Category Archives: terrorism

The LTTE Bomb Attack on the Central Bank Building in the Heart of Colombo, 31 January 1996

Michael Roberts

Colombo in the 1990s was a rather different world from the city today because its heartland centred around the Fort with its venerable shops (Cargills, Millers) leading mercantile offices, three premier hotels and the huge Central Bank building looming on the horizon. The expansion and transformation of the Port of Colombo and many other developments have transformed the city since then and the ‘weight of the Fort’ has diminished considerably since then.

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Hot Press: Ukraine on the Backfoot in War with Russia

An Observer in A Black Sea Town …. with highlights and a title imposed by The Editor, Thuppahi

Kazakh authorities in Kazakhstan have called on all citizens to leave Odessa and Kharkov which suggests Russia will soon take these two strategic cities. Once Russia takes Odessa,  Ukraine will became a landlocked country, and will no longer have access to the Black Sea.

Map of Ukraine.

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The Crocus Terrorist Attack: Steven Seagal, the Australian Embassy, the Perpetrators and Victim

An Observer in a Black Sea town  …. with highlighting imposed by The Editor, Thuppahi

The American actor Steven Seagal has just visited the victims of the Crocus City Hall terrorist attack, who are now in the National Medical and Surgical Centre named after N. I. Pirogov.  Steven said: “What happened was a terrible tragedy that should not have happened. And I think that Russia will serve as an example and let the world understand that you can’t just do this to any people and go unpunished. I thank the doctors for the prompt work they are doing. I am glad to see that the patients are feeling well and are recovering. God bless them.”

 Steven Seagal visiting the victims of the Crocus City Hall terrorist attack.

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Why the West is wrong to blame ISIS for the Crocus Terrorist Attack

An Observer in a Black Sea town 

” The American Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) assert Russia has no evidence to claim Ukraine was involved in the terrorist attack on Crocus City Hall on 22 March 2024.”

Actually, the Russians do have evidence and they have shared some of it with the world including,

  1. The terrorists were heading to the Ukraine border to escape.
  2. A window was opened at the border from the Ukrainian side, which means instructions must have been issued to Ukrainian border guards from the highest levels of the Ukrainian government.
  3. The terrorists do not fit the typical Jihadist prototype as they were motivated by money, not religious ideology. It would be more accurate to describe them as “mercenaries”, or “mercenary terrorists”. Each was to be paid a half a million roubles (US$5400; AUS$8272)

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Islamic Jihadists Assault on Moscow Concert Hall

 and in The Guardian 25 March 2024, where the title reads thus: “Four suspects in Moscow concert hall terror attack appear in court

Footage of gunmen reinforces Islamic State’s claim to have masterminded worst terror attack on Russia in two decades.

Four suspects have appeared in court in Moscow charged over the terrorist attack on the Crocus City concert hall on Friday that left 137 people dead. The men were officially identified as citizens of Tajikistan, the Tass state news agency said, and were remanded in custody for two months at Sunday’s hearing.

People bring flowers at the Crocus City Hall concert venue following a terrorist attack in Moscow, Russia.

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Palaly Airport as Site for SLAF Exhibition

Ananth Palakidnar in Daily News, 10 March 2024 … with highlighting emphasis being the work of the Editor Thuppahi

The Sri Lanka Air Force has chosen the city of Jaffna to include in its 73rd-anniversary celebration by organising an exhibition of the SLAF at the historic Muttraveli area around the Dutch Fort of Jaffna.

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The Roberts Mss at Adelaide University Library

Michael Roberts

Recent Email Exchanges with Jane Russell of UK, who has one foot in England and two feet in island Sri Lanka, and a revived focus on  George E De Silva (1870-1950) reminded me of the George E. Mss Memoirs in typescript which Jane had given me long ago. This led me to a long list which amounts to a treasure trove for those addressing a variety of topics in the history of Sri Lanka. I present the details before. Those wishing to pursue specifics must write to the Head of the Special Collections at the Barr Smith Library Adelaide University, not to me: samantha.farnsworth@adelaide.edu.au

It is my conjecture that the same corpus of material (or parts thereof) will also be part of the Roberts Collection at the National Library Services Board along Torrington Rd (beside the National Archives) in Colombo. They could initially seek specifics from Mr Welimuni Sunil who heads the institution: viz …

Welimuni Sunil … sunilnldsb@gmail.com

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Former Military Officers in Political Party Campaigns in Sri Lanka

Shamindra Ferdinando, in The Island, 28 February 2024 where the title runs thus: “National Elections: Ex-military Factor”... with highighting imposed by The Editor, Thuppahi

With the presidential election scheduled for later this year, political parties represented in Parliament have stepped up efforts to forge alliances.

Ex-military personnel at a rally organized by the JVP last year (pic courtesy JVP)

In terms of the Constitution, presidential elections will have to be conducted between Sept 18 and Oct 18, 2024. The last presidential election was held in Nov 2019.

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From “Tribalism” to “Fascist Nationalism”: Ethical Musings

Brian Victoria* … in Informed Comment  … https://www.juancole.com/2024/02/judaism-tribalism-universalism.html…. where the title read thus: “The Battle for the Soul of Judaism: Tribalism, Amalek and the Axial Age Universalism of Isaiah”

 

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TORMENTED BY TELSTRA …. in Australia

Michael Roberts the Thuppahiyaa

 Dear MP for WAITE in South Australia, friends and countrymen

A =ISSUES with the MOBILE PHONE

This is a remarkable tale of TELSTRA failures amounting to persecution of a couple in their mid-eighties.

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