Di-P12-27-01

Total Page:16

File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb

Di-P12-27-01 12 Thursday 27th January, 2011 The Island Features Apart from this incisive glimpse of the pluralistic reality of the beneficiaries of independence, several other images make clear Rushdie’s analytical skill. One of the most memorable was the account of the departing Britisher allowing Saleem’s parents to buy his house for a song, provided they agreed to change nothing in it. step and Jump (Junior) Long Jump and senior Hop-step and jump events. robably the most influential British writer of He was a member of the team the latter part of the 20th century was Salman when Ananda College won the PRushdie. Midnight’s Children, which won the Ceylon Public Schools Athletics Booker Prize in 1981, was later twice awarded the Championship and claimed the Booker of Bookers as being the best work in the 25 prestigious Tarbet Challenge Cup. and then 40 year history of the prize. There was He was awarded the College and really no questioning of this decision. public schools colours in four The work also firmly established in the main- events, namely, Hop step and Jump, stream of English writing the technique known as long jump, 4x110 yards relay and magic realism, which in essence turned the notion 4x400 yards relay. Further, he was of fiction on its head. Whereas normally writers also a pioneer of CT&FC and won make up stories that follow the normal rules of life, his events Hop step and jump and so as to represent reality, magic realism breaks those long jump at Inter-Club rules, and in effect uses magic to increase our Championships. understanding of life. For this purpose it ignores the He was an excellent wicket-keep- rules of real life, while sometimes introducing actu- er and a hard hitting middle order al people and happenings into the text. bat in the Ananda First XI in 1960. The most extreme example of this latter tech- In 1957, to 1960, he captained the nique in Midnight’s Children occurs with the intro- Ananda College Badminton Team duction of Indira Gandhi as virtually a character in and emerged senior doubles cham- the novel, identified as the Black Widow, with her pion and runners-up in the senior real-life hairstyle, sharply distinguished black and singles. He had been a member of white components, being held to represent the con- the College Tennis Team in 1959 trast between what she presented to the world and and 1960. its underside. However I found this aspect of the He was also an outstanding book the least convincing, and indeed Indira Gandhi cadet at Ananda, where he learned made the limitations of this sort of approach clear the basics in Army training. when she sued Rushdie, not about the general criti- He enrolled in the Junior cisms, but the insinuation that she had been respon- Cadet Platoon No. 1 in 1956 and sible for the death of her husband. She won the attended the annual training case, and in fact the book is remembered now not so camp that year as a Lance much for Rushdie’s criticism of her period of Corporal. In 1957, he, again Emergency Rule, but rather for its incisive account attended the training camp, of the first few years of Indian independence, culmi- as sergeant. In both years, nating in the wars that finally put paid to the idea of the Ananda College platoon Indian and Pakistani parity. emerged first in order of The protagonist of the book is merit among Sri Lanka Saleem Sinai, born at the moment schools and won the CLI India achieved independence, and challenge cup. In 1959, he thus endowed with supernatural attended the senior cadet gifts, along with the other children camp as Lance Corporal. of midnight. However he is not He was a member of the really the son of his putative par- College Rifle Club and rep- ents, since his ayah, in a fit of resented the club in shoot- egalitarian ideal- ing championships. Rohan has ism, switched been a prefect both of the hostel him at birth with and the school. He joined the Sri the son of a poor Lanka Army in 1961 as a cadet offi- woman, who cer. had been Daluwatte was born on 9th May impregnated by 1941. He hails from a highly an Englishman respectable family from about to leave Ambalangoda. His father D. H. the country. The Paulis De Silva was a fine outstand- real Saleem ing Athlete of S’Thomas’ College, Sinai is brought up in the slums and becomes a Mount Lavinia and a reputed criminal, who ends up as a Congress Party thug BY PREMASARA planter. His mother was D. W. Leela at the time of the Emergency. EPASINGHE Somawathie from Weligama. He Apart from this incisive glimpse of the plural- has four brothers and a sister, istic reality of the beneficiaries of independence, namely