By Michael Roberts –
I: Blackmailing Sri Lanka, 2009
Prof. Michael Roberts
The long and episodic war between the Government of Sri Lanka (GSL) and the Tamil liberation forces commanded by the LTTE from the 1980s to 2009 involved numerous atrocities on both sides, notably those in the Eastern Province in 1990. It is puzzling why, today, certain Western states and the human rights lobby (HR) are concentrating solely on the crunch situation in 2009 at the end of Eelam War IV in pressing alleged war crimes charges against the Sri Lankan government; and why symbolic LTTE figures such as V. Rudrakumaran and Adele Balasingham are also not being placed within the bars of moral justice.
The puzzle serves as a backdrop for my argument that the Western nations, both individually and collectively, were complicit in the one of the most outstanding acts of political blackmail the world has seen in recent centuries.i This was when the LTTE utilised its own people, some 310-330,000 citizens of Thamilīlam as a hostage-bargaining chip that would enable them to pursue their fight another day.
Guided by their well-placed connections in media and other circles in the West, the LTTE had read the international scene well. Strands of secular fundamentalism had secured a prominent place and humanitarian impulsesii could be persuaded to seek intervention on behalf of the Tamil people. The Tiger act of moral blackmail was only feasible because of this climate of opinion in the West. In consequence, Amnesty International, HRW, ICG, Hilary Clinton, David Miliband, Bernard Kouchner,iii James Blake, et cetera became cats-paws in a grand LTTE strategy. This act of blackmail did not succeed. Backed by their people (including some Tamils) the Sri Lankan Government (GSL) defeated the LTTE military machine — principally through its military strategy, albeit assisted in various ways by an assorted cluster of states. Both state and society in Sri Lanka are now paying the price for their success and their refusal to kow-tow to Western demands during the last stages of the war.iv
To comprehend this LTTE strategy one must attend to (a) the character of both Pirapāharan and the state of Thamilīlam and (b) the origins of Eelam War IV.
II: Pirapāharan
Testimony from Pirapāharan’s colleagues in the LTTE”s underground days reveal that Pirapāharan admired the military training methods of the Wehrmacht in Nazi Germany’s time and believed that a supreme commander vested with the unrestricted authority that Hitler enjoyed was an essential requisite for the Tamil liberation struggle.v Loads of evidence from varied quarters demonstrates that Pirapāharan eliminated individuals within LTTE ranks who were a threat to his control; while the LTTE revealed unmitigated ruthlessness in eliminating other militant groups in the Tamil firmament as well as Tamil parliamentarians who could stand as an alternative voice for the Tamil people. Pirapāharan believed in the pre-emptive strike. The assassination of potential enemies was one of his favoured modes of operation.vi
III: The Citizens Of Thamilīlam
Assisted by considerable help from India,vii Pirapāharan’s investment in sea logistics and advanced communication on the one hand and Tiger ruthlessness on the other enabled the LTTE to become a major force by 1986; and, eventually, to withstand Indian military power for two years (1987-89) after the two allies fell out. By mid-1990 the LTTE was not merely an insurgency, but a de facto state ruling northern Sri Lanka and in command of scattered patches of the eastern districts where a fluid war situation prevailed.viii Then, in in mid-late 1995, an army offensive resulted in the LTTE losing control of most of the Jaffna Peninsula. Throughout, from mid-1990 to 2009, the state-like character of Thamilīlam gradually expanded and encompassed not only taxation and conscription, but border controls and judicial courts.
My focus is in the state of Thamilīlam as it existed from 1996-2009, with particular interest in what I shall call “the Northern Vanni.” This area covers most of the Districts of Kilinochchi, Mannar and Mullaitivu as they had been delimited in 1983. It was territory that was firmly under LTTE authority. This was the nation-state of Thamilīlam.
It had been an area that was sparsely peopled in 1981, constituting only six per cent of the total Sri Lankan Tamil population in Sri Lanka – with Mullaitivu and Mannar Districts holding 112,783 Sri Lanka Tamils and 25,065 “Indian Tamils.”ix The latter were Malaiyaha Tamils from the plantation areas who had moved into the area, usually as agricultural labourers, in the face of political discrimination and economic pressures in the 1970s. In late 1990, the Northern Vanni’s demographic composition was further altered by the LTTE’s act of ethnic cleansing which forced the Muslim Moors to leave.
However, the population was augmented in 1995/96 by the migration of roughly 100,000 Tamils from the Jaffna Peninsulax — virtually all being staunch Tiger supporters distancing themselves from the army occupation of their beloved soil and favouring the liberation struggle. Nevertheless, we must also attend to the out-migration of Tamil people from this area as refugees slipping out to India or as well-connected individuals able to transcend both Tiger and GSL barriers to outmigration. The pertinent issue here is that few agencies had firm figures on the number of people in the northern Vanni when Eelam War IV broke out in July 2006.xi It is only now, in the aftermath of the war, that we can say that the population of civilian and LTTE personnel probably added up to something around 360-380,000 in July 2006. This figure could be scaled down to about 320,000 in mid-2008 after the LTTE lost control of the Madhu area and the north-western coast from Vidattaltivu to Pooneryn in early 2008.xii
These people were dual citizens. They were citizens of Thamilīlam and citizens of Lanka. They were serviced by banks with HQ in Colombo and the pensioners received their dues through such agencies.xiii There were government agencies staffed by Tamils appointed (and paid) by the regime in Colombo. But these personnel took their orders from the LTTE. They also delivered specified goods (e.g. medical supplies, food) supplied by GSL or NGOs to those entitled to such benefits.
For all that, in the light of past experiences and unfulfilled political promises, as Muralidhar Reddy indicated,xiv these Tamil people had little reason for loyalty towards the Sri Lankan state. In brief, they were Tamil nationalist and pro-LTTE in sentiment. To be sure, there were a few dissidents, especially among the Pentecostal and Protestant elements in the population.xv There were others partial to the LTTE who had reservations about the Tiger policy of conscription which took their youth away from their hearth and those who were unhappy about the privations enforced by a war economy. However, a large proportion of the population was dependent in one way or another on state agencies subject to the LTTE.xvi
Given such dependencies, given past sufferings and a sense of Tamilness nurtured over the centuries, I have little hesitation in asserting that the vast majority of these people in Thamilīlam, maybe as much as 80 per cent, were partial to the LTTE.xvii This patriotism centred on Pirapāharan as the founding father of Thamilīlam and the epitome of Tamil resistance to what was considered oppression. This reverence was vigorously stoked every year by the LTTE’s multi-media activities, culminating at 6.05 pm on 27th November, where the citizenry paid homage to the Tiger martyrs, the māvīrar.xviii To repeat, most were Eelamist in sentiment and citizens of Thamilīlam.xix
IV: The Origins Of Eelam War IV
The capital-creating activities within the state of Thamilīlam were mostly state run. Thamilīlam was a military regime. Its civilian population was subject to disciplinary training in a programme known as makkal padai.xx Even during the ceasefire period 2002-2006, the LTTE directorate was gearing state and people for another war. This was clear to me during my visit in late 2004.xxi A report from Human Rights Watch in March 2006 reveals how Tamils abroad were cajoled and intimidated to support the project through well-organised p fund-collecting activities.xxii However, as they noted, the blows struck by the tsunami in late December 2004 were a setback which delayed the LTTE’s eventual move to war.
The war was initiated in July 2006 when the LTTE closed the floodgates of Mavil Aru as a step towards the seizure of Trincomalee. Rejecting governmental overtures, they were confident that they would teach the Rajapaksa government a lesson.xxiii This, then, was the beginning of Eelam War IV.
The LTTE’s confidence, as we know now, was misplaced. Colonel Karuna’s defection had weakened its capacities and supplied the government with both military elements and ground knowledge that was vital. Moreover, GSL had built up its military capacities in all three services; and had officer corps that was battle-hardened and innovative. General Fonseka had trained Special Infantry Operation Teams within all the Divisions with the capacity to generate bottom-up plans of attack.xxiv The Army gained control of the Vakarai area by January 2007 and the last Tiger stronghold in the east at Thoppigala fell on 11 July 2007. Thereafter, the LTTE presence in the Eastern Province was minimal.
