Natsumi Penberthy, in Australian Geographic, 28 April 2010, where the title runs thus: “The new extreme: Underwater cave diving”
CAVE DIVERS BRAVE TIGHT spaces, confusing tunnels and all the inherent dangers of taking a mammalian body underwater – just to float through some of the last lost worlds.
Sanjeewa Karunaratne, whose favoured title is “Stories from Sri Lanka’s Civil War – Lional Silva“
During 1984-89, the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (“JVP”) or People’s Liberation Front launched a clandestine attack against the Government of Sri Lanka. Since its fighters were mingling among the public, the military and its militia groups were struggling to cope with this invisible enemy. As a result, spies were everywhere—one wrong word, move or contact may bestow a gruesome death on top of a burning tire. It may be an “in-kind” response to the JVP, whose piece of paper was enough to close down an entire city; and who did not hesitate to execute a school principal, government servant, singer, politician, or an ordinary person who disobeyed their orders, in front of their loved ones. It was a crisis of epic proportions and a very uncertain time in the country.
Filed under atrocities, authoritarian regimes, education, historical interpretation, insurrections, island economy, Left politics, life stories, politIcal discourse, power politics, riots and pogroms, self-reflexivity, sri lankan society, terrorism, the imaginary and the real, trauma, unusual people, vengeance, world events & processes
Sarath Gamani De Silva, in The Sunday Island, 26 February 2021, where the title runs “Problems in Geneva: Facts that brought us here””
The annual patriotic taunts and the laments of the majority are heard as the day of reckoning approaches in Geneva. We are shouting ourselves hoarse, complaining that the whole world is ganging up against the brave Sri Lankans, to punish them for eliminating the most brutal terrorist outfit the world has ever seen. It is true that what was achieved in 2009 is something that no other country could do in eliminating terrorism. But does that guarantee peace when the basic grievances that led to civil unrest over the years have not been addressed?
This article is not an attempt to justify violence, untruth or deplorable and unprincipled activities of other countries. Nor is it to devalue the achievements up to 2009. The intention is to open the eyes of my own countrymen to the reality of the hopeless situation facing the nation.
Filed under accountability, centre-periphery relations, communal relations, conspiracies, foreign policy, governance, historical interpretation, human rights, Indian Ocean politics, language policies, legal issues, life stories, nationalism, politIcal discourse, power politics, power sharing, Rajapaksa regime, security, self-reflexivity, Sinhala-Tamil Relations, sri lankan society, Tamil Tiger fighters, terrorism, the imaginary and the real, truth as casualty of war, UN reports, war crimes, welfare & philanthophy, world events & processes
Capt. Elmo Jayawardena
The present-day sky is crowded. Airways crisscross above continents and oceans and are severely congested with all kinds of aeroplanes carrying passengers and cargo. Then someone crashes, people die, and we say “What a shame!” The manufacturers start defending their aeroplane, the insurance companies look for loopholes to creep through and save their bacon. Of course, there is always the ever-present ‘pilot error’ verdict to take the final blame. That is what happens in air crashes and crash causes. The dying or the surviving is seldom man-made. It is all done upstairs and has little to do with what we deduce from what we know or hear. I’ve seen enough of the sky and what happens in it to figure that out.
Raj Gonsalkorale in Daily FT, 25 February 2021, where the title runs thus: “UNHRC What is the real agenda?”
The US Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken seems to give an indication as to what the real agenda behind his and his country’s support for this resolution. [the UNHRC one]. He speaks of “lack of accountability for past atrocities”. This statement implies that atrocities were committed if there is to be accountability for them.
Filed under accountability, american imperialism, centre-periphery relations, communal relations, doctoring evidence, foreign policy, governance, historical interpretation, life stories, LTTE, patriotism, politIcal discourse, power sharing, prabhakaran, self-reflexivity, Sinhala-Tamil Relations, social justice, sri lankan society, Tamil Tiger fighters, truth as casualty of war, UN reports, world events & processes
Michael, I am afraid there are no niceties in war. War is brutal as is the detritus of war. Unlike in a conventional war where the behaviours of troops are defined by the ‘Geneva Convention,’ it is not applicable in a civil insurrection especially one that attacks a legitimately elected democratic government. No country is bound to tolerate a secessionist group especially one that utilises terror to achieve its ends. History is replete with examples of civil wars that were prompted by secession. The most glaring example is the United States civil war. We also have an example from Vietnam and currently ongoing is the Korean debacle.
Tiger dead collected by the SL Army …. and Tamil civlians incl Tigers in civies leaving the final battle arena east of Nandhikadal Lagoon
see Roberts, Tamil Person & State. Pictorial, Colombo, 2014 for details and more Pix
Filed under accountability, american imperialism, authoritarian regimes, British imperialism, communal relations, discrimination, disparagement, doctoring evidence, foreign policy, governance, historical interpretation, human rights, landscape wondrous, legal issues, life stories, LTTE, military strategy, politIcal discourse, power politics, propaganda, Rajapaksa regime, refugees, security, self-reflexivity, Sinhala-Tamil Relations, slanted reportage, sri lankan society, Tamil civilians, tamil refugees, Tamil Tiger fighters, the imaginary and the real, trauma, truth as casualty of war, unusual people, war reportage, world events & processes
Teddy Ng, South China Morning Post, 24 February 2021: “China and Singapore start joint naval drills
Singapore naval servicemen wave to a departing Chinese frigate after a previous joint exercise. Photo: XinhuaJevans Nyabiage, in South China Morning Post, 21 February 2021, with this title ‘Debt-trap diplomacy’ a myth: no evidence China pushes poor nations to seize their assets, says academic
There is no evidence China aims to deliberately push poor countries into debt as a way of seizing their assets or gaining a greater say in their internal affairs, researchers and analysts said – countering Washington’s narrative that China was engaging in “debt-trap diplomacy”. Deborah Brautigam, a professor of international political economy at Johns Hopkins University and founding director of the China Africa Research Initiative (Cari), considers the “debt-trap” narrative a myth.
Filed under accountability, authoritarian regimes, centre-periphery relations, China and Chinese influences, commoditification, disparagement, economic processes, foreign policy, governance, historical interpretation, Indian Ocean politics, island economy, landscape wondrous, legal issues, modernity & modernization, politIcal discourse, power politics, security, sri lankan society, the imaginary and the real, transport and communications, truth as casualty of war, world events & processes
thuppahi
