Category Archives: Rajapaksa regime

June 14, 2022 · 12:40 pm

US Conspiratorial Hands Underdpinning the Political Turmoil in Sri Lanka?

Jonathan Manz, in an article circulated by “The Sri Lankan Study Circle” whose background & politics is not known to Thuppahi…. with the title they have imposed being “Pivot-to-Asai: America executes a Lightning coup to take control of a Strategic Island in the Indian Ocean” 

Bewildered, reeling and confused, Sri Lankans are just beginning to pick up the pieces of the jigsaw to decipher the events of Black-Monday, 09 May 22, when America, with its all-too-familiar ‘false-flag’ operations, executed a lightning Coup, to take control of the strategic Island in the Indian Ocean.

Taking control of the Island-Nation was critical to the Americans to implement their re-chartered game-plan for the Indian-Ocean region; this plan, they were compelled to develop following the unexpected defeat of their proxy mercenaries in Sri Lanka.

Continue reading →

2 Comments

Filed under accountability, american imperialism, authoritarian regimes, centre-periphery relations, economic processes, electoral structures, governance, historical interpretation, Indian Ocean politics, island economy, landscape wondrous, legal issues, life stories, parliamentary elections, politIcal discourse, power politics, Rajapaksa regime, self-reflexivity, slanted reportage, sri lankan society, the imaginary and the real, unusual people, vengeance, world events & processes

June 12, 2022 · 8:07 pm

Horrendous Western Misreadings of Sri Lankan Situation in 2008-09

  Tony Donaldson’s Capsule Comment in Facebook A Few Years Back++
Michael, …. Two great articles in “Ambassador Blake in Never-Never Land…” and “The imperious interventions of David Miliband….” I am not surprised by any of this. US diplomats should study anthropology for a few years. It might teach them to recognize neo-colonialism in their own value system.
It reminds us that the US., its diplomats and think tanks which operate in the guise of academic institutions, do not present global or universal values as they pretend or claim, but a deeply entrenched relativist one that is tied to US interests (but in this instance, the sheer lack of understanding about what occurs in SL is mind-boggling).
Displaced Tamils on the movein the northern Vanni  — from west eastwards in mid-late 2008

Continue reading →

Leave a comment

Filed under accountability, american imperialism, authoritarian regimes, British imperialism, centre-periphery relations, disparagement, foreign policy, governance, historical interpretation, Indian Ocean politics, island economy, life stories, LTTE, military strategy, nationalism, patriotism, politIcal discourse, power politics, Rajapaksa regime, security, self-reflexivity, sri lankan society, suicide bombing, taking the piss, Tamil civilians, Tamil migration, Tamil Tiger fighters, the imaginary and the real, trauma, truth as casualty of war, UN reports, unusual people, vengeance, war crimes, war reportage, world events & processes, zealotry

May 24, 2022 · 1:00 pm

The Economist sums up Sri Lanka’s Situation

ITEM ONE: “The Morning After”…. page 25 of 14th May Issue “Sri Lanka has no money and no government. What now?””

The prime minister and the cabinet are gone but the president clings on

For more than a month the anti-government protesters camped along Galle Face, the seafront in the Sri Lankan capital of Colombo, had been mostly peaceful. They were demanding the departure of the president, Gotabaya Rajapaksa, and the prime minister, Mahinda Rajapaksa, his brother. There were tents, stages for political plays, and singing. “Go home Gota!” their signs read, using the name by which the president is commonly known. He did not budge. Neither did the protesters.

Continue reading →

Leave a comment

Filed under accountability, authoritarian regimes, centre-periphery relations, communal relations, disparagement, economic processes, governance, historical interpretation, Indian Ocean politics, island economy, landscape wondrous, legal issues, life stories, performance, politIcal discourse, power politics, Rajapaksa regime, security, self-reflexivity, sri lankan society, trauma, truth as casualty of war, world events & processes

May 21, 2022 · 12:55 am

Sri Lanka’s Fallen Remembered at Battaramulla Monument on 19th May

The 19th May marks the final defeat of the LTTE and its Eelam Movement …. Thuppahi **

The 13th anniversary of National War Heroes’ Day was commemorated in a simple ceremony this afternoon (May 19) at the Battaramulla National War Heroes’ Monument with the attendance of Commander -In-Chief President Gotabaya Rajapaksa as the Chief Guest

Standing L-to-R: 

Secy Def Gen Kamal Gunaratne, Maj Gen Nandana Senadeera (retd) Chairperson Ranaviru Seva Authority; President Gothabaya,  Genl Shavendra Silva, the Commander SL Navy and the Commander SLAF.