Susantha, Pinsiri, several other images make clear Rushdie’s ana- here are many sportsmen and aluwatte held the Rupasiri, Dhanasiri and sister lytical skill. One of the most memorable was the sports women in the island. Ananda College Malini. account of the departing Britisher allowing TThey are mostly specialists in He joined the Sri Lanka Army in Saleem’s parents to buy his house for a song, their own selective sport. Versatile records for 220 1961 as an officer cadet. After being provided they agreed to change nothing in it. D sportsmen and sportswomen are a Sometimes I think the Ayatollah’s extreme reac- enlisted in the Army, he was sent to Supplementing this vision of the straitjacket in yards, Hop-step and rare breed. A versatile sportsman tion was entirely due to Sri Lanka. We were I think the Royal Military Academy which the British bound India through procedural can participate in many sports the first country to ban the book, along with the film Jump (Junior) Long Sandhurst, United Kingdom for rules is the account of how Americans contributed activities. To be a versatile sports- The Last Temptation of Christ, in what was clearly Military Training. During his stint to the language riots that nearly tore India apart in Jump and senior Hop- man is difficult, a challenge. an election measure in 1988 designed to attract at RMPS, United Kingdom, he took the fifties. The trope here, matching the much less step and jump events. Versatility is something you pos- Muslim and Christian votes. I was in Pakistan at the part in many co-curricular activi- formal way in which influence was exercised, takes sess as a born talent. time, and interviewed on the subject on Pakistan He was a member of ties. In the Sandhurst Military the form of a girl who happens to live there with her A couple of days ago, I met radio, when we were able to discuss the book freely. Academy, he excelled in athletics, family, and manages to create confusion that could the team when Ananda General Rohan Daluwatte an out- But then Pakistan had to go one step further, and not badminton and basketball. have been resolved easily without her. standing sports personality, who only ban the book, but I think burn copies of all College won the Participating in a Western Rushdie’s next novel, Shame, dealt with brought credit and honour to Sri Rushdie’s books in the country. This left Iran no European Military Cadets Athletics Pakistan, and specifically the rivalry between Ceylon Public Schools Lanka in his day, at his residence. option but to make its indignation even more dra- Meet (WEMCAM) as well as a meet Bhutto and General Zia, who overthrew and then He took part in many sports and matic, with unfortunate consequences for Rushdie. Athletics against Oxford, Cambridge, executed him. This time the technique involved performed at the highest level in One of these was that the danger to his life made Dartmouth and Cranwell. His characters who were very obviously based on the Championship and athletics, basketball, badminton, him dependent on the British government for pro- greatest achievement was winning two rivals, with clearly identifiable personal and claimed the prestigious tennis and cricket. He obtained tection, so in time the scourge of the British estab- the Hop Step and Jump, (his pet political traits, the sexual antics and volatility of school colours for these sports at lishment became a votary, being awarded a knight- Tarbet Challenge Cup. event throughout his athletics Bhutto, the puritanism and dogged determination of Ananda College Colombo. hood in fact in 2007. However, though Rushdie has career) at the British Army Zia. The novel, written in 1983, also introduces He was awarded the When Rohan Daluwatte the for- mellowed, he has still been critical when required, Championships. He was awarded Benazir Bhutto as the Virgin Ironpants, who inherits mer Commander of the Army opposing for instance the Anglo-American attack on College and public colours. the country in time, in a prophetic account that sug- retired, he was appointed as the Iraq, though to my mind rightly supporting the UN Daluwatte had the proud distinc- gests too that she might have been more successful schools colours in four Head of the newly formed Joint invasion of Afghanistan following the Al-Qaeda tion of representing the British had she not married. Operations Command and later as attack on the Twin Towers. events, namely, Hop Combined Services Team in Hop- These two brilliant books, that provided valuable Chief of Defence Staff with the His subsequent fiction, though always exciting step and Jump and was awarded insights into the contemporary politics and social step and Jump, long rank of General.