With its superior resources in manpower and hardware GSL could now squeeze Thamilīlam. The LTTE remained as resilient as innovative. Colombo’s ground offensive on several fronts got nowhere till early 2008. “[We] fought for about 8 months without moving” said General Fonseka in reviewing the war.xxv It was not till January 2009 that the army succeeded in taking control of the north-western coast up to Pooneryn. This gain eliminated the LTTE supply chain from India. In the meanwhile intricate naval operations in the high seas at different points of time in 2007 and 2008 sank several supply ships that were part of the LTTE’s transnational logistics cartel.
The statistical proportions attending Eelam War IV can be understood by marking the respective toll of soldier dead on both sides in the previous three stages of war: in the gross figures provided by General Fonseka the SL Army had lost 20,000 and Tigers 22,000 by 2006. In contrast he alleged that during Eelam War IV the Army lost 5273 personnel, while the LTTE had 22,000 of their troops killed by the Army and another 2000 by the Navy and Air Force.xxvi Indeed, he stressed that in the crunch situation in 2009 the LTTE were losing as many as 20-30 personnel per diem. His figures for Tiger dead must be treated with scepticism and we must attend to the difficulty of separating “Tiger” from “civilian.” However, some figure for the Tiger personnel killed must enter any evaluation of the alleged death toll at the last stages of the war in 2009. It is significant that the Darusman Panel and other voices on this front took little notice of such statistics and the comparative insight of proportionality that they provide.
V: LTTE End-Game: International Blackmail
In its ground warfare from early 2008 the LTTE was forced to fight on three fronts: facing north, south and west. They used heavy equipmentxxvii and manual labour to construct bunds and ditches that restrained the armoured corps of GSL; while fields of land mines and intricate booby-traps enforced caution on all troops seeking to advance. With the exception of some sections of their citizenry in parts of Mannar and the western coast, the rest of the Tamil Tiger populace was induced to move eastwards. The people were told that they would be mistreated by the SL army. This appears to have been widely believed.
In the result the people were subject to multiple displacements in the period dating from May 2008, moving east well ahead of the advancing enemy forces.xxviii Throughout, the LTTE continued to conscript new recruits to replenish its declining manpower; while also deploying able-bodied adults as labour in its defensive operations and catering needs.xxix In brief the line between “civilian” and “Tiger personnel” was severely confused. This was compounded by the fact that many Tiger combatants did not wear fatigues (probably in short supply).
As the territory they controlled declined, the LTTE was now sandwiched in a crunch situation. The fall of Paranthan junction at the end of December 2008 and the administrative centre of Kilinochchi in January 2008 meant that they were restricted thereafter to the regions east of the A9 arterial road. This region can be called the Vanni Pocket, an area that gradually shrank in size.xxx
It is the death and suffering that is said to have taken place in the Vanni Pocket in January-May 2009 that is the focus today of the war crimes allegations against the GSL. This is the culmination of agitation that began way back then – from late 2008. Aware of its desperate situation the LTTE marshalled its extensive international network to penetrate, feed and promote various human rights agencies to intervene in Sri Lanka to circumvent a “humanitarian disaster.” Key personnel in Western governments were also drawn into this frame of thinking, sometimes through constituency politics.
Central to this strategy was the herding of the Thamilīlam citizenry into their besieged space, the Vanni Pocket. The people were not only a human shield. They were a tool in an enormous act of international blackmail which was directed towards securing outcries from (a) vocal political forces in Tamilnadu; (b) human rights agencies in the West and in Colombo; (c) elements in the UN and (d) elements within the Western states of Canada, USA, Britain, Norway, Sweden and elsewhere within the self-defined “international community.”
The General Elections in India were due in mid-May 2009. There was the prospect of change in government or, at the least, the emergence of some coalition where blocs from Tamilnadu would carry weight. This was the unproclaimed deadline guiding both the LTTE and the GSL in their war objectives from mid-late 2008.
Absolutely ruthless as always, Pirapaharan was prepared to deploy his citizenry as both protective sandbags and ransom ploy; and to capitalize on the rising alarm among Tamils abroad so as to mount an international campaign to save “civilians.” That is no surprise. What, in retrospect, is alarming is the facile manner in which the “international community” fell into this trap. Whether intentionally, or unintentionally, they were party to the LTTE strategy.
“Ceasefire” was the mantra shouted out by Amnesty International from late 2008.xxxi Western leaders and their ambassadors in Sri Lanka also sought a ceasefire from both warring sides. As any informed observer would have forecast, the LTTE did not respond. The government declared a short-term ceasefire on 31 January. The LTTE used this moment to launch a brilliant counteroffensive on the 1-4th February that penetrated army lines and caused major problems.xxxii
Despite such experiences and despite Pirapaharan’s ruthlessness, the “international community” and its mouthpieces among the NGO secretariat in Colombo kept parroting the idea of a ceasefire. Hilary Clinton told the world on 22 April 2009 that “a terrible humanitarian tragedy” was taking place in Sri Lanka and demanded a halt in the fighting so that “we could secure a safe passage for as many of the trapped civilians as possible.”xxxiii Foreign Ministers David Miliband and Bernard Kouchner followed up with a visit to Sri Lankaxxxiv at the end of the month to demand a truce.
Such interventions revealed the extent to which the Western leaders had failed to comprehend the mentality of the LTTE or were pursuing their own hidden agenda. Both “humanitarian pause” and unilateral ceasefire were unworkable proposals. The LTTE stuck to its policy of keeping their citizenry as a military buffer and a ransom pathway to the peace tablexxxv till a hoped-for change of government in India provided political relief. The absence of grounded pragmatism evidenced in the Western interventions was manifest THEN and induced my sharp criticism in Frontline in May 2009.xxxvi
In the meanwhile many Tamils trapped in the Vanni Pocket had begun to turn away from their attachment to the LTTE. Reddy had been visiting the rear battlelines periodicallyxxxvii from November 2008 and told me that from January onwards the reports from Tamil civilians who had fled and whom he interviewed revealed increasing dissatisfaction. We cannot treat this as a blanket generalization. Information gathered by Fr. Rohan Silva and D. Siddharthan post-May from Tamil IDPs indicate that a good segment believed in the Tiger leaderships statement that the West would save them.xxxviii There also was a substantial body of hard core loyalists who remained bound to the LTTE to the very end.
VI: Hobson’s Choice & The Government’s Achievement
Faced with diplomatic pressure GSL declared that their military action was (1) a “humanitarian operation” directed towards (2) “zero casualties.” No one was fooled by the first claim and the second was sheer absurdity — even as a desired goal. Such idiocy was compounded further when some spokesmen later asserted that there were in fact zero casualties.
GSL also declared specified areas to be No Fire Zones. This device restricted military flexibility in a context of turbulent battlefield variation. The final NFZ, moreover, was in the coastal strip juxtaposed between the elongated Nandikadal Lagoon and the sea. This was where the remaining brown water craft of the Sea Tigers remained potent. From mid-late April it also housed the LTTE command centre and eventually all its remaining hardware and fighters. How anyone could seriously consider it a NFZ from this moment baffles any form of pragmatic logic.
This strip of land, some 13 by 4 kilometres in extent, became a tent city as the remaining Tigers, civilian auxiliaries and true-blue civilians, in crude estimate perhaps 190,000 in mid-late April, crammed into this limited space of sandy terrain. The eastern waterline of Nandikadal Lagoon facing west was heavily embanked, fortified and booby-trapped. Some tents in the NFZ hid bunkers and other military installations. The LTTE remained dedicated to its task of defending this space to the last person, while retaining a belief in some miraculous escape.
Sitting in Colombo on the 18th April 2009 a massive bloodbath was a distinct prospect and one wondered if a mass act of suicide of the Saipan-Okinawa sort would be sponsored.xxxix Then, between the 18th and 23rd April the SL army breached the defences in an intricate operation which saw numerous Tiger fighters drop their weapons and join a body of some 106-120,000 people who streamed across lagoon and sandy terrain to the safety of the government lines where they were offered water, food and succour in ways that surprised them (as recorded by the Tamil moderates who comprised the University Teachers for Human Rights and Narendran Rajasingham). To my eyes this event, highlighted as it was by the scenes on television, was a miracle. A moderate and veteran Tamil news-editor, Jeyaraj in Toronto, also applauded the moment with an essay “Wretched of the Wanni earth break free of bondage.”xl
However, some 60-70,000 Tiger personnel and ‘civilians’ remained in the southern segment. It was not till a final assault mounted from the 9th May to 19th May that this force was subdued and the LTTE lay defeated. Among the dead was Pirapāharan.xli
This final battle cannot be reviewed without attending to the character of the Vanni landscape and that of the coastal NFZ and its tent city. This NFZ area included houses with red roofs built after the tsunami. The aerial set of photographs taken by the Times cameraman who flew over the area with Ban Ki-Moon in late May 2009 reveals quite a few buildings intactxlii – as do those taken by Kanchan Prasad when she and Reddy toured the strip on foot between the 14th and18th May.xliii There was certainly no carpet bombing and the devastation does not accord with the verbal imagery presented by the moral crusaders and Channel Four.