Continue reading →

2 Comments

Filed under accountability, governance, heritage, historical interpretation, Indian Ocean politics, landscape wondrous, life stories, LTTE, meditations, patriotism, performance, politIcal discourse, propaganda, Rajapaksa regime, religiosity, self-reflexivity, Sinhala-Tamil Relations, Tamil Tiger fighters, trauma, truth as casualty of war, unusual people, world events & processes

May 20, 2022 · 7:41 pm

Full Spectrum Dominance enmeshing Sri Lanka in USA’s Web?

Dr. Darini Rajasingham-Senanayake, in LankaWeb, 19 May 2022, where the title reads  “Masks of democracy and energy geopolitics: Is Full Spectrum Dominance the endgame?”  ….. with highlighting beng the intervention of The Editor, Thuppahi

“For the faction that controls the Pentagon, the military industry and the oil industry, the Cold War never ended. It went on ‘below the radar’ creating a global network of bases and conflicts to advance their long-term goal of Full Spectrum Dominance, the total control of the planet: land, sea, air, space, outer space and cyberspace. Their methods included control of propaganda, use of NGOs for regime change, Color Revolutions to advance NATO east, and a vast array of psychological and economic warfare techniques, a Revolution in Military Affairs as they termed it. The events of September 11, 2001 would allow an American President to declare a war on an enemy who was everywhere and nowhere, who justified a Patriot Act that destroyed that very freedom in the name of the new worldwide War on Terror. “ ……. William Engdahl in Full Spectrum Dominance; Totalitarian Democracy in the New World Order

Continue reading →

Leave a comment

Filed under accountability, american imperialism, authoritarian regimes, centre-periphery relations, economic processes, ethnicity, foreign policy, governance, historical interpretation, IMF, Indian Ocean politics, island economy, landscape wondrous, legal issues, life stories, politIcal discourse, power politics, Rajapaksa regime, security, self-reflexivity, slanted reportage, sri lankan society, the imaginary and the real, transport and communications, trauma, truth as casualty of war, UN reports, unusual people, vengeance, world events & processes

May 17, 2022 · 7:46 pm

Big Power Manoeuvres in and around Sri Lanka: The Bandarage Essay

Mr C .… an orignal piece for Thuppahi** … with highlighting being the work of The Editor, Thuppahi

I found Asoka Bandarage’s essay was okay, but it suffers from a few argumentative flaws I will discuss in this article.  The writer has made many claims. Some of these I agree with. Her main argument comes towards the end of the article which may be summarized as follows: Sri Lanka must avoid being exploited by foreign powers or caught up in geopolitical adventures played out between India, China and the US – a goal which it can achieve by creating food and energy security for itself by exploiting natural resources, and she mentions an area of Sri Lanka containing oil and gas resources. We know Sri Lanka is a fertile land and can easily sustain rice and food crops, if managed properly.

 

Continue reading →

1 Comment

Filed under accountability, american imperialism, centre-periphery relations, China and Chinese influences, cultural transmission, discrimination, doctoring evidence, economic processes, energy resources, export issues, foreign policy, governance, historical interpretation, Indian Ocean politics, island economy, landscape wondrous, legal issues, life stories, modernity & modernization, nationalism, patriotism, performance, political demonstrations, politIcal discourse, power politics, Rajapaksa regime, security, self-reflexivity, sri lankan society, transport and communications, trauma, truth as casualty of war, unusual people, welfare & philanthophy, world events & processes

May 17, 2022 · 2:32 pm

US and Western Imperial Intrusions with New Weaponry?

Darini Rajasingham-Senanayake, in Colombo Telegraph, 16 May 2022, where the title reads “Masks of Democracy & Energy Geopolitics: Is Full Spectrum Dominance the Endgame?”

South Asia’s Arab Spring has arrived amid energy wars and slow tectonic shifts in power and wealth eastward to Asia and the Indian Ocean Region. This has been hastened by the new Cold War proxy-war in Ukraine, US-led sanctions on energy-rich Russia and a refugee crisis in Europe.

