Velupillai Pirapaharan in his presentation of self in Che Guevara mode
Fire-Storm Images, II: The Indian Intervention, 1987
Naval rating Wijemuni Rohana de Silva attempts to hammer — deliver guti, so to speak — Premier Rajiv Gandhi for the humiliation imposed on Sri Lanka Through the insertion of an Indian Peace Keeping Force as the main pillar of the Indo-Lanka Accord. This incident occurred during the guard of honour on his arrival to finalize the Accord. Note that after serving his period of imprisonment for this act WR de Silva contested parliamentary elections under the JVP banner in his home area down south. I have been reliably informed that The cameraman was Sena Vidanagamage — what a camera strike!
Filed under historical interpretation, indian armed forces, Indian Ocean politics, LTTE, military strategy, power politics, power sharing, prabhakaran, Rajiv Gandhi, security, self-reflexivity, Sinhala-Tamil Relations, sri lankan society, unusual people, vengeance, war reportage, world events & processes
Ceylon Tea and Its Surrounds: Richard Simon’s Tour de Force
Michael Roberts, courtesy of Sunday Times, 16 July 2017, … http://www.sundaytimes.lk/170716/plus/an-invigorating-draught-250066.html
Sri Lanka. Aerial view of tea estate hillside.
Ceylon Tea is a must-read, must-absorb work of art. Its review of the history of tea in Sri Lanka is set in deep context – context historical, context political and context social. As such, it is a tour de force. Continue reading
Filed under British colonialism, commoditification, cultural transmission, economic processes, education, female empowerment, governance, heritage, historical interpretation, island economy, land policies, landscape wondrous, Left politics, life stories, LTTE, politIcal discourse, power politics, prabhakaran, Rajapaksa regime, self-reflexivity, Sinhala-Tamil Relations, sri lankan society, Tamil civilians, transport and communications, unusual people, welfare & philanthophy, working class conditions, world events & processes
Fire-Storm Images, I: The Sinhala Tamil Gulf Emerges
SWRD Bandaranaike woos a crowd on Sinhala language enthusiasts
Bandaranaike was an eloquent speaker in both English and Sinhala. This image captures his rhetorical vigour while on the stage… Continue reading
Introducing FIRE AND STORM by Michael Roberts
Anonymous Reviewer in Sunday Times, 21 July 2013, where the title runs “Important contribution towards a dialogue on Lankan polity. Book facts”
When Michael Roberts left Peradeniya in the late seventies, he was part of an exodus of intellectuals from the University of Ceylon, Peradeniya, arguably one of the best universities at that time. The exodus of academics at that time was compelled by the economic difficulties faced by university dons. It was the second wave of such emigration that diminished the intellectual life of the university and country.
Pirapāharan and leading Tiger Commanders at the Indian sponsored training camp at Sirimalai in 1984
The Arts Faculty of the University of Peradeniya never regained its prestigious academic status after that. Today the University of Peradeniya cannot take pride in intellectuals of the eminence of E. F. C. Ludowyck, E. R Sarachchandra, H. A. de S. Gunasekera, Fr. Ignatius Pinto, Ian Van den Driesen and many others. Continue reading
Filed under accountability, communal relations, devolution, discrimination, education policy, Eelam, electoral structures, female empowerment, governance, historical interpretation, human rights, IDP camps, indian armed forces, island economy, landscape wondrous, language policies, law of armed conflict, legal issues, life stories, LTTE, military strategy, nationalism, politIcal discourse, power politics, power sharing, prabhakaran, Rajapaksa regime, Rajiv Gandhi, riots and pogroms, self-reflexivity, Sinhala-Tamil Relations, slanted reportage, sri lankan society, suicide bombing, Tamil civilians, Tamil migration, tamil refugees, Tamil Tiger fighters, terrorism, the imaginary and the real, truth as casualty of war, vengeance, war reportage, welfare & philanthophy, women in ethnic conflcits, world events & processes
Dissecting Roberts’ Review of NARRATING TAMIL NATIONALISM
