18 April, 2025

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Confusion Reigns: Roberts On The War’s Final Stages

By Mark Salter

Mark Salter

Mark Salter

From Michael Roberts’ latest essay ‘Attempts To Rescue Pirapāharan Et Al In 2009(Colombo Telegraph, 5 April 2016) I see that I have joined the list of authors whose work has been subjected to his less than forensic critical attentions. In this instance his focus is the final stages of the Sri Lankan conflict. Rarely one for modest enterprise in this context, part of Roberts’ aim here is an attempt to show where – and how – others have got it wrong, and/or wilfully sought to mislead, over events in the final stages of the war.

I do not propose to tackle all Robert’s factual assertions or broad-brush claims, though many of them certainly warrant such critical treatment. Rather I shall confine myself to those that reference my recent book To End A Civil War: Norway’s Peace Engagement in Sri Lanka (Hurst), notably Chapter 11, ‘Endgame’, dealing with the conflict’s final stages.

Two distinct but related key issues present themselves in this context. The first concerns Norwegian efforts to persuade the LTTE leadership – in essence meaning Prabakharan – to agree to a proposal for what was described as an ‘organized end to the war’ via the good offices of ‘KP’, the Tiger’s chief arms procurer turned inter-national representative. The second concerns related efforts, led by the Norwegians but with support from the US in particular, to craft an actionable plan to evacuate Tamil civilians trapped in the war zone and secure the surrender – and safety – of all Tigre cadre bar Prabakharan himself and his security chief Pottu Amman.

First, on a relatively minor note Robert’s points to differences in the details of the peace plan relayed to the LTTE leadership by KP as reported both by me and by DBS Jeyaraj, the latter’s version being based on a very informative later interview h conducted with KP. Differences in recollection, especially at a distance of some years from the events, are hardly surprising – even if Roberts doesn’t seem to have noticed that balancing the Norwegian account of the plan, I also provide a summary of the Jeyaraj KP interview ‘version’. But the key point here – as Roberts, to be fair, points out – was KP’s belief, clearly expressed to the Norwegians, that Prabakharan would not accept such a proposal owing to the fact that, as I quote Erik Solheim saying ‘the LTTE leadership was living in a surreal world, believing in miracles’.

Next after briefly recounting the story – which I elaborate in the book – of a secret meeting between KP, other LTTE representatives and the Norwegians held in Kuala Lumpa in late February, Roberts returns to the subject of a ‘rescue’ mission to the North. In this context he refers to ‘a negotiated end to the hostilities’ as the goal of international peace efforts but with the rider ‘if Salter’s account can be relied upon’. This is a curious comment, because there is no need whatsoever to ‘rely’ on my account. (Although I’d of course be happy if Roberts did!) If Roberts had read the earlier sections of my chapter carefully he would have seen reference to a meeting of the Sri Lanka Co-Chairs Group, made up of Norway, the USA, the EU and Japan, held on 2 February 2009. (In this respect Roberts’ reference to ‘Norway and the USA’ as sponsors of a rescue plan needs adjusting.)

In particular, the meeting’s final statement called on the LTTE to initiate discussions on ‘the modalities for ending hostilities, including the laying down of arms, renunciation of violence, acceptance of the [GoSL’s] offer of amnesty, and participating as a political party in a process to achieve a just and lasting political solution’.

This statement, which as Solheim points out in the book was ‘not what either side wanted to hear’, provided the basis for international efforts to limit, and if possible stop the blood-letting that enveloped the war zone over the following months. And, if he so prefers, Roberts can take the Co-Chairs rather than my word for this.

In this context, too, it would be pertinent to point out that the impetus to develop a rescue plan did not come soley from international actors. From interviews with Tore Hattrem, former Norwegian Ambassador to Sri Lanka I learned (and reported in the book) that around the time of the February Co-Chairs meeting, Hattrem received a phone call informing him that there were ‘a strong voices’ within the LTTE calling for a ‘face-saving mechanism that would allow civilians to leave the war zone’.

Indeed, Hattrem went on to suggest that it was following this ‘message’ that efforts to pull together a rescue plan really began in earnest. First the ICRC was proposed for registering the names of cadre who surrendered, and the US soon added the suggestion of evacuation ships docking in the Vanni. This in turn provided the basis for deliberations over the coming weeks – noted by Roberts – on the modalities of involving US naval forces in the rescue operation. In response the GoSL was reportedly ‘hesitant’ over the proposal.