Any estimate of the number of Tamils who died between 1 January and 19 May 2009 will necessarily be approximate. One must allow too for natural deaths of some 600-900 over five months in any population of three lakhs or so, with the figure derived from an application of the standard death rate for the island being increased to allow for (a) deaths by malnutrition arising from a starvation diet and (b) the increase in snake-bite deaths as the populace moved through bush and jungle in numbers during day as well as night.xliv Any evaluation must also highlight the impossibility of separating true-civilians from Tiger cadres and conscripted civilians. The figure of 1400 dead presented by Rohan Gunaratna is far too low and quite spurious in its air of precision.xlv Guided by the estimates provided by three moderate Tamils with access to information from Tamil government servants and others who survived the crunch, my present evaluation is a figure ranging from 15,000 to 16,000, a total that includes Tiger dead (approximately 5000) as well.xlvi
We cannot, as Indi Samarajiva has stressed, weigh this death toll figure without attention to “proportionality” and “context.”xlvii It must be placed beside the figure of roughly 286,000 Tamil people (including some Tiger personnel who successfully masqueraded as “civilian”) who ended up in the detention centres in the Vavuniya and Jaffna Districts during this period. Add to this the figure of 11,800 persons deemed “Tiger” who were imprisoned under stronger security and then subject to a process of rehabilitation and we have roughly 298,000 survivors.
The war between the LTTE and the state was a sustained affair over 25 years, with considerable suffering on both sides and among all ethnic groups. Their subjective sentiments are of overwhelming importance in any overview. Few of the world leaders and media personnel commenting on this topic today have any comprehension of this experiential backdrop.
Some sense of local sentiment can be gathered from the vibrant debate which developed through an intervention by Sanjana Hattotuwa in the Groundviews web sitexlviii on 3 May 2009 through this question: “Would killing 50,000 civilians to finish off the LTTE bring peace?” When, predictably, this question was misunderstood, the Groundviews editors clarified the issue thus: “This post intends to interrogate extremism. The numbers in the quote are really peripheral to the argument, which exists today, that to finish off the LTTE, collateral damage is not just unavoidable, it is even a prerequisite. What do you feel about that?” It is to the credit of some measured voices who spoke up at this point, among them several Tamils (with pseudonyms, but speaking as Tamils), that the defeat of the LTTE was a vital goal and that “we” should be ready to accept civilian casualties of even 50,000, though hopefully somewhat less.xlix
This discussion occurred at the tail-end of the End-Game, when no one was certain quite how many people were still held as ransom/blackmail, though we know now that perhaps 50-70,000 Tiger personnel and ‘civilians’ remained in the roughly 10 square kilometre patch under LTTE control. The answer in Groundviews is significant beyond words. It captures the subjectivity of a society that had gone through years of strife. It matches the sigh of relief in most quarters in Sri Lanka that took hold from 19 May onwards.
Notes:
i. The only comparable example may be the manner in which the Maoists of Nepal utilised various localities and their populace as both support base and bargaining counter.
ii. Compare George Friedman “Immaculate Intervention: The Wars of Humanitarianism,” 5 April 2011, http://www.stratfor.com/weekly/20110404-immaculate-intervention-wars-humanitarianism.
iii. See Michael Roberts, “Realities of War,” Frontline, 26/10, 9-22 May 2009 and Roberts, “Mis-Reading Pirapāharan: Western Pawns beyond their Depth,” 1 July 2011.
iv. Note UNHCR resolution. Thus Miliband and Kouchner (see text below) are among those today in 2012 who intervened vociferously to seek a caning for Sri Lanka at the UNHCR sessions in Geneva.
v. Ragavan 2009a “Interview with Ragavan on Tamil Militancy (Early Years),”http://kafila.org/2009/02/16/interview-with-ragavan-on-tamil-militancy-part-i/ AND Ganeshan Iyer, “Military Training in the German Nazi Mould amidst Internal Dissension in the early LTTE, late 1970s,” trans by Parames Blacker, inhttp://thuppahi.wordpress.com/2012/01/30/military-training-in-the-german-nazi-mould-amidst-internal-dissension-in-the-early-ltte-late-1970s/.
vi. Iyer, Ibid (fn iv); Ben Bavinck, “Pirapaharan as uncompromising killer prone to vengeance: testimonies from the Jaffna heartland, 1989-91;” Rajan Hoole, Sri Lanka: The Arrogance of Power. Myths, Decadence and Murder, Colombo: Wasala Publications for the UTHR, 2001; and M. R. Narayan Swamy, “Prabhakaran: from Catapult Killer to Ruthless Insurgent,” IANS, 18 May 2009 – see http://twocircles.net/node/148596 [reprinted in The Tiger Vanquished, pp. 165-67].
vii. At least sixteen LTTE batches received training in India in the post 1983 period (some in R&AW camps, some Tiger-run). The Indian government also had training camps for the other Tamil militant groups. It seems that they favoured TELO in particular. However, none of these other Eelam forces had the foresight to generate sources of military hardware other than Indian.
viii. See the map in Sergei De Silva-Ranasinghe, “Good Education. Sri Lankan Military learns Counter Insurgency Lessons,” Jane’s Intelligence Review Dec. 2009, pp. 3-7.
ix. In 1981 Kilinochchi District had not been separated out.
x. Estimate communicated personally by M. Sarvananthan of the Point Pedro Research Institute.
xi. Wikileak data indicates that on the 19th March 2009 even the US Ambassador underestimated the numbers: Blake refers to “the estimated 120-150,000 civilians trapped in the “safe zone” (see Colombo Telegraph). We today know that the number was in the region of 250-270,000.
xii. As immediately apparent, all the population estimates I have supplied are crude and should be subject to further investigation/debate.
xiii. See http://www.tamilnet.com/art.html?catid=13&artid=8542; http://tamilmakkalkural.blogspot. co.uk/2009/12/district-court-tamil-eelam.html and http://www.nowpublic.com/world/eelam-coin.
xiv. Personal communication from Reddy, correspondent for The Hindu, May 2009).
xv. My surmise based on the implications of the UTHR reports.
xvi. This fact is derived from interviews in 2010 with Anoma Rajakaruna, who spent a substantial amount of time in the LTTE territory during the ceasefire period working on women’s issues as a film-maker.
xvii. Thus disagreeing with Noel Nadesan (personal communication) who holds that only 15 per cent were staunch Tiger with the majority of 70 per cent being middle-of-the road ambivalent and placed between the silent 15% dissidents and the 15% hard line Tiger.
xviii. Michael Roberts, “Saivite Symbolism, Sacrifice and Tamil Tiger Rites,” Social Analysis 49: 67-93 2005; and William Harman, “Embracing the Martyred Dead: Tuyilam Illam as Sacred Shrines for the Sri Lankan Tamil Tigers,” Mss Paper presented at the American Academy of Religion, San Francisco, November 2011.
xix. My conjecture is also fortified by (1) the opinion of the late Joe Ariyaratnam of Reuters with whom I had long chats in Kilinochchi and Jaffna in November 2004. Ariyaratnam was based in the Tamil north for quite some time; and (2) the information in William Harman, “Embracing the Martyred Dead: Tuyilam Illam as Sacred Shrines for the Sri Lankan Tamil Tigers,” Mss Paper presented at the American Academy of Religion, San Francisco, November 2011.
xx. See http://www.flickr.com/photos/thuppahi/sets/72157627005320170/.
xxi. The feistiness of two individuals in Kilinochchi and a crucial piece of information about the steps being taken by the Head of the Propaganda Department (email note received from a Tiger fighter) were indicators on this point.
xxii. HRW, “Funding the Final War,” 13 March 2006, in http://www.eprlf.net/ltte0306web.pdf.
