May 29, 2019 · 1:59 am

The Commanding Roles in the Last Phases of the Eelam War: A Few Thoughts

Retd Brigadier Hiran Halangode

Thanks, Michael for inviting me to comment on the remarks made by Mr. Gerald Peiris. I will only comment briefly on your observations to his two disagreements.  Some areas are classified because it involves the character of both Field Marshall SF and Gota and their role in winning the conflict over the LTTE, since their political ambitions may be affected in the future. The spheres of  political and military leadership were differentiated. The Navy, Air Force, Police, STF, and the Civil Defence Force were part of the military leadership, whilst MR, GR, Basil R and Lalith Wiratunga provided the political and civilian leadership.

HIRAN H

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May 28, 2019 · 11:08 am

White Van Atrocities and Major Bulathwatte: Yesterday and Today

Manoj Colambage in Sunday Observer, 19 May 2019, where the title is “The Bulathwatte Bewilderment”

The reinstatement of an army intelligence official implicated in attacks on journalists has given rise to serious concerns for the safety of media personnel and witnesses who testified against the officer and his platoon.

Army Intelligence Major Prabath Bulathwatte has been back in the spotlight after Army Commander Mahesh Senanayake stunned civil society in a television interview last week, announcing that the officer, who was interdicted for allegedly running the white van squad responsible for a slew of attacks against journalists, had been reinstated into a team under Senanayake’s command to combat radical Islamic terrorism.

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May 28, 2019 · 9:45 am

Lt. Sugath De Silva … R.I.P. at St. Anthony’s Kochchikade

Admiral Ravindra C Wijegunatne, Chief of Defence Staff

It was Easter Sunday, April 21, 2019. SLCG Ship Suraksha, 100 meter long Offshore Patrol Vessel (OPV) was getting ready for 14 – day Patrol. Her
fuel tanks were topped up, all victuals (required for 10 officers and 100 men crew for 14 days) loaded. Both cold and cool rooms were full with fresh fish/ meat and vegetables. The ship was ready to sail at 12 noon on 21st April 2019. The Logistic officer onboard has a lot of planning and work prior to long Patrol or voyage.

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May 27, 2019 · 3:13 pm

Gota’s Role in Eelam War Victory: Peiris challenges Roberts

Gerald Peiris in Kandy to Michael Roberts in Adelaide, 20/21 May 2019

Here are my observations on two of your comments (reproduced below in brown) on Long’s article**

  1. So, Gotabaya was not the single decisive hand in shaping the outcome of Eelam War IV. But in support of some lines in the Stephen Long essay, I shall dwell on several of his special contributions within a separate essay. Moreover, the recent Easter Sunday attacks and subsequent tensions in Sri Lanka encourage me to endorse Stephen Long’s caustic account of the glaring shortcomings in the intelligence operations of the Yahapaalana government. That, ofcourse, is a conclusion that is widely shared.
  2. However, the Sri Lanka Army began to transform its infantry divisions from around 2001 with the development of the SIOT concept which encouraged operational planning from the frontline-upwards and sharpened soldier skills.[2] General Sarath Fonseka is one to whom this course of development can be attributed, but I speculate that there were others involved.

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May 27, 2019 · 10:16 am

When Havelock Town moved into Colombo City

Item courtesy of “Ëxplore Sri Lanka” in Januäry 2013, where this item is entitled “Havelock Town: From Rubber Plantation To Distinctive Suburb

From Rubber Plantation To Distinctive Suburb!   It may be unusual to find a town within a city – unless it’s a Chinatown – but as far as Colombo is concerned, before the creation of Havelock Town and the adjacent Havelock Park in the early years of the 20th Century, this land was outside the residential area, in fact a rubber plantation that formerly cultivated cinnamon, which stretched westwards to Galle Road.

Havelock Town and Havelock Park were named by the Colombo Municipal Council (CMC) to honour Sir Arthur Havelock who, after a distinguished colonial career during which he governed Sierra Leone, Trinidad, and Natal, was appointed Governor of Ceylon from 1890-1895. Havelock is best-known for abolishing the ‘paddy tax’ – an unpopular levy on rice cultivation – extending the railway network to Kurunegala and Bandarawela, and bringing the benefits of medical science and education to all sections of the population.