Recommended publications
  • Annual Report & Accounts 2019-2020
    Exporters’ Association Of Sri Lanka Annual Report & Accounts 2019-2020 EASL Annual Report 2019/2020 Page 1 OFFICE BEARERS 2019/ 2020 CHAIRMAN Mr. Chrisso De Mel Hayleys Plc 1st VICE CHAIRMAN Mr. Talal Shums Shums & Company Pvt Ltd 2nd VICE CHAIRMAN Mr. Lakshan Algama Perera K I K Lanka (Pvt) Ltd SECRETARIAT THE CEYLON CHAMBER OF COMMERCE 50, Nawam Mawatha, Colombo 2 TEL : +94 11 5588897/ 5588898 FAX : +94 11 2449352 EMAIL : [email protected] WEBSITE : www.exporterssrilanka.net EASL Annual Report 2019/2020 Page 2 MANAGING COMMITTEE 2019/2020 MEMBER COMPANIES Company Name Main Representative Alternate Representative Akbar Brother (Pvt) Ltd Mr. Udesh Witharana Ceylon Biscuits Ltd Mr. Jude Rubera Mr. Priyantha Bandara Eastern Merchants PLC Mr. Harin De Silva Hayleys PLC Mr. Chrisso de Mel Mr. Nalaka Ratnayake Hatton National Bank PLC Mr. Janath Illangantileke Mr. Randeva Mahaarachchi KIK Lanka (Pvt) Ltd Mr. Lakshan Algama Perera Mrs. Nadie Kahatapitiya Ms. Chamari Link Natural Products (Pvt) Ltd Wickramathilake Mr. Chanaka Gunathilake Lion Brewery Ceylon PLC Mr. Ranil Goonetilleke Meezan & Co. (Pvt) Ltd Mr. S Abdul Cader Mr. Azile Irshad Rainco (Pvt) Ltd Mr. Ahmed Aroos Mr. Prasanna Chandrasiri K I K Lanka (Pvt) Ltd Mr. Lakshan Algama Perera Mrs. Nadie Kahatapitiya Algama Sri Lanka Export Credit Insurance Corporation Mr. D H J Ranasinghe Mr. S M T Silva Shums & Company (Pvt) Ltd Mr. M H Talal Shums Saboor Chatoor (Pvt) Ltd Mr. Gulam Chatoor Mr. Ejaz Chatoor Tea Tang (Pvt) Ltd Mr. Rohan P Daluwatte EASL Annual Report 2019/2020 Page 3 MANAGING COMMITTEE 2019/2020 MEMBER PRODUCT ASSOCIATIONS PRODUCT ASSOCIATION REPRESENTED BY 1.
    [Show full text]
  • Torture's Link to Profit in Sri Lanka, a Retrospective Review
    28 SCIENTIFIC ARTICLE Mercy for money: Torture’s link to profit in Sri Lanka, a retrospective review Wendell Block, M.D.,* Jessica Lee M.D.,* Kera Vijayasingham B.A.* between 1989 and 2013. We tallied the Key points of interest: number of incidents in which claimants • This paper supplements earlier studies described paying cash or jewelry to end on prevalence of bribe payments to end torture, and collected other associated data torture in Sri Lanka, adding trends such as demographics, organizations of the throughout the war, after the war, perpetrators, locations, and, if available, involving multiple armed organizations, amounts paid. We included torture perpe- and across wide geographic locations. trated by both governmental and nongovern- • Victims may not genuinely be consid- mental militant groups. Collected data was ered to be a security risk but are used for coded and evaluated. Findings: We found extortion. that 78 of the 95 subjects (82.1%) whose • Significant economic and social impact reported ordeals met the United Nations on families is likely. Convention Against Torture/International • Torture unlikely to stop until financial Criminal Court definitions of torture incentives are removed. described paying to end torture at least once. • High prevalence suggests that perpetra- 43 subjects paid to end torture more than tors act in collusion with their superiors once. Multiple groups (governmental and and benefit from impunity. non-governmental) practiced torture and extorted money by doing so. A middleman Abstract was described in 32 percent of the incidents. Background: The purpose of this retro- Payment amounts as reported were high spective study is to describe the pattern of compared to average Sri Lankan annual bribe taking in exchange for release from incomes.