xxiii. he explicit words of the LTTE Political Chief, Thamil Chelvam, to Harsha Navaratne and Lalith Wiratunga when these two were sent to Kilinochchi by President Rajapaksa to mediate a compromise (interview with Navaratne June 2010). Also see
http://www.scribd.com/doc/21261389/Criminal-Complaint-Against-Supporter-of-Tamil-Tigers
xxiv. See S. Tammita-Delgoda, “Sri Lanka. The Last Phase in Eelam War IV. From Chundikulam to Pudukulam,” New Delhi: Centre for Land Warfare, Manekshaw Paper No. 13, 2009; and Sergei De Silva-Ranasinghe, “Sri Lanka’s Experience in Counter-Insurgency Warfare,” Asia-Pacific Defence Reporter, Oct. 2009, Vol. 35/8, pp. 40-46.
xxv. In de Silva-Ranasinghe, “Sri Lanka’s Experience in Counter-Insurgency Warfare,” Asia-Pacific Defence Reporter, Oct. 2009, vol. 35/8, p. 43.
xxvi. In de Silva-Ranasinghe, “Good Education. Sri Lankan Military learns Counter Insurgency Lessons,” Jane’s Intelligence Review Dec. 2009, pp. 5-6 with 2800 kills being attributed to army snipers. Even viewed as rough estimates, one must remain sceptical of about the army computations of LTTE dead.
xxvii. Some of the bulldozers et cetera were those of INGOs in their territory.
xxviii. B. Muralidhar Reddy, 2009 “Multiple Displacements, Total Loss of Identity,” The Hindu, May 2009.
xxix. See elements of the LTTE video captured by the army and incorporated in their own propaganda video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h2T1FiwRmQo.
xxx. de Silva-Ranasinghe, “The Battle for the Vanni Pocket,” Asia-Pacific Defence Reporter, March 2009, Vol. 35/2, pp. 17-19.
xxxi. Michael Roberts, “Amnesty International reveals its Flawed Tunnel-Vision in Sri Lanka in 2009,” 10 Aug. 2011; and Mango, “Jim Macdonald of AI boxed into corner by Mango in 2009,” 10 August 2011.
xxxii. De Silva-Ranasinghe “The Battle for the Vanni Pocket,” Asia-Pacific Defence Reporter, March 2009, Vol. 35/2, p. 18.
xxxiii. Michael Roberts, “Dilemma’s at War’s End: Clarifications and Counter-offensive,” 17 February 2009.
xxxiv. Thomas Fuller, “Europeans Fail to Get Sri Lanka Truce,” New York Times, 30 April 2009.
xxxv. This was admitted and defended subsequently by the LTTE chief abroad after he was arrested. Speaking from prison Kumaran Pathmanathan was confronted by this question from a Tamil reporter DBS Jeyaraj: “Did you not try to save the civilians by getting the LTTE to release them.” He responded thus: “I did try at the start. There was even an offer by the Americans to transport them by sea to Trincomalee. But the LTTE hierarchy was not agreeable. This attitude was most unfortunate and may appear as inhuman. I am not trying to condone or justify this action but when I reflect upon the past I think the LTTE leadership also had no choice. If they released the people first, then only the tigers would be left there. Thereafter all of them could have been wiped out” (http://dbsjeyaraj.com /dbsj/archives/1631).
xxxvi. Michael Roberts, “Realities of War,” Frontline, 26/10, 9-22 May 2009.
xxxvii. This gives the lie to the widespread claims in the West that it was a “war without witnesses.” See http:??news.rediff.com/slide-show/200/may/20. Reddy was not alone – I now have a list of media personnel taken to the front by the armed services. This does not mean that it was open season. Some agencies may well have been persona non grata.
xxxviii. De Silva-Ranasinghe, “The 13th Amendment to the Constitution must be properly implemented”: Dharmalingam Siddharthan,” 22 Dec. 2010.
xxxix. Michael Roberts, “Suicidal Political Action—Part I: Soundings,” April 2009.
xl. D. B. S. Jeyaraj, “Wretched of the Wanni earth break free of bondage,” Daily Mirror, 25 April 2009 — http://dbsjeyaraj.com/dbsj/archives/380.
xli. HLD Mahindapala, “How Prabhakaran went down in Nandi Kadal – The Last Battleground,” 10 July 2009.
xlii. See http://www.flickr.com/photos/thuppahi/sets/72157626922360092/
xliii. See http://www.flickr.com/photos/thuppahi/sets/72157626797805167/
xliv. See the independent Tamil politician, Anandasangaree’s reference to snake-bite kills in De Silva-Ranasinghe, “Information Warfare and the Endgame of the Civil War,” Asia-Pacific Defence Reporter, May 2010 30/4: 35-37; and the estimates of total death toll in Michael Roberts, “The Tamil Death Toll in Early 2009: A Misleading Count by Rohan Gunaratna,” 23 November 2011.
xlv. Rohan Gunaratne, “Govt should have invited the Darusman Panel,” Daily Mirror, November 2011.
xlvi. his figure is based on estimates provided by Narendran Rajasingham, M. Sarvananthan and Noel Nadesan – and fortified by comments from David Blacker (Roberts, “The Tamil Death Toll, 2011). Their estimates allow for 5000 Tiger-dead (a statistic that is invariably problematized by the difficulty of separating “civilian from the “Tiger” personnel in all branches of military activity including building, supply and catering). Note that this figure is much less than the total of 8000 estimated by General Fonseka.
xlvii. Indi Samarajiva, “Channel 4’s – A Review,” The Nation, 18 March 2012.
xlviii. See http://groundviews.org/2009/05/03/would-killing-50000-civilians-to-finish-off-the-ltte-bring-peace/.
xlix. This debate, suitably edited, is worth reproduction in print as an outstanding example of citizen debate and citizen journalism that beats the Sri Lankan newspapers by a proverbial mile. Note that I played no part in this discussion.
REFERENCES
Bavinck, Ben 2011 “Pirapaharan as uncompromising killer prone to vengeance: testimonies from the Jaffna heartland, 1989-91,” http://thuppahi.wordpress. com/2011/11/01/as uncompromising killer prone to vengeance: testimonies from the Jaffna heartland, 1989-91.
De Silva-Ranasinghe, Sergei 2009a “Political and Security Implications of Sri Lanka’s Armed Conflict,” Asia-Pacific Defence Reporter, Feb. 2009, Vol. 35/1, pp. 20, 22-24.
De Silva-Ranasinghe, Sergei 2009b “The Battle for the Vanni Pocket,” Asia-Pacific Defence Reporter, March 2009, Vol. 35/2, pp. 17-19. http://www.dtic.mil/dtic/aulimp/citations/gsa/2009_157395/156554.html
De Silva-Ranasinghe, Sergei 2009c “Tiger Trail. Strategic Defeat of the LTTE and Its Implications,” Force, April 2009, pp. 52-54.
De Silva-Ranasinghe, Sergei 2009d “Sri Lanka’s Experience in Counter-Insurgency Warfare,” Asia-Pacific Defence Reporter, Oct. 2009, Vol. 35/8, pp. 40-46. http://www.futuredirections.org.au/files/1266992558-FDIStrategicAnalysisPaper-12February2010.pdf
De Silva-Ranasinghe, Sergei 2009e “Good Education. Sri Lankan Military learns Counter Insurgency Lessons,” Jane’s Intelligence Review Dec. 2009, pp. 3-7.
De Silva-Ranasinghe, Sergei 2010b “Information Warfare and the Endgame of the Civil War,” Asia-Pacific Defence Reporter, May 2010 30/4: 35-37, http://www.asiapacificdefencereporter.com/articles/40/Sri-Lanka
De Silva-Ranasinghe, Sergei 2010a “Civilian Casualties, IDP Camps and Asylum Seekers,” Sunday Leader, 28 Nov. 2010.
De Silva-Ranasinghe, Sergei 2010b “The 13th Amendment to the Constitution must be properly implemented”: Dharmalingam Siddharthan,” 22 Dec. 2010, http://transcurrents.com/tc/2010/12/ the_13th_amendment_to_the_cons.html.
De Silva-Ranasinghe, Sergei 2010c “Strategic Analysis of Sri Lankan Military’s Counter-Insurgency Operations,” 2 Feb. 2010, Future Directions International, http://www.futuredirections.org.au/files/1266992558-FDIStrategicAnalysisPaper-12February2010.pdf.
