Category Archives: performance

December 11, 2019 · 1:40 pm

War Deaths enumerated by Tamil-Speaking Government Servants during 2011 Census

Extract from speech made by Gotabaya Rajapaksa at the Third Annual Defence Seminar organised by the Sri Lankan Army in 2013[1]

Pix from C’bo Telegraph

In 2011, the Department of Census and Statistics carried out an “Enumeration of Vital Events” for the Northern Province of Sri Lanka. The Enumeration was conducted between June and August 2011, with field data being collected in July. The enumerators were Government servants from the Northern Province, all 2,500 of whom were Tamil and Muslim officials. Apart from the gathering of usual census data, the enumerators paid attention to the vital events that had taken place in the North from 2005 to 2009, with a particular emphasis on the deaths that took place in the last stages of the war.

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December 9, 2019 · 10:22 am

Mockery: Veils and Subterfuge in the High Mountains of the Swiss Embassy

Lalin Fernando,* in Asian Tribune, 9 December 2019, where  the title is  “Swiss strike Gold and Salman in Sri Lanka”

When God on his final inspections round the world visited Switzerland he dropped in on a Swiss farm house. The Swiss farmer was overwhelmed. He invited God in, asked him to sit and rest. He offered God a glass of delicious milk. God thanked him for it. The Swiss farmer said ‘God please don’t thank me. You have given us everything people can want. We live in the most beautiful and richest country in the world. There are beautiful lakes with plenty of fish, high snow capped mountains that give us protection, green fields for us to farm and provide fodder for cattle, gushing rivers and an invigorating climate. I have a large family and everything we need. Thank you God’.

NOTE — my attempt to place photos of Herr Ambassador Herr Hanspeter MOCK drawn from web were defeated by the embargo attached to his PIX on web. Wow! Halleluyyiyah! Swiss barriers on free speech?

After a short rest, God got up to leave. The Swiss farmer said ‘excuse me God, you forgot something’. God checked and said ‘nothing’s missing. May I go please’? The Swiss man said ‘Of course but God you haven’t paid me for the milk’.

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November 30, 2019 · 1:55 pm

Deep Throats behind Blackening Campaigns: The Chinese Dragon and Gotabaya

Michael Roberts

A few days back I circulated the three recent THUPPAHI articles on China (see below) to a number of my friends and collective groups with this note:

  • “I attach three items on China in the international order today –vital reading for all personnel concerned with Sri Lanka’s relationships with the various forces engaged in the Indian Ocean.
  • Sometime back an Aussie friend who speaks Chinese told me

A = that the overwhelming body of Aussie writing on China is ideologically driven;

B= that this corpus of writing depends at times on leaks from “govt sources” which he believes emanate from a secret backroom body of boffins;

C = … with the intent of painting China as a demonic force and potential threat.

 Alexei Talimonov cartoons …..https://www.toonpool.com/cartoons/China%20Dragon_19987

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November 25, 2019 · 2:34 pm

Gotabaya’s First Interview -with Nitin Gokhale of Bharat Shakti and SNI

Nitin Gokhale, editor-in-chief of Indian media channel Bharat Shakti & SNI, chats with President Gotabaya Rajapaksa

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November 22, 2019 · 3:38 am

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;

  1. 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.

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November 20, 2019 · 10:58 pm

Learning from Combatants Scarred by War

Kamanthi Wickramasinghe in Daily Mirror, 21 November 2019, where the title runs thus: “Ex-combatants under rehabilitation call for peace  A visit to Mihindu Seth Medura and Ranaviru Sevana”

The bloodied past of the thirty-year long conflict keeps reflecting in their memories. Having lived the greater part of their lives on battlefields, engaging in what were termed as ‘humanitarian operations’ against deafening noises emanating from blasting mortars, claymore bombs and the frequent gunshots, the physical and psychological trauma were part and parcel of their lives. While many of them succumbed to injuries, another section of this generation who require special assistance to do their day-to-day work are being well looked after. Although many of them initially sought treatment at Ranaviru Sevana based in Ragama, at present those who require further rehabilitative care are stationed at Mihindu Seth Medura in Attidiya.

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November 19, 2019 · 3:15 pm

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”

Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s decisive victory in Sri Lanka’s presidential election reflects voters’ concerns over security, poor economic prospects and ineffective governance – but also indicates the country’s dangerous ethnic polarisation. Many worry that Rajapaksa, a Sinhalese nationalist, will energise anti-Muslim campaigning and further alienate the Tamil community.

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November 17, 2019 · 2:10 pm

Gerald Peiris Forecast was Spot-On

A Note received from Gerald Peiris, Friday 15th November 2019 … 12.56 pm

Gota, I think is going to be a definite winner, despite all the anti-Rajapaksa propaganda, Al Jazeera being just one source of such viciousness. Throughout the campaign Gota maintained a sense of dignity and balance (vis-a-vis the subject of ethnic relations) and has provided hope for the future of the country replacing the widespread despair that prevailed earlier. Sajith has been so hopelessly bad in his platform performances, sounding more like an undergrad firebrand contesting at a university student council meeting, focusing (to an incredible extent) on the theme of what a great guy he is.

Regards, Gerry

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November 15, 2019 · 6:28 am

Media Blitzkrieg from Keenan, Al-Jazeera et al: Fear Gota

THUPPAHI NOTE: A fear psychosis is being spread through the airwaves and web-routes by powerful players  who present a picture of Gotabaya as a potential dictator …. and even deploy the fallacious readings of the death-toll in Eelam War IV perpetrated by the drawing room boffins[1] who constituted the UN Panel of Experts (Darusman, Sooka et al) as one pillar in this campaign  (see https://www.srilankacampaign.org/a-decade-of-impunity-unlocking-accountability-for-the-victims-of-sri-lankas-killing-fields/ ………… for this dimension). Note that Alan Keenan’s essay is sponsored by the Lowy Institute.[2] Do read these items with a discerning eye and form your own conclusions.

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October 30, 2019 · 9:58 am

Bathiudeen and Hakeem Arm-in-Arm

Rajeewa Jayaweera, in Island, 27 October 2019, with this title “Hakeem-Bathiudeen United Front”

That the Rajapaksas were responsible for the political advent of Rishad Bathiudeen (RB) and his All Ceylon Makkal Congress (ACMC) is a widely believed theory. It was supposed to counter the political monopolization of the Muslim community by the Sri Lanka Muslim Congress (SLMC) and its leader and Rauff Hakeem (RH). Nevertheless, recent events indicate that may not be the case. When push comes to shove, they seem to be operating in unison, protecting and defending each other.

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