    [Show full text]
  • ABBN-Final.Pdf
    RESTRICTED CONTENTS SERIAL 1 Page 1. Introduction 1 - 4 2. Sri Lanka Army a. Commands 5 b. Branches and Advisors 5 c. Directorates 6 - 7 d. Divisions 7 e. Brigades 7 f. Training Centres 7 - 8 g. Regiments 8 - 9 h. Static Units and Establishments 9 - 10 i. Appointments 10 - 15 j. Rank Structure - Officers 15 - 16 k. Rank Structure - Other Ranks 16 l. Courses (Local and Foreign) All Arms 16 - 18 m. Course (Local and Foreign) Specified to Arms 18 - 21 SERIAL 2 3. Reference Points a. Provinces 22 b. Districts 22 c. Important Townships 23 - 25 SERIAL 3 4. General Abbreviations 26 - 70 SERIAL 4 5. Sri Lanka Navy a. Commands 71 i RESTRICTED RESTRICTED b. Classes of Ships/ Craft (Units) 71 - 72 c. Training Centres/ Establishments and Bases 72 d. Branches (Officers) 72 e. Branches (Sailors) 73 f. Branch Identification Prefix 73 - 74 g. Rank Structure - Officers 74 h. Rank Structure - Other Ranks 74 SERIAL 5 6. Sri Lanka Air Force a. Commands 75 b. Directorates 75 c. Branches 75 - 76 d. Air Force Bases 76 e. Air Force Stations 76 f. Technical Support Formation Commands 76 g. Logistical and Administrative Support Formation Commands 77 h. Training Formation Commands 77 i. Rank Structure Officers 77 j. Rank Structure Other Ranks 78 SERIAL 6 7. Joint Services a. Commands 79 b. Training 79 ii RESTRICTED RESTRICTED INTRODUCTION USE OF ABBREVIATIONS, ACRONYMS AND INITIALISMS 1. The word abbreviations originated from Latin word “brevis” which means “short”. Abbreviations, acronyms and initialisms are a shortened form of group of letters taken from a word or phrase which helps to reduce time and space.
    [Show full text]
  • Update UNHCR/CDR Background Paper on Sri Lanka
    NATIONS UNIES UNITED NATIONS HAUT COMMISSARIAT HIGH COMMISSIONER POUR LES REFUGIES FOR REFUGEES BACKGROUND PAPER ON REFUGEES AND ASYLUM SEEKERS FROM Sri Lanka UNHCR CENTRE FOR DOCUMENTATION AND RESEARCH GENEVA, JUNE 2001 THIS INFORMATION PAPER WAS PREPARED IN THE COUNTRY RESEARCH AND ANALYSIS UNIT OF UNHCR’S CENTRE FOR DOCUMENTATION AND RESEARCH ON THE BASIS OF PUBLICLY AVAILABLE INFORMATION, ANALYSIS AND COMMENT, IN COLLABORATION WITH THE UNHCR STATISTICAL UNIT. ALL SOURCES ARE CITED. THIS PAPER IS NOT, AND DOES NOT, PURPORT TO BE, FULLY EXHAUSTIVE WITH REGARD TO CONDITIONS IN THE COUNTRY SURVEYED, OR CONCLUSIVE AS TO THE MERITS OF ANY PARTICULAR CLAIM TO REFUGEE STATUS OR ASYLUM. ISSN 1020-8410 Table of Contents LIST OF ACRONYMS.............................................................................................................................. 3 1 INTRODUCTION........................................................................................................................... 4 2 MAJOR POLITICAL DEVELOPMENTS IN SRI LANKA SINCE MARCH 1999................ 7 3 LEGAL CONTEXT...................................................................................................................... 17 3.1 International Legal Context ................................................................................................. 17 3.2 National Legal Context........................................................................................................ 19 4 REVIEW OF THE HUMAN RIGHTS SITUATION...............................................................
