Category Archives: Sinhala-Tamil Relations

Face-to-Face in 1977: Early Moves towards Civil War in Lanka

Jane Russell ... with highlights imposed by the Editor, Thuppahi

These are the scratched graffiti of Sinhalese soldiers and policemen abandoned by their government [1991]. They are uncertain of their future. Some believe they will be airlifted to safety. Others have realised that they are about to be overrun by Tamil Tigers camped outside the perimeter walls of the Fort in Jaffna which they have been tasked to defend,  and that no-one will come to save them.  Whatever their hopes and fears, they are all doomed to die. These graffiti are etched into the rock walls of the entrance to the Dutch built Fort (photo top right). They were carved not so long ago. 1991, 29 years, just a generation since. Continue reading

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Learning from Lord Naseby’s Passages within Sri Lanka

Anil Perera at https://lankanvoice.blogspot.com/ & whose preferred title is Michael Naseby’s Paradise Lost Paradise Regained – Memoirs of a True Friend of Sri Lanka” 

Having been barraged with unfair criticism, lectured on with unsolicited advice, and abused by some British politicians for defeating their beloved Tamil Tigers, Sri Lankans can take solace in the existence of at least some British politicians who are sensible enough to digest facts and come to logical conclusions. While most Western politicians swallow the Tamil narrative hook, line, and sinker, there are few like Lord Naseby, who keeps an ear to the ground and finds out what happened during the terrorist war in Sri Lanka. Lord Naseby’s experience in living in Sri Lanka in the 1960s and his continuous association with the country would have certainly helped him to find out the truth of what happened during the last stages of the Sri Lankan conflict.

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LH Mettananda assessed by DB Dhanapala in 1962

DB Dhanapala on LH Mettananda in his book Among those Present, 1962

OF COURSE, L.H. Mettananda is a fanatic. Anybody who dares to talk of Buddhist’s rights in a Buddhist country is bound to be called a fanatic bent on disturbing the peace and rousing up religious feelings.

Mettananda seated alongside Banda

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Sacrificial Devotion in Comparative Perspective: A Workshop at Adelaide University in Late 2005

Daya ….. Rohan…. Shyam…. Riaz ….. what a South Asian spread! …………………. a dinkie-die curry’

I = Michael Roberts: An Explanatory Preamble Cast in May 2020

By 2004 I had retired from teaching in the Anthropology Department at Adelaide University and was proceeding with the pursuit of my research interests at my own pace within my limited resources. Sri Lanka and my connections therein was one such resource. When researching in Colombo in late November 2004 I flew to Jaffna on a wing and a prayer[1] with the intention of exploring the Tamil Tiger “cult of suicide.” Previous contacts with two Tamil Canadians and a visit to the University of Jaffna as soon as I landed assisted me no end: partly via the invaluable support provided by the Krishnaswamy family[2] and the readiness of their medical student son Chenthan to become my aide and guide during peregrinations within the Peninsula.[3]

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Karuna’s Defection: An Early Analysis in Speculative Mode

Gerald H. Peiris: being Chapter 6 in Peiris, Twilight of the Tigers

The contents of this chapter, except its ‘Introductory Notes’ and the ‘Postscript’, are based almost entirely on an article titled ‘An Assessment of the Current Crisis among the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam’ written by me in March 2004 while the events that constituted the early stages of the revolt led by ‘Colonel Karuna’ against the Vanni-based Tiger leadership were unfolding in the Eastern Province of Sri Lanka.  It was published by the Jane’s Information Group, UK. Written as it was in the context of acute paucity of documented information on the rapidly changing and bewilderingly complex scenario in the ‘north-east’ of Sri Lanka at that time, the article contained a fair amount of reasoned speculation. Here, in this chapter, I have retained the original article largely unchanged mainly for the reason that some of my speculations and predictions proved subsequently to be correct. The changes of the original article made in the formulation of this chapter have involved only some alterations of tense, and the addition of footnotes for clarification and substantiation, and a ‘postscript’, intended to update the impact of the events examined in the article from the viewpoint of the thematic concerns of this volume.

 LTTE commanders circa 2005(?)

 the talaivar Pirapāharan LTTEleader 

some Tigress fighters

Sea Tigresses –a formidable element in the LTTE armoury

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We Lankans Today Because of the Sacrifices of Lankans Yesterday

Rajeewa Jayaweera, in Sunday Island, 24 May 2020, with this title,  “Lest we forget those who gave their tomorrow for others to have a tomorrow”

The high-profile commemorative event, held at the National War Heroes’ Monument, in Battaramulla, came as a breath of fresh air after the absence of an event on such a scale for five years. It was also the 11th anniversary of this nation’s victory over terrorism. Justification for the use of the word ‘victory,’ decried by some, is provided later.

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Justin Trudeau Rapped on Knuckles for Statement on Victims of Eelam War

When Justin Trudeau issued a brief statement on the 18th May 2020 expressing sympathy for all the victims of Eelam War IV in the course of his request for an accountability purpose, he was clever. There was no slant towards Tamil victims. But there was a reference to “the last phase of the war at Mullivaikal” …. and this, together with the focus on accountability, implied that he was supporting Sri Lankan Tamil and HR claims alleging mass killings.

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Standing by the Victory in May 2009: Gotabaya confronts the Western UN Caucus

A Staff Writer, News First,  19 May,2020:Won’t hesitate to withdraw Sri Lanka from bodies which target soldiers: President Rajapaksa”

President Gotabaya Rajapaksa said on Tuesday addressing the war hero’s ceremony at the war memorial at the Parliament grounds that he will not hesitate to pull out Sri Lanka from any international organization that unfairly target the country’s war heroes.

Pix from The Hindu

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A Comparative Examination of Sinhala, Tamil and Muslim Demographic Trends in Sri Lanka

 Chandre Dhamawardana … with highlighting emphasis added by the Editor, Thuppahi

It is a common belief that the Moor population, nearly 99% Muslim in faith, have high demographic rates and also have to capacity to have high birth rates because of Islamic laws that provide for the possibility of having several wives. Hence it is of interest to examine these contentions in the context of demographic data available from the Dept. of Census and statistics, Sri Lanka.

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Passionate Praise of the Armed Forces Triumph in 2009 in New Zealand

Chula Rajapaksa’s Impassioned Dedication to the Ranaviru: New Zealand Internet Live Streaming 6.30pm NZ Time ….. Ranaviru Commomeration 19/5/20 ……   https://www.facebook.com/srilankans.nz

Thank you for affording me the privilege of being able to reinforce for the 11th  consecutive year, our  deep debt of gratitude to the Ranaviru for having liberated Sri Lanka from three decades of Tiger terror and even more for the life and limb that some lost in the process.

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