Flickr 2009a “Times Aerial Images, NFZ, 23 May 2009,” http://www.flickr.com/photos/thuppahi/ sets/72157626922360092./
Flickr 2009b “Indian Reporter Pics at NFZ Last Redoubt -14-to-18 May 2009,” http://www. flickr.com/photos/thuppahi/sets/72157626797805167/
Friedman, George 2011 “Immaculate Intervention: The Wars of Humanitarianism,” 5 April 2011, http://www.stratfor.com/weekly/20110404-immaculate-intervention-wars-humanitarianism.
Groundviews 2009 “Would killing 50,000 civilians to finish off the LTTE bring peace?” http://groundviews.org/2009/05/03/would-killing-50000-civilians-to-finish-off-the-ltte-bring-peace/
Gunaratne, Rohan 2011 “Govt should have invited the Darusman Panel,” http://www.dailymirror.lk/news/14807-govt-could-have-invited-experts-panel.html.
Harman, William 2011 “Embracing the Martyred Dead: Tuyilam Illam as Sacred Shrines for the Sri Lankan Tamil Tigers,” Mss Paper presented at the American Academy of Religion, San Francisco, November 2011.
Hoole, Rajan 2001 Sri Lanka: The Arrogance of Power. Myths, Decadence and Murder, Colombo: Wasala Publications for the UTHR.
Human Rights Watch 2006 “Funding the Final War,” 13 March 2006, http://www.hrw.org/node/11456/section/8. OR http://www.eprlf.net/ltte0306web.pdf.
Iyer, Ganeshan 2012a “Military Training in the German Nazi Mould amidst Internal Dissension in the early LTTE, late 1970s,” trans by Parames Blacker, in http://thuppahi.wordpress.com/2012/01/30/ military-training-in-the-german-nazi-mould-amidst-internal-dissension-in-the-early-ltte-late-1970s/.
Jeyaraj, D. B. S. 2009 “Wretched of the Wanni earth break Free of Bondage.” Daily Mirror, 25 April 2009 — http://dbsjeyaraj.com/dbsj/archives/380.
Mahindapala, HLD 2009 “How Prabhakaran went down in Nandi Kadal –The Last Battleground,”,” 10 July 2009. http://lrrp.wordpress.com/2009/07/10/how-prabhakaran-went-down-in-nanthi-kadal-%E2%80%93-the-last-battleground-by-h-l-d-mahindapala/.
Mango 2011 “Jim Macdonald of AI boxed into corner by Mango in 2009,” 10 August 2011, http://thuppahi.wordpress.com/2011/08/10/3133/
Narayan Swamy, M. R. 2003 Inside an Elusive Mind. Prabhakaran, Colombo: Vijitha Yapa Publications.
Narayan Swamy, M. R. 2009 “Prabhakaran: from Catapult Killer to Ruthless Insurgent,” IANS, 18 May 2009 – see http://twocircles.net/node/148596 [reprinted in The Tiger Vanquished, pp. 165-67].
Ragavan 2009a “Interview with Ragavan on Tamil Militancy (Early Years),” http://kafila.org/2009/02/16/interview-with-ragavan-on-tamil-militancy-part-i/
Rajasingham, Narendran 2009 “Rise and Fall of the LTTE — An Overview,” Sri Lanka Guardian, 7 Feb. 2009.
Reddy, B. Muralidhar 2009 “Multiple Displacements, Total Loss of Identity,” http://www.hindu.com/2009/05/27/stories/2009052755811500.htm
Roberts, Michael 2005 “Saivite Symbolism, Sacrifice and Tamil Tiger Rites,” Social Analysis 49: 67-93 (http://digital.library.adelaide.edu.au/dspace/handle/2440/17615).
Roberts, Michael 2009a “Dilemmas at War’s End: Thoughts on Hard Realities,” 10 Feb. 2009, http://groundviews.org/2009/02/10/dilemmas-at-wars-end-thoughts-on-hard-realities/.
Roberts, Michael 2009b “Dilemma’s at War’s End: Clarifications and Counter-offensive,” 17 Feb. 2009,http://groundviews.org/2009/02/17/dilemmas-at-wars-end-clarifications-counter-offensive/
Roberts, Michael 2009c “Realities of War,” Frontline, 26/10, 9-22 May 2009. http://www.frontlineonnet.com/fl2610/stories/20090522261001600.htm
Roberts, Michael 2009 “Suicidal Political action—Part I: Soundings,” http://transcurrents. com/tc/2009/04/post_340.html … followed by 3 other articles.
Roberts, Michael 2011a “People of Righteousness march on Sri Lanka,” The Island, 22 June 2011 and http://thuppahi.wordpress.com/2011/06/27/people-of-righteousness-target-sri-lanka/
Roberts, Michael 2011b “Amnesty International reveals its Flawed Tunnel-Vision in Sri Lanka in 2009,” 10 Aug. 2011, http://thuppahi.wordpress.com/2011/08/10/amnesty-international-reveals-its-flawed-tunnel-vision-on-sri-lanka-in-2009/
Roberts, Michael 2011c “The Tamil Death Toll in Early 2009: A Misleading Count by Rohan Gunaratna,” 23 November 2011, http://transcurrents.com/news-views/archives/6285.
Samarajiva, Indi 2012 “Channel 4’s – A Review,” The Nation, 18 March 2012, http://www.nation.lk/edition/feature-viewpoint.
SRHRL 2012 “High-Resolution Satellite Imagery and the Conflict in Sri Lanka,” http://srhrl.aaas.org/geotech/srilanka/srilanka.shtml.
Tammita-Delgoda, S. 2009 Sri Lanka. The Last Phase in Eelam War IV. From Chundikulam to Pudukulam,” New Delhi: Centre for Land Warfare, Manekshaw Paper No. 13, 2009…. http://infolanka.asia/eelam-war/last-phase/sri-lanka-the-last-phase-in-the-eelam-war-iv/all-pages
Tekwani, Shyam 2009 ‘The Man who destroyed Eelam,” http://www.tehelka.com/home /20090523/default.asp.
UN Panel of Experts 2011 “Report of the Secretary-Geenral’s Panel of experts on Sri Lanka,” http://www.un.org/News/dh/infocus/Sri_Lanka/POE_Report_Full.pdf.
SHYAM TEKWANI, The Institute of Defence and Strategic Studies (IDSS) No. 104, The LTTE’s Online Network and its Implications for Regional Security, Shyam Tekwani JANUARY 2006 http://www.rsis.edu.sg/publications/WorkingPapers/WP104.pdf
*Picture credit: In this May 2008 photo a girl holds her brother as she stands at the gate of Kaliyakadu camp for internally displaced Tamil people in Batticaloa, in eastern Sri Lanka. REUTERS/Adnan Abidi
Donald J Gnanakone / April 11, 2012
Utter rubbish about blackmail. About 400,000 Tamils were trapped due to the war and LTTE could not defend the territory due to the heavy aerial bombing, and heavy artillery. Use of chemical weapons and phosphorus bombs, as well as cluster bombs was indefensible and LTTE lost out. Meanwhile about 100,000 Tamils perished and 300,000 Tamils were held in concentration camps under cruel and inhuman conditions. GOSL refused to allow international demining NGO’s into Mullaitheevu and Killinochchi district for 3 years for special fears. Dead bodies and skeletons. evidence of chemical weapons usage. Who laid most of the land mines. Army or LTTE, leading to evidence which countries supplied the land mines, which fact General Fonseka can testify.And buried gold the army and GOSL officials stole worth several million dollars. Also cannibalizing vehicles for motor spares and selling scrap metal ton their contractors. Damn Sinhala thieves. All these evidence will eventually come out with an international investigations and not a SILVA Whitewash report. Western countries are now feeling guilty since there is plenty of blood in their hands of innocent Tamils. They too helped the State Terrorist. The IC did not do anything to save innocent civilians and all the POW’s who were tortured, raped and murdered in captivity. Defending the war criminals cannot be done by writing rubbish articles. Only credible article would be an independent international investigation and report. Sinhala Sri Lanka shivers of that thought giving various excuses. Now the IC is not buying those stories and lies.
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Max Silva / April 11, 2012
Very truthful article.These Tamil Tiger Terror diaspora buggers should be punished for blackmail.