    [Show full text]
  • Abeynayake V. Lt. Gen. Rohan Daluwatte and Others 47
    sc Abeynayake v. Lt. Gen. Rohan Daluwatte and Others 47 ABEYNAYAKE v. LT. GEN. ROHAN DALUWATTE AND OTHERS SUPREME COURT FERNANDO, J„ ANANDACOOMARASWAMY, J. AND GUNAWARDENA, J. SC APPLICATION NO. 412/97 JANUARY 15TH, 1998 Fundamental rights - Termination of active service in the Sri Lanka Army Regular Reserve - Removal of an officer from active service for want of physical fitness - Duty to give reasonable notice of termination — Reserve Regulation 13 - Article 12 (1) of the Constitution. The petitioner was an officer on active service in the Sri Lanka Army Regular Reserve. He was subject to heart disease from 1990, and was once classified for light duties. Such duties have to be performed anywhere. He was later classified as being fit for normal duties but continued to be subject to heart disease on account of which the cardiologist treating him certified that as emergency treatment which he may require is available only at the cardiology unit, he should be stationed in Colombo; whereupon he was permitted to serve in Colombo. Presumably as a matter of discretion for Army order No. 55, section 36 (C) which prescribed different categories of fitness for service did not provide for a category of officers entitled to serve only in Colombo. The petitioner continued to be ill even in 1997 when by an order dated 25.4.1997 he was transferred to Vavuniya. The petitioner appealed to the Army Commander against the transfer. In response, the Army Commander decided that the petitioner be released from active service with effect from 31.5.1997 and placed on the Regular (General) Reserve.
    [Show full text]
  • Report of the OHCHR Investigation on Sri Lanka (OISL)* **
    A/HRC/30/CRP.2 Advance Version Distr.: Restricted 16 September 2015 English only Human Rights Council Thirtieth session Agenda item 2 Annual report of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights and reports of the Office of the High Commissioner and the Secretary-General Report of the OHCHR Investigation on Sri Lanka (OISL)* ** * Reproduced as received ** The information contained in this document should be read in conjunction with the report of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights- Promoting reconciliation, accountability and human rights in Sri Lanka (A/HRC/30/61). A/HRC/30/CRP.2 Contents Paragraphs Page Part 1 I. Introduction ............................................................................................................. 1–13 5 II. Establishment of the OHCHR Investigation on Sri Lanka (OISL), mandate and methodology ............................................................................................................. 14–46 7 III. Contextual background ........................................................................................... 47–103 12 IV. Overview of Government, LTTE and other armed groups...................................... 104–170 22 V. Legal framework ..................................................................................................... 171–208 36 Part 2– Thematic Chapters VI. Unlawful killings ..................................................................................................... 209–325 47 VII. Violations related to the
    [Show full text]
  • Sri Lanka Date: 19 September 2008
    Refugee Review Tribunal AUSTRALIA RRT RESEARCH RESPONSE Research Response Number: LKA33744 Country: Sri Lanka Date: 19 September 2008 Keywords: Sri Lanka – Freedom of movement – Checkpoints This response was prepared by the Research & Information Services Section of the Refugee Review Tribunal (RRT) after researching publicly accessible information currently available to the RRT within time constraints. This response is not, and does not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular claim to refugee status or asylum. This research response may not, under any circumstance, be cited in a decision or any other document. Anyone wishing to use this information may only cite the primary source material contained herein. Questions 1. Can you please provide information on the ease with which people could travel in the east and north of Sri Lanka during 2002, and also in subsequent years until 2006? 