ITEMS sent to me by my old Aloysian mate Sarri Junaid in Canada…
Trump’s Failed War on China ….
How long will Trump last
Europe is An Economic Basket-case
ITEMS sent to me by my old Aloysian mate Sarri Junaid in Canada…
Trump’s Failed War on China ….
How long will Trump last
Europe is An Economic Basket-case
Filed under accountability, american imperialism, centre-periphery relations, chauvinism, China and Chinese influences, citizen journalism, disparagement, economic processes, ethnicity, foreign policy, governance, historical interpretation, legal issues, life stories, Middle Eastern Politics, Pacific Ocean issues, politIcal discourse, power politics, security, taking the piss, truth as casualty of war, world events & processes, zealotry
Introduction by Mithran Tiruchelvam …. a son of Neelan Tiruchelvam of the ICES [who was tragically assassinated by the LTTE in front of the ICES offices one year later]
The present collection of essays arose out of a symposium held at the International Centre for Ethnic Studies (ICES), Colombo from 13-15 March 1997, where researchers and scholars presented some of their recent research interests. This volume seeks to gather the threads of a hybrid collection of essays and weave them together in their shared historical moment. An anthology of this nature seeks organizational cohesion based on the papers’ common origins at the symposium, thereby sacrificing some degree of thematic or disciplinary unity. It is intended that such a collection make available to the general reader and to the scholar alike, a sense of the variety of social science pursuits being undertaken in Sri Lanka today. As such its purpose is to flavour as much as to nourish the reader’s palate, providing a sampling of the eclectic diversity of topics, methodologies and critical perspectives. engaging the social scientist today.
Filed under accountability, anti-racism, authoritarian regimes, British colonialism, centre-periphery relations, chauvinism, commoditification, communal relations, cultural transmission, democratic measures, economic processes, education, Eelam, electoral structures, ethnicity, historical interpretation, Indian Ocean politics, language policies, Left politics, legal issues, life stories, modernity & modernization, nationalism, parliamentary elections, politIcal discourse, power politics, prabhakaran, self-reflexivity, Sinhala-Tamil Relations, sri lankan society, Tamil civilians, Tamil migration, Tamil Tiger fighters, terrorism, truth as casualty of war, vengeance, war reportage, welfare & philanthophy, world events & processes, zealotry
A Circular Memo that reached the Thuppahiyaa, 25 November 2024
Big Tiger Event this week in every major city in Australia – share with Sri Lankans Aussies. ………….Please see the attached document and once you have read the contents, consider these actions:

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Henry Ergas in The Australian, 15 November 2024 with this title: “Jew hatred festers amid multicultural malaise” ….
The attacks, which followed a soccer game between a Dutch and an Israeli team, appear to have been premeditated and well-organised. Nor were they an isolated incident.
Filed under accountability, atrocities, centre-periphery relations, chauvinism, communal relations, cultural transmission, democratic measures, demography, disparagement, economic processes, ethnicity, European history, governance, historical interpretation, life stories, political demonstrations, politIcal discourse, power politics, racism, religiosity, self-reflexivity, trauma, truth as casualty of war, vengeance, world events & processes, zealotry
Ameen Izzadeen, in The Daily Mirror in Sri Lanka, 22 November 2024 …… where the title reads “Biden’s legacy: Gaza genocide and now possible nuclear war in Europe” **
US Alternate Ambassador Robert Wood raises his hand to veto a resolution calling for a ceasefire in Gaza, during a United Nations Security Council meeting on Wednesday. AFP
Never has the world been so precariously on pins and needles as it is now, with Europe exposed to the threat of nuclear war, the West Asian region facing genocide, and the rest of the world uncertain about what to expect from the leadership change in the United States—a nation teetering on the brink of moral bankruptcy.
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These are but some of his publications over a career spanning the 1950s to 2020s — with eyesight deterioration blighting his last platform of life. No more table tennis, but much to remember. So, here. let me doff my cap to thee, Gerry Machang, …. Mike
Filed under art & allure bewitching, centre-periphery relations, commoditification, communal relations, counter-insurgency, cultural transmission, democratic measures, demography, devolution, economic processes, Eelam, electoral structures, ethnicity, governance, growth pole, heritage, historical interpretation, Indian Ocean politics, insurrections, irrigation, island economy, land policies, landscape wondrous, language policies, law of armed conflict, legal issues, life stories, LTTE, military strategy, modernity & modernization, Muslims in Lanka, nationalism, parliamentary elections, patriotism, politIcal discourse, population, power politics, power sharing, prabhakaran, rehabilitation, security, self-reflexivity, Sinhala-Tamil Relations, social justice, sri lankan society, Tamil civilians, tamil refugees, Tamil Tiger fighters, teaching profession, terrorism, transport and communications, truth as casualty of war, UN reports, unusual people, war crimes, war reportage, welfare & philanthophy, working class conditions, world events & processes, zealotry
Madhur Sharma, in Outlook.com, 28 November 2022, where the title runs thus “Why Rajiv Gandhi Sent IPKF To Sri Lanka And How LTTE Played Both Sides” .… with highlighting imposed by The Editor, Thuppahi
Former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi signed the Indo-Sri Lanka Accord with Sri Lankan President Junius Richard Jayawardene in 1987. Under the pact, the Indian military was deployed as the Indian Peace Keeping Force (IPKF) to Sri Lanka. Soon after the deployment, the circumstances changed and IPKF was engaged in combat by the Tamil armed group LTTE.
Rajiv Gandhi with Anton Balasingham, Pirapaharan & AN Other in India ….. and Pirapahrana & MGR chat in South India
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AN INTRODUCTORY NOTE by Michael Roberts, 11 November 2024
Brig Retd Hiran Halangode sent me the Memorandum presented below as a RESPONSE to one of my reprinted articles on ‘’Religious Strands in the SL Tamil Rebellions of the 1970s to 2009.’’[1] As indicated by him, the memo presents a series of desultory thoughts and do not amount to a thorough-going academic essay. However, they serve as an incentive towards reflection. I have taken the liberty of inserting highlights to spotlight especially significant or controversial thoughts.
SL Army troops in defensive positions in the Vanni circa 2008
BRIG. HIRAN HALANGODE (retd) in Response to MR On Fri, Nov 8, 2024 …… presenting …… https://thuppahis.com/2022/10/02/religion-within-tamil-militancy-and-the-ltte/
Hi Michael,
An excellent effort. I have a few points which may be of interest to you. Random thoughts in fact.
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N. Malathy = Obituary, 7 January 2022 … ”Margaret Trawick Wanted to Retire in the LTTE’s Vanni”
I first heard about Margaret Trawick through the “Tamil Circle” email group during the late 1990’s. This was before internet-based news sites had become common. ‘Tamil Circle” was a way to share news about the homeland. From a university library, I borrowed Margaret’s book cum her PhD thesis, “Notes on Love in a Tamil Family”, which was based on her anthropological work in Tamil Nadu. That was the beginning of my journey to understand my own society. Margaret’s book taught me a lot about the anthropological perspective of societies, a perspective that the science-focused Tamil elite of my generation lacks. It remains a weakness of my society.
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“Barbarians on scooters are riding through our capital city hunting Israelis and Jews,” David van Weel, the Dutch Minister of Justice and Security, wrote on X late last week as a violent, largely Muslim, mob rampaged through Amsterdam’s streets.