Category Archives: Sinhala-Tamil Relations

December 16, 2019 · 9:44 am

The LTTE and Its “Treasury” in Switzerland in Its Halcyon Days

DBS Jeyaraj, in his website column 15 December 2019, with this title “The Switzerland Connection in LTTE Fund Raising Activity”

Recent events have focused the media spotlight on the Federal Republic of Switzerland known officially as the Swiss Confederation. The landlocked European nation is respected highly on a global scale due to its policy of armed neutrality. Despite the impeccable credentials of Switzerland, the country is being viewed negatively by influential sections of the Sri Lankan people. There is suspicion that an orchestrated campaign is being pursued by certain elements to depict the country as an “enemy” of Sri  Lanka. Three recent happenings concerning Switzerland–Sri Lanka relations have contributed to this unfortunate state of affairs.

Tamil rally in Geneva, summer 2003

Continue reading →

3 Comments

Filed under accountability, asylum-seekers, communal relations, economic processes, historical interpretation, landscape wondrous, life stories, LTTE, performance, political demonstrations, politIcal discourse, power politics, refugees, Sinhala-Tamil Relations, sri lankan society, Tamil migration, terrorism, truth as casualty of war, unusual people, world events & processes

December 13, 2019 · 10:08 am

Gerald Peiris’s Review in 2014 of the Literature on the Death Counts during the Final Stage of Eelam War IV

  Gerald H Peiris, presenting a review article in February 2014, which is pertinent to claims TODAY. The original title runs as “Encountering ‘Death Counts’ in the Final Phase of the Eelam War” …. and appeared in both http://www.island.lk/index.php?page_cat=article-details&page=article-details&code_title=97232 …. And also at https://www.colombotelegraph.com/index.php/encountering-death-counts-in-the-final-phase-of-the-eelam-war/ …. where it drew 77 comments with the last violent chauvinist ‘gunshot’ being on 17th February 2014 (see below)

Continue reading →

1 Comment

Filed under accountability, asylum-seekers, atrocities, British imperialism, centre-periphery relations, communal relations, doctoring evidence, Eelam, governance, historical interpretation, human rights, IDP camps, Indian Ocean politics, landscape wondrous, law of armed conflict, legal issues, life stories, LTTE, mass conscription, military strategy, news fabrication, NGOs, patriotism, politIcal discourse, population, power politics, prabhakaran, propaganda, security, self-reflexivity, Sinhala-Tamil Relations, slanted reportage, sri lankan society, Tamil civilians, Tamil migration, tamil refugees, Tamil Tiger fighters, the imaginary and the real, trauma, truth as casualty of war, UN reports, unusual people, vengeance, war crimes, war reportage, women in ethnic conflcits, world events & processes

December 11, 2019 · 2:58 pm

The HR Lobby in UK: Deskbound and Devious

Michael Roberts

The human rights lobby in UK (hereafter HR) has the International Crisis Group, Chatham House and the Sri Lanka Campaign for Peace & Justice serving among the spearheads of the campaign for a political transformation of Sri Lanka – a campaign that is in line with USA’s interests and is linked to the interventions of the United Nations HR industry involving Navy Pillai, Prince Zeid Raad Zeid Al-Hassan, the UNHCR headquarters in Geneva and its cohort of officials (usually American or British personnel).

Navy Pillai Sooka Donahoegowing GowingAlan-Keenan 1

Continue reading →

6 Comments

Filed under accountability, american imperialism, australian media, authoritarian regimes, British imperialism, centre-periphery relations, chauvinism, communal relations, disparagement, doctoring evidence, foreign policy, historical interpretation, human rights, Indian Ocean politics, landscape wondrous, law of armed conflict, legal issues, life stories, LTTE, mass conscription, military strategy, Paranagama Report, politIcal discourse, power politics, Rajapaksa regime, Responsibility to Protect or R2P, self-reflexivity, Sinhala-Tamil Relations, slanted reportage, social justice, sri lankan society, tamil refugees, 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

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.

Continue reading →

Leave a comment

Filed under accountability, authoritarian regimes, ethnicity, human rights, legal issues, life stories, performance, politIcal discourse, population, self-reflexivity, Sinhala-Tamil Relations, social justice, sri lankan society, Tamil civilians, Tamil Tiger fighters, war reportage, world events & processes

December 10, 2019 · 2:09 am

An Incisive Note in Demolition of the R2P Programme of the Western Mighty

Gerald H. Peiris … A Memo prresented this December 2019 on the basis of articles on R2P presented initially in 2007.

There is no difficulty about accessing the considerable volume of writings available on the R2P ‘Principle’/’Norm’.

Continue reading →

1 Comment

Filed under accountability, american imperialism, British imperialism, centre-periphery relations, conspiracies, cultural transmission, economic processes, governance, historical interpretation, human rights, legal issues, life stories, NGOs, politIcal discourse, power politics, Responsibility to Protect or R2P, security, self-reflexivity, Sinhala-Tamil Relations, sri lankan society, taking the piss, the imaginary and the real, truth as casualty of war, UN reports, unusual people, vengeance, war reportage, world events & processes

December 9, 2019 · 2:41 pm

Evaluating Gotabaya’s Early Moves — Rajeewa Jayaweera

Rajeewa Jayaweera, Island, 7 December 2019, where the title is “Gotabaya Rajapaksa Presidency: some positives, negatives and challenges”

For all intent and purposes, President Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s (GR) recently concluded state visit to India, his first as Head of State is considered a success. A one on one meeting scheduled for 15 minutes had lasted one hour. During this time, both leaders have supposedly found common ground and established a personal rapport, so essential in relations between countries, especially between countries with a history of thorny periods.