2. Please include any information about check points. RESPONSE 1. Can you please provide information on the ease with which people could travel in the east and north of Sri Lanka during 2002, and also in subsequent years until 2006? 2. Please include any information about check points. Sources indicate that travel to the north and east of Sri Lanka was possible between 2002 and 2006 due to the signing of the peace agreement between the Sri Lankan Army (SLA) and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Elam (LTTE) in 2002. This agreement, whilst not adhered to by either party, at least reduced full scale military activity in then LTTE-held areas,
    [Show full text]
  • The Impacts of Small Arms Availability and Misuse in Sri Lanka
    In the Shadow of a Cease-fire: The Impacts of Small Arms Availability and Misuse in Sri Lanka by Chris Smith October 2003 A publication of the Small Arms Survey Chris Smith The Small Arms Survey The Small Arms Survey is an independent research project located at the Graduate Institute of International Studies in Geneva, Switzerland. It is also linked to the Graduate Institute’s Programme for Strategic and International Security Studies. Established in 1999, the project is supported by the Swiss Federal Department of Foreign Affairs, and by contributions from the Governments of Australia, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Sweden, and the United Kingdom. It collaborates with research institutes and non-governmental organizations in many countries including Brazil, Canada, Georgia, Germany, India, Israel, Jordan, Norway, the Russian Federation, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Sweden, Thailand, the United Kingdom, and the United States. The Small Arms Survey occasional paper series presents new and substantial research findings by project staff and commissioned researchers on data, methodological, and conceptual issues related to small arms, or detailed country and regional case studies. The series is published periodically and is available in hard copy and on the project’s web site. Small Arms Survey Phone: + 41 22 908 5777 Graduate Institute of International Studies Fax: + 41 22 732 2738 47 Avenue Blanc Email: [email protected] 1202 Geneva Web site: http://www.smallarmssurvey.org Switzerland ii Occasional Papers No. 1 Re-Armament in Sierra Leone: One Year After the Lomé Peace Agreement, by Eric Berman, December 2000 No. 2 Removing Small Arms from Society: A Review of Weapons Collection and Destruction Programmes, by Sami Faltas, Glenn McDonald, and Camilla Waszink, July 2001 No.
    [Show full text]
  • Report of the Secretary-General's Panel Of
    REPORT OF THE SECRETARY-GENERAL’S PANEL OF EXPERTS ON ACCOUNTABILITY IN SRI LANKA 31 March 2011 REPORT OF THE SECRETARY-GENERAL’S PANEL OF EXPERTS ON ACCOUNTABILITY IN SRI LANKA Executive Summary On 22 June 2010, the Secretary-General announced the appointment of a Panel of Experts to advise him on the implementation of the joint commitment included in the statement issued by the President of Sri Lanka and the Secretary-General at the conclusion of the Secretary-General’s visit to Sri Lanka on 23 March 2009. In the Joint Statement, the Secretary-General “underlined the importance of an accountability process”, and the Government of Sri Lanka agreed that it “will take measures to address those grievances”. The Panel’s mandate is to advise the Secretary- General regarding the modalities, applicable international standards and comparative experience relevant to an accountability process, having regard to the nature and scope of alleged violations of international humanitarian and human rights law during the final stages of the armed conflict in Sri Lanka. The Secretary-General appointed as members of the Panel Marzuki Darusman (Indonesia), Chair; Steven Ratner (United States); and Yasmin Sooka (South Africa). The Panel formally commenced its work on 16 September 2010 and was assisted throughout by a secretariat. Framework for the Panel’s work In order to understand the accountability obligations arising from the last stages of the war, the Panel undertook an assessment of the “nature and scope of alleged violations” as required by its Terms of Reference. The Panel’s mandate however does not extend to fact- finding or investigation.