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billy / April 11, 2012
looks like some body got hurt with the truth..lol
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sjv chelvanayakam / April 11, 2012
Double rubbish.. 40,000 Tamils were trapped.. One wonders who set the trap for them in the first place??? May be it was the LTTE who traped them by gun point to blackmail GOSL to stop the war to save the LTTE leadership.. and fuel properganda to the LTTE donkey diaspora.. That was how the LTTE tried to defend itself HUMAN SHIELD… And you are quite right The Lnakan arm prevented the LTTE using its chemical weapons againt Tamil civilians.. and now after these terrorit are defeated how they cry foul.. All power to the SL military for killing terrorit.. I am sorry i want there to Kill some of them my self.. When these LTTE terrorit were Killing and murdering civilians espically tamils not a world of genocide.. now they are defeated how they cry.. WELL DONE SL ARMY.. PROUND TO BE A LANKAN.. WE BURIED THE LTTE..WE LANKANS STOOD UP AND DEFEATED THE BASTARD.. BUT I SEE THE BITCH THAT BORE THE LTTE (INT LTTE DIASPORA) IS IN HEAT AGAIN.
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Rohan / April 11, 2012
Yeah – a long list of references, irrespective of their vale, would make a verbose a masterpiece!!
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Mango / April 12, 2012
Yes, most of those references actually have nothing to do with the article. Roberts is clearly desperate.
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Padraig Colman / April 13, 2012
This does not sound like the Mango we know and love. Is Nihal/Observer stealing identities again? Moderators wake up!
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Donald J Gnanakone / April 11, 2012
That is why Tamils and now the IC want an independent investigations. Sinhala racist-chauvinist and other pandang karayas will always slander the Tamils. Like the Rajapakse said zero casualties, no kidnappings, no white van, no rape, no torture, no chemical weapons, no cluster bombs, no phosphorous bombs, no killings etc. The soil samples are already with us, and plenty of photographic and personal evidence.. There is no reason to burst blood vessels. 3 years of lies and BS has already being exposed in Geneva, UN report and US report to the congress tell some of the facts. And more to come. Fonseka is our star witness and there are other army officers as well as junior soldiers. (and cell phones).. We bought the whole evidence- Lock, stock and barrel. lol. Only thing some buggers can now say is the cell phone is doctored.. usual rubbish….
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Mango / April 12, 2012
Dear Mr Gnanakone,
I applaud your concern for human rights for Tamils in Sri Lanka. When did this concern for human rights manifest itself?
Were you protesting to the LTTE to let the “people” be released from held as human shields in the Vanni in 2009?
What was “Tamils for Justice” doing in 2006 as the LTTE launched its “final war” against the Sri Lankan state?
Did you obey the LTTE’s demand for one child from each Tamil family by sacrificing at least one of your children to help achieve Eelam in Sri Lanka? If you did not, why not?
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Ben Hurling / April 11, 2012
Sri Lakan State and her Intelligence Services must aggresivley pursue and punish LTTE rump operatives overseas. Despite the end of LTTE in Sri Lanka itself. There should be no let up.
LTTE Diaspora in the West are horribly complicit in nurturing the LTTE in Sri Lanka for over 30 years.
Anyone who provided funding, logistics or propaganda for the ruthless LTTE to commit war crimes must be nabbed and brought to Sri Lanka to face Justice.
Take a page from the American Play Book in going after terror suspects. Pay special attention to a method called extra-ordinary rendition. LTTE operatives abroad deserves no less.
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Rohan / April 11, 2012
“Take a page from the American Play Book in going after terror suspects. Pay special attention to a method called extra-ordinary rendition. LTTE operatives abroad deserves no less.”
How about the stooges and promoters of a regime with blood in their hands? Current Sri Lankan leaders sound like war criminals, smell like war criminals, look like war criminals, no less.
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Max Silva / April 12, 2012
The remaining Tamil and Sinhala Tiger thugs living abroad will be eliminated pretty soon.For us it was a matter of identifying them and locating.Thanks to Geneva it’s done.The message is “don’t bother to call us,we’ll call you”.But still you defeated Tiger terrorists can scream that your human rights are being violated and seek the solace of Mummy Pillai.Bloody Mamas cry babies.Donald baby are you listening?In the meantime no more entry visas to brown skinned foreign passport holders.Damned fraudsters.Papa Emmanuelle(hope not that of porn fame)get ready with the bible to say Amen to these geezers!
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Observer / April 11, 2012
Oh no, here comes the pseudo-“scholar” Michael Roberts, with yet another pathetic defense of the failed agenda of his Temple Trees master.
and why symbolic LTTE figures such as V. Rudrakumaran and Adele Balasingham are also not being placed within the bars of moral justice.
Could it be because the military wing of the LTTE is GONE forever? As for the “bars of moral justice”, the LTTE was banned in practically every Western nation. With its leader thoroughly humiliated/murdered in cold blood and its arms procurer in government custody, and the so-called “Tamil Eelam” now the subject of a massive Sinhala-Buddhist military-industrial complex, what more in the form of “justice” is Roberts looking for?
The puzzle serves as a backdrop for my argument that the Western nations, both individually and collectively, were complicit in the one of the most outstanding acts of political blackmail the world has seen in recent centuries.
Even Einstein was wrong. Who is to say then that a third-rate scholar such as Roberts cannot conjure up an entirely absurd theory, e.g. a banned militant group on its last legs engaging in political blackmail?
There is no puzzle. If there was ever a puzzle, it would be who in the bloody heel hires clowns of this caliber, to occupy university posts.
Testimony from Pirapāharan’s colleagues in the LTTE”s underground days reveal that Pirapāharan admired the military training methods of the Wehrmacht in Nazi Germany’s time and believed that a supreme commander vested with the unrestricted authority that Hitler enjoyed was an essential requisite for the Tamil liberation struggle.
Here is the most ridiculous, absurd claim that can be found on this website (and there is no lack of competition). How a Dravidian nationalist with no solid command of English, let alone German, and constantly on the move, would come to admire the most influential Aryan supremacist of all time. Leave it to the “tradition of the absurd”, from which Michael Roberts clearly hails, to actually justify such a claim.
The war was initiated in July 2006 when the LTTE closed the floodgates of Mavil Aru as a step towards the seizure of Trincomalee.
The war would have been initiated regardless of whether the LTTE closed the floodgates of Mavil Aru or not. The Sinhalese South wanted war. That much is clear from CBK’s dissolving of the Parliament. If Ranil had offered actual concessions (in the form of land) to the LTTE, there would have been riots in the South. The CFA was merely a happy accident. The fact that the LTTE struck the first fatal blow is irrelevant.
Then, between the 18th and 23rd April the SL army breached the defences in an intricate operation which saw numerous Tiger fighters drop their weapons and join a body of some 106-120,000 people who streamed across lagoon and sandy terrain to the safety of the government lines where they were offered water, food and succour in ways that surprised them (as recorded by the Tamil moderates who comprised the University Teachers for Human Rights and Narendran Rajasingham).
Roberts being the GOSL stooge that he is, does not mention the true intention behind the NFZ’s. The Sri Lankan Government’s logic was to shell the NFZ’s so that the Tamil civilians would be forced to run to the Government side faster than otherwise. This would obviously leave the LTTE fighters – who hid within civilian ranks – much more exposed. Of course, it is a crime against humanity to terrorize a civilian population into submission. Roberts does not seem to be aware of this point; perhaps the notion of basic civility was lost somewhere along the family evolution ladder? As for the civilians being treated “well” when they crossed over to the Government side, suffice it to say that the ICRC was blocked from observing civilians at numerous “surrender” points. Furthermore, all those who “surrendered” were subject to a not so private search.
It is to the credit of some measured voices who spoke up at this point, among them several Tamils (with pseudonyms, but speaking as Tamils), that the defeat of the LTTE was a vital goal and that “we” should be ready to accept civilian casualties of even 50,000, though hopefully somewhat less.
Here is Roberts justifying the mass murder of tens of thousands of Tamils. Being the pseudo-scholar that he is, he resorts to semantic tomfoolery by way of the seemingly benign phrase “measured voices.”
One must allow too for natural deaths of some 600-900 over five months
LOL. What total absurd hogwash. Gothabaya Rajapakse goes on BBC saying hospitals are fair targets, the UN and others have definitive evidence that NFS’z were shelled, and yet here we have a pseudo-scholar shedding crocodile tears over “natural deaths.” In fact, this is the first time I’ve seen anyone mention natural deaths at all.
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Padraig Colman / April 12, 2012
“bloody heel” What’s that about? Time wounds all heels.
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Mango / April 12, 2012
Oh no, here comes the multiple personality Hitler fetishist, Observer (also known as Heshan, Nihal and Dalai Lama) sprouting the same old drivel.