The newly elected Sri Lankan President, in his inaugural speech stated, “we want to be neutral and stay out of conflicts amongst the world powers.” While in India, he reiterated his intention to renegotiate the 99-year lease with state-controlled China Merchants Port Holdings which would have no doubt pleased his hosts.

Continue reading →

Leave a comment

Filed under accountability, centre-periphery relations, communal relations, economic processes, ethnicity, export issues, foreign policy, governance, historical interpretation, Indian Ocean politics, island economy, life stories, modernity & modernization, politIcal discourse, power politics, self-reflexivity, Sinhala-Tamil Relations, sri lankan society, transport and communications, welfare & philanthophy, world events & processes

December 5, 2019 · 2:42 pm

Populist Pressures as the Central Problem in Lanka’s Recent History …. And So, too, Now

Kumar David, courtesy of Colombo Telegraph, 4 December 2019 where the title is “Ethnic conflict -The Problem is the People”

Today’s column is of an academic nature, where names are used it is for illustration, not to bestow praise or blame on an individual. If a reader thinks a name inappropriate, substitute another and read on. Though most examples are Sri Lankan the argument is general; it is true mutatis mutandis all over the world. The dynamic may be race, religion, language, caste, colour or tribe or any such separator of a society into identity groups. The key word is identity, charged by history and circumstance.

Continue reading →

1 Comment

Filed under accountability, authoritarian regimes, chauvinism, communal relations, cultural transmission, democratic measures, economic processes, education, fundamentalism, historical interpretation, Left politics, life stories, nationalism, politIcal discourse, power politics, Rajapaksa regime, self-reflexivity, Sinhala-Tamil Relations, sri lankan society, welfare & philanthophy, world events & processes

December 3, 2019 · 10:05 am

To Gotabaya: Wishes, Warnings and Thoughts from The Sunday Times

The Editor, Sunday Times, 1 December 2019

This is the ‘honeymoon’ period for a newly elected first term President, still riding the wave of popularity from the election victory of November 16. Even the media are expected to give the new President time to settle down, and some leeway to carry out his campaign promises and fulfil the expectations of his new office. This is not, however, to say that no comments ought to be made on the performance of the new administration during this period.

Continue reading →

1 Comment

Filed under accountability, authoritarian regimes, China and Chinese influences, economic processes, foreign policy, historical interpretation, Indian Ocean politics, island economy, landscape wondrous, legal issues, life stories, modernity & modernization, politIcal discourse, power politics, Rajapaksa regime, security, self-reflexivity, Sinhala-Tamil Relations, sri lankan society, transport and communications, welfare & philanthophy, world events & processes

December 3, 2019 · 2:16 am

Jehan Perera’s Appraisal of President Gotabaya’s First Steps

Jehan Perera, in Island, 3 December 2019, with this title: “President’s early parameters may require revision”

One of the weaknesses of the previous government was its failure to have cohesive policies that it implemented with determination. Instead there was a sense of free space and license to do as one pleased. It gave people a welcome sense of freedom, but it also led to strikes and pickets on an almost daily basis and frustration among the general population who did not see government at work. Along with the change of government that took place after the November 16 presidential election there is a sense of strong government and an uncertainty about what the parameters of free space will be. Recent pronouncements by President Gotabaya Rajapaksa are providing an initial indication of what some of the parameters will be. The President’s visit to India and the speeches and interviews he gave there provide a first indication of what some of the parameters might be.

Continue reading →

1 Comment

Filed under accountability, american imperialism, China and Chinese influences, economic processes, governance, historical interpretation, Indian Ocean politics, island economy, legal issues, life stories, modernity & modernization, patriotism, politIcal discourse, power politics, Rajapaksa regime, self-reflexivity, Sinhala-Tamil Relations, sri lankan society, Tamil civilians, welfare & philanthophy, world affairs, world events & processes

December 2, 2019 · 1:30 pm

Ludicrous Verdicts in Powerful Quarters Still Asserted TODAY: Death Toll in Eelam War IV Magnified Manifold

Michael Roberts, Courtesy of Colombo Telegraph, 2 December 2019,  where the title is “Excess! Tamil Death Toll Magnified In The Course Of British Interventions In The Sri Lankan Presidential Election”

 “just as in Kosovo if enough civilians died … the world would be   forced to step in” (Pulidevan, the LTTE Political Commissar, message in early 2009 to friends in Europe (quoted in Harrison: Still Counting the Dead, 2012: 63)

The assessments of the last stages of Eelam War IV embracing 2008/09 have been bedevilled by the verdicts of intellectuals and officials encased in drawing rooms located within an ivory tower. The hoary verdicts in the past have resurfaced today in the vociferous campaign aimed at influencing events in Sri Lanka – with the Shadow Chancellor of the Labour Party[1] and such HR activists as Alan Keenan,[ii] Fred Carver and Richard Gowing[iii] participating in this grandstanding work. Possessing no experience of modern warfare, mostly unfamiliar with the landscape of the pertinent battle theatre within the northern Vanni and animated by human rights fervour, they have bought into the clever LTTE strategy that built up a picture of an ”impending humanitarian catastrophe” – a picture generated from mid-2008 and involving Tamil advocates within the diaspora as well. Continue reading →

6 Comments

Filed under accountability, atrocities, australian media, authoritarian regimes, disparagement, doctoring evidence, Eelam, historical interpretation, landscape wondrous, law of armed conflict, life stories, LTTE, martyrdom, military strategy, photography, politIcal discourse, power politics, prabhakaran, propaganda, Sinhala-Tamil Relations, slanted reportage, sri lankan society, Tamil civilians, Tamil Tiger fighters, trauma, truth as casualty of war, UN reports, vengeance, war reportage, world events & processes