    [Show full text]
  • 3`Ey FA2 ?52 ]VU E` ?A2d+ CR[R
    ( RNI Regn. No. CHHENG/2012/42718, Postal Reg. No. - RYP DN/34/2013-2015 &! !& , )&* + -& './0 33 201 &. -.' /-01& 200' - '- 0% .' 2. 5 . - # # .-- 0 .34. -1 . #. 2 '()6* 789 : . ! ""#$ %"& ! "# $%& '' () ! "$% !& reporting of fraud cases to the This is a matter that should be “A variety of governance Congress. probe agencies. I also sent a list addressed with urgency,” said problems such as the suspect The Congress hit back on ormer Reserve Bank of of high-profile cases to the Rajan in his report. allocation of coal mines cou- the bad loans issue saying that FIndia (RBI) Governor PMO urging that we coordi- Unfortunately, he said, the pled with the fear of investiga- the Narendra Modi Raghuram Rajan has blamed nate action to bring in at least system had been “singularly tion slowed down Government Government is accountable for ‘suspect’ allocation of coal one or two to book. I am not ineffective” in bringing even a decision making in Delhi, both the NPA mess. Party spokesper- mines and slowdown in deci- aware of single high-profile fraudster in the UPA and the subsequent son Randeep Surjewala said sion making by the Congress- progress on to book. “As a result, fraud is NDA Governments,” Rajan when the UPA had left office in led UPA as also the lack of this front. not discouraged,” Rajan said. said in his note submitted to 2014, total (NPA)s were 2.83 urgency shown by the incum- It is not clear as to which the Parliament’s Committee lakh crore and this has jumped bent NDA dispensation regime Rajan addressed on Estimates headed by BJP to 12 lakh crore under the accountable for the rising Non- his list of high-profile leader Murli Manohar Joshi.
    [Show full text]
  • Tamilfile Jan15.Qxd
    Tamil File 16th dec - 15th Jan. - 2006 News and Events LTTE urges Norway in Tamil perspective to initiate steps to restore normalcy oting that the Tamil people have been highly pertubed over the brutal rape and the murder of Tharshini NIlayathamby in Punguduthivu, and the military-unleashed violence on the peaceful demonstration where the Vice Chancellor of the Jaffna Univeristy was attacked and a lecturer was shot, has created "tension, panic and uncontrollable civilian unrest," the Political Head of the Liberation Tigers, Mr. S.P.Thamilchelvan has called for meaningful steps on the part of the Norwegian facilitators and the International Community in a letter addressed to the Norwegian Ambassador, Mr. Hans Brattskar on Wednesday. "The international community has a moral obligation to prevail upon the government to pull back its forces into the barracks and bring about normalcy in the life of the peace loving people," the LTTE Political Head has told the Norwegian Ambassador. Assassination is a Blow to the Peace Process - Tamil National Alliance - The Tamil National Alliance (TNA) accused the Sri Lankan state for the assassination of Mr. Joseph Pararajasingham. TNA said that the assassination raises serious doubts in regard to the genuineness of the Government's commitment to the honest and purposeful pursuit of the peace process. "We consider it our duty to point out that the assassination of Mr. Pararajasingham, a Tamil leader unequivocally committed to the resolution of the Tamil question by peaceful means is a serious blow to the credibility of the peace process," the Leaders of the Tamil Parliamentary alliance said.
    [Show full text]
  • The Sri Lankan Insurgency: a Rebalancing of the Orthodox Position
    THE SRI LANKAN INSURGENCY: A REBALANCING OF THE ORTHODOX POSITION A thesis submitted for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy by Peter Stafford Roberts Department of Politics and History, Brunel University April 2016 Abstract The insurgency in Sri Lanka between the early 1980s and 2009 is the topic of this study, one that is of great interest to scholars studying war in the modern era. It is an example of a revolutionary war in which the total defeat of the insurgents was a decisive conclusion, achieved without allowing them any form of political access to governance over the disputed territory after the conflict. Current literature on the conflict examines it from a single (government) viewpoint – deriving false conclusions as a result. This research integrates exciting new evidence from the Tamil (insurgent) side and as such is the first balanced, comprehensive account of the conflict. The resultant history allows readers to re- frame the key variables that determined the outcome, concluding that the leadership and decision-making dynamic within the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) had far greater impact than has previously been allowed for. The new evidence takes the form of interviews with participants from both sides of the conflict, Sri Lankan military documentation, foreign intelligence assessments and diplomatic communiqués between governments, referencing these against the current literature on counter-insurgency, notably the social-institutional study of insurgencies by Paul Staniland. It concludes that orthodox views of the conflict need to be reshaped into a new methodology that focuses on leadership performance and away from a timeline based on periods of major combat.
    [Show full text]