Here’s a Stephen Timms MP’s election manifesto from 2010, begging for Eelamist votes, listing the actions the UK government undertook against Sri Lanka.
“….Last July, as a Treasury Minister, I met the All Party Parliamentary Group for Tamils to discuss the proposed $2.6 billion IMF loan for Sri Lanka. We discussed the vast number being held in camps. After the meeting, I advised the Chancellor of the Exchequer that Britain should not support the loan. He accepted my advice.
In February, after a year examining human rights, the European Union announced Sri Lanka’s suspension from the Generalised System of Preferences (GSP+) from August. Supporting this to the Global Tamil Forum, Labour’s Foreign Secretary David Miliband set out UK Government worries on: “civil and political rights … violence and allegations of malpractice in the election campaign and …media freedom”.”
Observer’s super-smart facts include:
“North Korea is not a member of the UN.”
“US won the Vietnam War.”
“Neither England nor Germany nor India have a President.”
“Ranil Wickramasinghe wasn’t elected in 2001.”
“Hitler actually won WW2.”
“Japan doesn’t have a military.”
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Erwin / April 12, 2012
This comment was removed by a moderator because it didn’t abide by our Comment policy.For more detail see our Comment policy
In short:
• If you act with maturity and consideration for other users, you should have no problems.
• Don’t be unpleasant. Demonstrate and share the intelligence, wisdom and humour we know you possess.
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Max Silva / April 12, 2012
Erwin,
Hey what are you doing here?Your job is toe sucking.Have you forgot that?Gordon Weiss has been looking allover for you.He says that your toe sucking is great.Don’t forget that your outfit The Tamil Tigers are the official toe suckers of the Suddhas.
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Erwin / April 12, 2012
This comment was removed by a moderator because it didn’t abide by our Comment policy.For more detail see our Comment policy
In short:
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James Carr / April 13, 2012
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Observer / April 13, 2012
This comment was removed by a moderator because it didn’t abide by our Comment policy.For more detail see our Comment policy
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Observer / April 13, 2012
This comment was removed by a moderator because it didn’t abide by our Comment policy.For more detail see our Comment policy
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David Blacker / April 18, 2012
“How a Dravidian nationalist with no solid command of English, let alone German, and constantly on the move, would come to admire the most influential Aryan supremacist of all time.”
Well it was all explained at length to you, months ago, but you were too stupid and bigoted to understand. Why don’t you go back to that post and have another go?
“The war would have been initiated regardless of whether the LTTE closed the floodgates of Mavil Aru or not.”
That’s right. For over a year the Tigers had carried out a policy of assassination (Kadirgama, SF, GR, etc), incitement, and outright terrorism throughout the CFA. They had also moved up troops around areas like Trinco to strike when the GoSL had been goaded into a rash attack. Fortunately, the GoSL was patient and attacked only when it was ready, choosing Mavil Aru. It could have been before or after.
“The Sinhalese South wanted war.”
If that was true, why did they vote for Ranil W’s UNP in 2001 (in the general election you claim never took place lol)? It was the continued Tiger violations of the CFA, its murder, assassination, and terror, its ejection of the ceasefire monitors, and various other acts that led to war.
“That much is clear from CBK’s dissolving of the Parliament.”
CBK dissolved parliament because Mahinda told her RW was going to impeach her. That is all. It was a last bid for power that gave her another couple years.
“If Ranil had offered actual concessions (in the form of land) to the LTTE, there would have been riots in the South.”
Given that there has never been riots since ’83, it’s unlikely; but if there had been it would have been largely because of the Tigers lack of sincerity in the CFA and negotiations.
“The CFA was merely a happy accident.”
How was the signing of a ceasefire an accident? :D
“The fact that the LTTE struck the first fatal blow is irrelevant.”
Fatal to itself and the CFA, yes, but not irrelevant given that all the aggression had been from the Tiger side.
“Roberts being the GOSL stooge that he is, does not mention the true intention behind the NFZ’s. The Sri Lankan Government’s logic was to shell the NFZ’s so that the Tamil civilians would be forced to run to the Government side faster than otherwise. This would obviously leave the LTTE fighters – who hid within civilian ranks – much more exposed.”
I have often told you, Heshan, not to use words that you do not understand the meaning of such as “logic”. Aside from that, that was NOT the intention of the NFZs, which was to deny defendable territory to the Tigers. The NFZs themselves were the way to separate the civilians from the Tigers by sending them into an area which would not be contested. The civilians did move, and were coming over to the GoSL side whenever possible. Therefore shelling them would serve no purpose.
“Of course, it is a crime against humanity to terrorize a civilian population into submission.”
Which is why the Tigers stand accused of crimes against humanity.
“Roberts does not seem to be aware of this point”
Mostly because there was no such point.
“Gothabaya Rajapakse goes on BBC saying hospitals are fair targets”
They are fair targets if used for military purposes. The Darusman Report and Gordon Weiss, amongst many others, confirms that hospitals were used by the Tigers as defensive installations.
“the UN and others have definitive evidence that NFS’z were shelled”
Which is perfectly legal.
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Max Silva / April 18, 2012
David,
Observer doesn’t understand your type of language.That’s why i try my best to talk to him in the language that he understands.You don’t invite a terrorist to a tea party.But you beat the shit out of him!
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Huna Kaka / April 24, 2012
Hey Observer
Do not write like Valmiki wrting Ramayana man.
Make your story short and sweet. Redaers have no time to go through your long cr@p.
Sinhala south never wanted a war. Bloody blood sucking LTTE racisits asked for it. Not only once – many times. SL defence forces gave them mouthful. Do not blame SL defence for that you LTTE looser.
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Observer / April 12, 2012
*NFZ’s
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Max Silva / April 13, 2012
Hey Observer,whats going on?”This comment was removed by a moderator”.What the hell is this?What are you up to?Dirty business,xxx?You have given up Tamil liberation and had gone to more pleasure matter?Imagine,we type a darn reply consuming our precious time,and after clicking on that stupid”Post Comment”thing,then have to wait quite a few minutes grinning at the computer with the heart in the mouth so that the moderator can decide whether it’s OK or dirty.Tell me Observer does those few minutes make you feel as the longest minutes in your life as if your entire life depends on it?Observer my guess is that an old agony aunty has taken over the job of moderator.Lets get together.Why don’t you come up with your own silly blog?My participation is confirmed.
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Observer / April 13, 2012
Now you see Max why I supported an Eelam. Sinhalese people have no standards. They can’t maintain a blog properly, build a train, or even a road. How in God’s name they can manage a country?
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Max Silva / April 13, 2012
Observer,
Are you telling me that CT is being maintained by Sinhalese?By the way Sunanda Deshapriya,Wickramabahu,Nimalka,Sunila are all Sinhalese.Even our own Observer,Gamini twins are Sinhalese.I think both you and me must forget our differences for a few hours and get to the bottom of this.Why don’t we do a Sherlock Holmes job?Observer i have to warn you,already you have double faulted.Watch your step buddy.I just don’t understand why your own people are doing this to you.Oh! i can imagine how miserable you are right now.Observer,life can be so cruel sometimes,no!My friend there’s no doubt that an old agony Aunty has taken over as moderator.Here after we all have to behave ourselves.One wrong move and you get the chop.Oh!i love it.Just like the good old Montessori days.Imagine a damned plastic bottle hanging around your neck full of orange juice and a bloody handkerchief sticked to your baby shirt,not forgetting pissing on your Jungie! So here after we all will have to behave ourselves.If CT is treating you this way,how about those Americans who brought that resolution?
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Observer / April 14, 2012
Hi Max Silva,
I don’t identify people based on race alone. Culture plays a much more profound role in the development of an individual. That is why I have consistently made the point that Sinhala-Buddhism is a failure. Kusal Perera has written extensively on this:
http://groundviews.org/2011/01/06/political-opposition-in-a-nihilistic-sinhala-society/
It’s not unique to Sinhala-Buddhism; this dynamic of nihilism seems to pervade most Asian cultures. When I studied at university, a distinguished lecturer once remarked that Northern Europeans are more productive (relative to those in the Southern hemisphere) because of the climate. You see, people in cold climates have to cooperate to get things done. If one person sits under a tree eating coconuts all day, the rest of the tribe will starve. So, why are certain cultures unproductive? One reason – from an evolutionary point of view – is climate. Another reason is that they adopt foolish philosophies like Buddhism and Hinduism, as Kusal Perera has pointed out.