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May 27, 2019 · 9:33 am

Uncle Sam! Sri Lanka’s Sovereignty impaired by SOFA deal with USA

Lasanda Kurukulasuriya, in Island, 27 May 2019, where the title reads”

While the contents of the proposed Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA) between the governments of Sri Lanka and the US still remain hidden from the public eye, parliament was told last week that the government had not entered into such an agreement – yet.  The negotiations however are going on, and Foreign Minister Tilak Marapana has reportedly indicated to the US that some of its provisions could not be implemented. One was the provision seeking exemption for visiting US personnel from criminal jurisdiction under Sri Lankan law, while in Sri Lanka. Another was a clause that would give effect to the agreement through an ‘exchange of notes.’

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May 26, 2019 · 3:29 pm

Shambolic Cricket Politics induces Mahela to steer clear of Sri Lanka Cricket

Andrew Fidel Fernando, in ESPNcricinfo, 26 May 2019, where the title reads “Not the right place for me’ – Jayawardene declines SLC World Cup offer

Mahela Jayawardene had been invited to play a role in Sri Lanka’s World Cup campaign, but declined largely because he remains disillusioned with Sri Lanka Cricket’s general direction. Now a two-time IPL-winning coach, Jayawardene has in the past produced plans to overhaul Sri Lanka’s domestic cricket system, only for those proposals to be rejected by SLC. Last year, a committee featuring Jayawardene, Kumar Sangakkara and Aravinda de Silva had also produced a report on Sri Lankan cricket, with recommendations on governance as well as domestic structure. Those recommendations have been almost totally ignored since.

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May 26, 2019 · 9:56 am

One Tiny Step towards Sanity and Reconciliation

Item in Sunday Times, 26 May 2019 …. http://www.sundaytimes.lk/190526/news/all-faiths-come-together-for-iftar-at-the-colombo-town-hall-lawn-351020.html

Remembering those who lost their lives in the Easter Sunday terror attacks, an Iftar ceremony was held yesterday at the Colombo Town Hall Lawn with the participation of those of all religions, civil society leaders and security forces personnel. Organised by the Sri Lanka Muslim Civil Society, the event began with the observance of silent prayers against the backdrop of Vesak decorations and coincided with the one month’s remembrance of the victims. Mayor Rosy Senanayake and the Service Chiefs also participated in the event. Pic by Amila Gamage

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May 24, 2019 · 10:36 am

Stephen Long’s “Revenge Politics”: Endorsements

Michael Roberts

Stephen Long is clearly an adventurous American who has travelled widely and ventured into the paths of Buddhist meditation as a central facet within this journey – so much so that he adopted a brahmacharya philosophy of life leading to his ordination in Los Angeles.[1] He does not seem to be a mere dabbler in the Buddhist dispensation: he has published a book entitled Karmic Ties: A Novel of Modern Asia (1999).  He also got to know Gotabaya Rajapaksa. In my conjecture this could have been in Los Angeles;[2] but he also refers to a meeting with Gotabaya when the latter was effectively overseeing Defence (with his brother President Mahinda as formal Minister).

His recent article “Sri Lanka: A Tragic Lesson in Revenge Politics” betrays a distinct bias: it overblows the weight of Gotabaya’s hand in Sri Lanka’s victory in Eelam War IV just a tad.[3] However, when Long asserts that Gotabaya Rajapaksa “literally had the country ‘wired’ for real-time information-collecting and feedback to authorities,” he pinpoints a vital pillar in the war campaign. As we know from a wide variety of sources and as Long claims, this security pillar was systematically dismantled by the Yahapālana government, thereby opening the door for the Zahran Hashim network to implement its carnage on Easter Sunday despite intel-reports from abroad with concrete data on their intent (see below). Continue reading →

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May 21, 2019 · 11:43 am

Fighting LTTE Women …. Looking Back from 2016

Kim Wall and Mansi Choksi, in Longreads, May 2018 where the title is “A Chance to Rewrite History: The Women Fighters of the Tamil Tigers” …… How during a brutal, 25-year civil war in Sri Lanka, the Tamil Tigers failed the women soldiers who sacrificed everything to fight for a sovereign state for the Tamil minority [with a NOTE from the Editor, Thuppahi at the end]

“We went on our first reporting trip together to write about an emerging Chinatown in Kampala in 2015,” says Mansi. “And then the next year, I moved to New York, where she was living, so we would spend our afternoons working together.” Mansi and Kim traveled to Sri Lanka in 2016. Mansi recalls Kim’s dedication to telling the story of the women who fought with the Tamil Tigers during Sri Lanka’s brutal, 25-year civil war. “Kim genuinely fell in love with the women we were writing about,” says Mansi. “You can hear it in her voice, in the tapes of our interviews.”

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