Bandu de Silva, in The Island, on 30 October 2006, reviewing Narrating Tamil Nationalism—Subjectivities and Issues by Michael Roberts
Michael Roberts’ slim book (52 pages) with pictures, published by Vijitha Yapa publications has already Attracted some public attention but I think it deserves a wider comment despite the shortness of the treatment because it is in itself a commentary on a more controversial work by A. J. Wilson on Sri Lankan Tamil Nationalism, its Orgin and Development in the 19th and 20 Centuries with a Chapter by Rev. A. J. V. Chandrakanthan. (London Hurst & Co., now published as a Penguin Book. A Jeyaratnam Wilson
A Jeyaratnam Wilson Continue reading
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Inspirations from Tamara Kunanayakam … and Incisive Criticisms of Yahapaalanaya
Lasanda Kurukulasuriya
Tamara Kunanayakam was the recipient of ‘Inspirational Woman of the Year’Award in this year’s ‘Top 50 Professional and Career Women Awards’ organized by Women in Management, in partnership with the In ternational Finance Corporation of the World Bank Group. The 50 winners from Sri Lanka and the Maldives received their awards at a glittering ceremony held at Hotel Taj Samudra on Friday. Ms. Kunanayakam, best known for her defence of Sri Lanka’s independence and sovereignty as Permanent Representative to the UN in Geneva 2011-2012 when a resolution was brought against the country at the Human Rights Council, said “the fact that I won this award, for me is a recognition of the values and principles I stood for.” The Daily Mirror talked to her about the less-known aspects of her background and career. Excerpts from the interview:
Tamara Kunanayakam receives the award from Dr. Rohantha Athukorala, Chairman – Panel of Judges
Filed under accountability, american imperialism, economic processes, female empowerment, governance, historical interpretation, island economy, Left politics, legal issues, life stories, performance, politIcal discourse, power politics, self-reflexivity, social justice, sri lankan society, unusual people, world affairs
Peddling Gross Falsehoods on Sri Lanka’s Public Debt and Economics
The LANKA GUARDIAN introduced an essay by the banker Ajit Kanagasundaram with the following note: “Over 90 percent of government revenue currently goes on debt servicing, mainly to China, and the concessionary capital repayment moratorium on multi-lateral agency loans will soon expire. What happens then?” The article is entitled “Sri Lanka: Plight at the end of the Tunnel” and can be read at https://www.slguardian.org/2017/07/sri-lanka-plight-at-the-end-of-the-tunnel/
Readers should visit the web-site for the full article. Since economic data on this topic is Greek to me, I sent an immediate inquiry to a few specialists I had met at a Marga gathering [relating to the Gamani Corea Foundation] on Saturday … and have followed it up by embracing a few others with the same inquiry. The short responses from Dushni Werakoon, Godfrey Gunatilleka and Nishan de Mel, indicate that Kanagasundaram and the Lanka Guardian are peddling nonsense. Continue reading
Filed under accountability, doctoring evidence, economic processes, elephant tales, governance, historical interpretation, island economy, landscape wondrous, politIcal discourse, self-reflexivity, slanted reportage, sri lankan society, the imaginary and the real, world affairs, world events & processes
Breakthrough Heart Transplant at Kandy Hospital: An Almsgiving beyond Life
Kumudini Hettiarachchi, in Sunday Times, 16 July 2017, reporting on the human saga behind a trailblazing medical feat in Sri Lanka under the title “A new heart begins to beat
Overjoyed is H.A. Wijaya Kumarasiri from a village in Anuradhapura. His Sudu, with her new heart beating strongly within, had opened her eyes and given him a smile that morning, as he murmured endearments to her. We meet him the same day, Wednesday, at noon as he lingers outside the Kandy Teaching Hospital’s Cardiothoracic Intensive Care Unit (CTICU), awaiting another glimpse of his wife.
The heart transplant team at work in Operating Theatre B. Pix by Priyantha Wickramarachch