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Dharme / April 14, 2012
some impotent contribution;
http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=Ypjyd2th7mkC&pg=PA310&lpg=PA310&dq=uvindu+kurukulasuriya+work&source=bl&ots=Nz7i2WWnup&sig=qAZQDRrNTaPJa2T-R5dEm-jtDkc&hl=en&sa=X&ei=bQaKT7_UDZCFhQefmczqCQ&sqi=2&ved=0CDAQ6AEwAg#v=onepage&q=uvindu%20kurukulasuriya%20work&f=false
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Max Silva / April 14, 2012
Hi Observer,
Where have you been buddy?Hiding your face in the sand in true Ostrich fashion?Reading your reply,it seems you are a different man now.None of the bravado!Just plain talk.It seems that an old agony Aunty has done the trick.As you have already double faulted i am not going to provoke you and get you in to more trouble.If this is how you get scared of an old agony Aunty,i can imagine what happens if a white van stops by.
Oh!by the way let me wish you a happy Sinhalese & Tamil New year!May this coming year bring you plenty of issues so that you would have enough on your plate to go on your past time of Srilanka bashing!Don’t worry there will always be staged managed abductions to keep you going.While you are crying on behalf of the Srilankan Tamils,those Tamils in Srilanka are dancing through the New Year without a care in the world.I couldn’t take my eyes off the TV,seeing those beautiful Jaffna girls dancing in extremely provocative manner.Earlier i have seen crew cut Jaffna girls with guns and bombs hanging around.But this time it so different.So nice.I am sure that these Jaffna beauties will follow their Sinhala counterparts and show more flesh.Anyway i am not going to say anything that will provoke you.Reason being life without the Observer/Gamini twins will be of no use.In fact seeing your name reappear on the comment board,i was thrilled.
Observer,three times at a stretch your comments were removed with the message highlighted that it was bad and dirty.I mean can’t these moderators just ignore the reply without making that the comment was dirty. Here in public for all the world to see we have your comments removed along with a warning.Pretty embarrassing,no!As said earlier like in the good old Montessori days,poor Observer being taken to task by an agony teacher.Now that you have been reprimanded in front of the whole class room,it’s time that you behave yourself(not that i am better than you).In case your are suspended,there shouldn’t be any worries.Follow Bomba Gunda and come up with another alias.Hope to hear from you soon.Later today i will be performing my duty as a judge in a “Awurudu Kumari” beauty pageant in Jaffna. Keep your fingers crossed that i will not elope with a Jaffna beauty.You wouldn’t want to miss me,do you?
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Observer / April 14, 2012
Dancing is one thing, but when the dancing ends, what will be the future of these girls? Many will work in garment factories or resort to prostitution. Your village chief does not have an economic policy that leads to job creation. BTW, I don’t celebrate these holidays, but may you enjoy yours.
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Max Silva / April 14, 2012
Observer,As for dancing,you’d better ask MIA.If you have her contact details will you pl buzz me?She is one heck of a girl after my own heart.I can understand you not celebrating considering the rude shock that you got yesterday.There’s no doubt that yesterday was one of the darkest days of your life since that day at Nandikadal!I am happy that you are slowly and surely creeping out of that shell that you had been hiding in the last few hours.I can’t make you a long reply as i have to perform my duties as a judge at “Awurudu Kumari”pageant in Jaffna.In the meantime i have informed your twin brother about your pathetic situation.He will be at your side pretty soon.I have specifically asked him to check for any suicide vests in your house.I am sure that you are not foolish enough to commit suicide.Remember that the all mighty god is watching your every step!
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Donald J Gnanakone / April 12, 2012
Rohan you are right. The law in the and West and US works differently. If any Tamil breaks the US law they are hounded, arrested and given a trial and jailed. LTTE might have been killed violating all international laws. But The Tamils abroad are not dead and they have all the rights and are well protected. We saw that in Kumar Gunaratnam’s case in Colombo where he was immediately released because he was an Australian. There are rules and regulations in this world. We Tamils cannot arrest and kill US citizens or Sri Lankan war criminals when they arrive in America. That right is only with the US government and there will be a fair trial. Labeling the Tamils as LTTE rump is an exercise in futility. The foreign governments are now aware of the State terrorist’s trick, tactics and lies. They won’t be fooled once again. Demand for justice will continue. Now KG needs to file legal action in Australia and USA against the Americans involved in abduction and torture. Watch for more developing news next week. Nobody reads rubbish written by the cheer leaders of State Terrorist. Of course they have the right to write or speak anything despite it being lies and dysfunctional. It is up to the websites to decide what should be published.
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Donald J Gnanakone / April 12, 2012
Hey, Max your threats are nothing but bullshit. You do not control the immigration in SL. You better be worried of the War Criminals in SL. See what happens. SL learnt a lesson in Geneva, when they got disgraced. Australia, gave them another lesson and there is more. Max, we have Sinhalese muscle in Colombo to deal with punks like you. But you are nothing. Who the ……..k are you?. Our focus are on the big kahunas and not some sick sprats. Kumar will be filing some law suits in Australia and USA and let’s see how the cry babies cry!!!
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Max Silva / April 12, 2012
Donald,i don’t threaten people.Being a kind hearted person,i am trying to explain that it’s unhealthy for brown skinned suddhas to arrive in this island.Bomba Gunda escaped by a whisker.If you plan to show up here,then make sure that you have a white flag at your disposal.You’d better start waving that white flag on the tarmac itself so that i could fetch you and take you on a fact finding mission to Nandikadal.
PS,don’t forget to bring a bit of that stuff that you are trafficking.
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Vis8 / April 12, 2012
Brilliant article, and brave… keep up the good work Prof! I cant believe this ‘telegraph’ published this.
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Observer / April 13, 2012
This comment was removed by a moderator because it didn’t abide by our Comment policy.For more detail see our Comment policy
In short:
• If you act with maturity and consideration for other users, you should have no problems.
• Don’t be unpleasant. Demonstrate and share the intelligence, wisdom and humour we know you possess.
• Take some responsibility for the quality of the conversations in which you’re participating. Help make this an intelligent place for discussion and it will be.
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Observer / April 13, 2012
This comment was removed by a moderator because it didn’t abide by our Comment policy.For more detail see our Comment policy
In short:
• If you act with maturity and consideration for other users, you should have no problems.
• Don’t be unpleasant. Demonstrate and share the intelligence, wisdom and humour we know you possess.
• Take some responsibility for the quality of the conversations in which you’re participating. Help make this an intelligent place for discussion and it will be.
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Observer / April 13, 2012
Hey why did you remove my comment? I requested you to remove the harassing comments from “Mango.” Where are your journalistic standards? Or is this another DBS Jeyaraj crap type blog? Readers are supposed to be critical of the writer of an article! There is a difference between criticism and harassment.
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Max Silva / April 14, 2012
Don’t cry my poor boy.We are with you in this most difficult period of your life.
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LOL / April 14, 2012
Looks like you’ve kicked the hornets’ (or perhaps it should be hornet’s) nest – the multiple personalities are just swarming out now.
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Observer / April 14, 2012
By the way, how hard is it for you to add these clowns to an ignore list once and for all? I told you months ago. Here are the names: David Blacker and Mango. Ban them; they contribute nothing useful to this blog. Good riddance to bad trash!
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Max Silva / April 14, 2012
Thanks Observer for not including my name in your hit list.I will always be at your disposal,at this sorrowful time of your life.
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Observer / April 14, 2012
I have never requested for you to be banned. You put forth an opposing view, that is valuable for the purposes of generating discussion. This is quite different from someone who writes the same thing over and over again, for no other reason than that said person is mentally retarded. It is not possible to engage in any kind of useful debate with a mentally retarded individual; that is why I have recommended that said individuals be banned.
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Observer / April 14, 2012
For the purposes of clarification, “Observer” is the only ID I have used here. The delusional character called “[Edited out]” has posted some obscenities using my ID, as well as other various ids, in a desperate bid to defame me. These are the kinds of well-known tricks employed by Sinhalese nationalists.
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Michael Roberts / April 14, 2012
AN EMBELLISHED VERSION — one important addition — with images and web links in the body can be found in http://thuppahi.wordpress.com/2012/04/12/blackmail-during-the-endgame-in-eelam-war-iv/
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