciliation, Responsibility to Protect or R2P, security, Sinhala-Tamil Relations, slanted reportage, social justice, sri lankan society, the imaginary and the real, truth as casualty of war, UN reports, vengeance, war crimes, world events & processes
Pre-Historic Giants with Erudite Mathematical Capacities? Tall Stories?
Roger Smith, courtesy of chain mail from Priyantha Hettige … searching still for web reference
In 2008, the American army sent a patrol into the mountains of Afghanistan to search for terrorists, but what they found came as a terrible surprise for the men. They found a twelve-foot tall giant instead, alive and kicking, so to speak! He was living in a cave high up on a mountain. It seems the men approached the Giant uncertain of what to do. The Giant had no such hesitation, he killed them and ate them – just as giants are reputed to do in the stories, but this here, is the truth!
When the army lost contact with the patrol they sent in some powerful reinforcements, who discovered the partly eaten corpses of their comrades! They saw the giant and shot him dead. The body was strapped onto a large 7 ft by 9 ft cargo pallet and then flown off to their military base in Ohio never to be seen of or heard of again. Giants, whether historical or real, are a taboo subject!
Orcadian stonehenge
The MISSING in the War Years: A Cumulative Bibliography as Aide
Michael Roberts
Let me begin with Rajasingham Narendran’s harrowing tale describing the moment when he returned to his home in the Jaffna Peninsula after the IPKF’s imperial occupation of the north in 1987: “My mother: 68-year old at the time of her killing. Slim build. Had been attacked by animals and crows and was in an advanced state of decay. My brother: 38-year old at the time of his death. neither obese or thin. Body intact though bloated. The gardener: Age approx. 60 years. Obese. All flesh had fallen off and the skeleton was clearly visible. A neighbour’s watchman: Age approx. 60 years. medium build. Only thigh bones-femurs and the skull remained. The rest of the body had been consumed or carried away by animals.”
A jackal feeding on a buffalo carcass at Kumana -April 2014–Pic by Roberts 
A Tamil lady in search of a missing kinswoman–Pic by Eranga Jayawardena in Groundviews
This is just one corpus of fact and tale that will have to be evaluated by the unit that is envisaged by the Secretariat for Coordinating Reconciliation Mechanisms set up by the present government. If one visits the web site where the SCRM seeks submissions from the public, you will be led to “Boxes” where you can present ideas and/or information. The set of Boxes numbered 9 [nine] has this request: “The government has decided to set up An Office of Missing Persons. What measures should the office take to address the issue of the missing?” Continue reading
Filed under accountability, american imperialism, gordon weiss, governance, historical interpretation, Indian Ocean politics, legal issues, life stories, LTTE, military strategy, news fabrication, patriotism, performance, politIcal discourse, power politics, Rajapaksa regime, security, self-reflexivity, Sinhala-Tamil Relations, slanted reportage, Tamil civilians, Tamil Tiger fighters, the imaginary and the real, truth as casualty of war, UN reports, war crimes, war reportage, women in ethnic conflcits, world events & processes
Narrative Bedlam: Dangers of Hate Speech and Propaganda via Social Media Today
Sanjana Hattotuwa, courtesy of The Island, 15 April 2016, where the title is “Openly Hidden,”……. But with highlighting embellishments from The Editor, Thuppahi
I teach social media verification, and recalled during a class I am teaching this week some of the content that came my way in the first half of 2009. The media landscape in general, and social media in particular, wasn’t then what it is now. Self-censorship was the norm, and high. Mainstream media, out of fear of violence or forcibly through the strict control of advertising revenue, accepted and published the government’s propaganda without question. Social media was still a novelty – Facebook and Twitter seven years ago weren’t platforms known or used to the extent they are today. Flickr and YouTube were used for photos and videos respectively, and were the primary platforms to feature various accounts from Nandikadal and elsewhere where the war was reaching its bloody end, including from ostensibly first-person perspectives.
Filed under accountability, historical interpretation, jihad, landscape wondrous, law of armed conflict, legal issues, modernity & modernization, news fabrication, politIcal discourse, power politics, press freedom, propaganda, self-reflexivity, Sinhala-Tamil Relations, slanted reportage, sri lankan society, the imaginary and the real, transport and communications, truth as casualty of war, war crimes, war reportage, world events & processes, zealotry