Continue reading →

1 Comment

Filed under accountability, american imperialism, authoritarian regimes, centre-periphery relations, economic processes, foreign policy, governance, historical interpretation, island economy, landscape wondrous, law of armed conflict, life stories, modernity & modernization, news fabrication, political demonstrations, politIcal discourse, power politics, Rajapaksa regime, security, self-reflexivity, sri lankan society, transport and communications, truth as casualty of war, unusual people, World Bank, world events & processes

May 16, 2022 · 7:13 pm

Sri Lanka as Paradox: A Schizoid Republic?

Lakshman Gunasekara, in Daily FT, 14 May 2022, where the title reads:  “Paradoxes of a schizoid Republic”     

Attackers’ roared obscenities, screams of victims, the thunk of metal poles on defenceless humans and, the crack of smashed protester shelters, all combined to almost drown out the Bhikkus’ serene chanting of Pirith emanating from loudspeakers within ‘Temple Trees’, the official residence of the Prime Minister of our Democratic Socialist Republic.

To those being beaten up on the street right outside the official residence, the public watching from the road and later, to the millions watching TV news telecasts and webcasts around the world, this triple clash of brutality, spirituality and official propriety must have seemed absolutely bizarre, even schizoid if not psycho-pathic.

Continue reading →

Leave a comment

Filed under accountability, atrocities, authoritarian regimes, chauvinism, disparagement, economic processes, governance, island economy, legal issues, life stories, political demonstrations, politIcal discourse, power politics, Rajapaksa regime, self-reflexivity, social justice, sri lankan society, trauma, unusual people, vengeance, zealotry

May 16, 2022 · 11:35 am

Neo-Colonial Modalities Overwhelming Sri Lanka

Asoka Bandarage, in The Island, 16 May 2022, with this title “Sri Lanka: Debt crisis, neocolonialism and geopolitical rivalry” …. with highlighting in blue being impositions from The Editor, Thuppahi

Sri Lanka is in the throes of an unprecedented economic crisis. Faced with a shortage of foreign exchange and defaulting on its foreign debt repayment, the country is unable to pay for its food, fuel, medicine, and other basic necessities. Notwithstanding the austerities that would be entailed, a bailout by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has been accepted as the only way out of the dire economic situation.Opposition political parties, and citizens across the country, blame the Rajapaksa government’s widespread corruption and mismanagement for the crisis, and demand that the President and the Parliament resign. The Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa did so on 09 May 2022. However, the protesters at Galle Face Green, and elsewhere, have not been able to put forward an alternative leadership or a viable road map for the future. The country remains mired in confusion, chaos and a highly volatile political impasse.

 

Continue reading →

6 Comments

Filed under accountability, american imperialism, centre-periphery relations, China and Chinese influences, economic processes, export issues, foreign policy, governance, historical interpretation, IMF, Indian Ocean politics, island economy, legal issues, life stories, modernity & modernization, politIcal discourse, power politics, Rajapaksa regime, security, self-reflexivity, sri lankan society, the imaginary and the real, transport and communications, welfare & philanthophy, world events & processes

May 15, 2022 · 8:59 pm

NY TIMES Jeers & Cheers at the Rajapaksa Downfall

 Mujib Mashal and Skandha Gunasekara, in NY Times article, 14 May 2022, where the title reads  “A Ruling Family on the Run as Sri Lanka plunges into Economic Ruin,“
14srilanka1-jumbo.jpg
From left, Mahinda Rajapaksa, Gotabaya Rajapaksa and Basil Rajapaksa in 2018. The family has dominated Sri Lanka for the better part of two decades. Credit: Eranga Jayawardena/Associated Press

Once empowered by triumphant ethnic nationalism after a brutal civil war, the Rajpaksa dynasty has been wht its own allies call incompetence and denial. As the guests sat down for a banquet dinner last summer at the grand colonial-era home of Sri Lanka’s president, the small talk soon turned gravely serious.

Continue reading →

Leave a comment

Filed under accountability, authoritarian regimes, disparagement, economic processes, governance, historical interpretation, island economy, life stories, patriotism, performance, political demonstrations, politIcal discourse, Rajapaksa regime, self-reflexivity, social justice, sri lankan society, trauma, world events & processes, zealotry