On chronology, at least, so far Roberts’ has followed the script. Now, however, he begins to lose it. Let me quote: “Basil Rajapaksa was the conduit through whom this international cabal explored such options. But Solheim and Salter – perhaps deliberately – do not tell us WHEN Rajapaksa or some other Sri Lankan dignitary was approached. This is a critical gap in my present stock of information. It is my surmise that Sri Lanka was only approached with this scheme late in the day, say mid-April or late April”

Where to start? While it is true that no specific date is given for communicating the rescue plan to Basil Rajapaksa is given – but deliberately? – the proposal cannot have been, and indeed was not a surprise either Rajapaksa or government as whole. if Roberts had read earlier section of the chapter he would have seen reference (pp. 340-341) to an SMS sent to Tore Hatrem in early January 2009 by ‘a high-ranking official close to the president outlining an amnesty proposal to the LTTE and including an offer to continue their struggle by political means, forming a political party’. Details of the official in question’s identity apart, this surely makes it crystal clear that in the early part of 2009, the Rajapaksa administration – or at any rate parts of it – were thinking along similar lines to the Co-Chairs, if not in details, at least in substance regarding the both the contours, and the desirability, of a peaceful end to the conflict.

Second, as I also note in the account of developments in February 2009, towards the end of the month Foreign Minister Bogollagama was quoted in media reports as pronouncing himself ‘aware’ of the Co-Chairs rescue initiative, while also stressing that the GoSL was talking to ‘other friendly countries’, India in particular, about the options for evacuating Tamil civilians from the Vanni. Thus at whatever point it was that Basil Rajapaksa was officially informed of such plans, they would almost certainly not have come as a surprise to him, and definitely not to the GoSL as a whole.

Indeed there is a final, clinching reason why Rajapaksa cannot have been in the dark. As I (again) report, following the secret February meeting with KP in Kuala Lumpur, Tore Hattrem debriefed him on its outcomes, notably KP’s pessimism regarding the prospects of his persuading Prabakharan to go along with the Co-Chair proposal, in response to which Rajapaksa was reportedly ‘disappointed’.

All in all, as I hope this account makes clear, the suggestion or insinuation – the latter is in fact more Robert’s style – that the Norwegians attempted to hoodwink or withhold vital information from the GoSL is simply absurd. A final word on the subject – from the book – goes to Bård Ludvig Thorheim, then First Secretary at the Norwegian Embassy in Colombo. Thorheim points out that media stories alleging a Norwegian attempt to save the LTTE, which began to emerge after the (supposedly secret) Kuala Lumpur meeting, soon faded.

Thorheim attributes this to the GoSL’s realization that if the Norwegians received too much criticism for having assisted the LTTE, ‘they could cover themselves by revealing that the government had been fully informed about all contacts with the LTTE, and had even passed on messages to the Tigers not long beforehand (the latter a reference to the ‘amnesty’ proposal SMS sent to Hattrem in January 2009).

Roberts saves his crudest and most absurd jibe for last – one, moreover, in which I am reduced to a mouthpiece, dubbed ‘Solheim through Salter’. Discussing the Sri Lankan Army’s behaviour in the final days of the war Roberts takes me – or rather Solheim-through-me – to task for demonstrating what he calls our ‘infantile military intelligence’. The evidence proffered for the charge of military infantilism is my reference to suggestions that SLA troops ‘fired or threw grenades into civilian bunkers as a ‘precaution’ against LTTE attacks’.

In response his argument could be summed up as: any old fool knows that advancing troops can’t check what they’re attacking – especially not if terrorists are mixed in with civilians. Well, if the case ever gets as far as an international court I don’t suspect that’s a defence that will get Syrian troops accused of barrel-bombing civilian districts of Aleppo held by ‘terrorist forces’ very far. Nor should it in Sri Lanka’s case – if and when the long-promised domestic courts eventually materialize.

What makes the critique even more absurd, moreover, is the fact that if Roberts had only bothered to read onto the end of the paragraph he quotes from so dismissively, he would see that I offer a clear explanation of the contextual factors that probably help explain the Sri Lankan Army forces’ use of this gruesome practice: during the earlier battle for PTK wounded Black Tiger cadres had allegedly hidden themselves in bunkers and then blown themselves up when an army unit passed by. (An alleged Army response at the time was for heavy army vehicles to flatten bunkers containing civilians.)

So there it is: the Robert’s critique, such as it is, of my book. And if any further response from him is forthcoming, it would be heartening to discover that it was informed both by a careful reading of the text itself, and an avoidance of fatuous personal jibes.

*Mark Salter – Author, To End A Civil War: Norway’s Peace Engagement in Sri Lanka

Latest comments

  • 20
    31

    [Edited out]The only reason the US intervened was to have leverage and to rescue the Tiger leaders. Do you know the LTTE exploded far more suicide bombs and killed far more people than all the Islamic Jihadis in Europe? LTTE were racists and there are so many Tamil racists who cheered when Chandrika madam almost died. IF you really want to help, go there, establish a medical camp or a school and help war victims from both sides.

    • 25
      16

      State terrorism that created the LTTE still thrives in Sri Lanka.

      • 10
        20

        it is a convenient excuse which doesnt exist

        • 12
          7

          sachooooooooooooooooo the stupid II

          “excuse which doesnt exist”

          Of course since January 2015.

          However, we encounter key board terrorist on a regular basis in this forum. We don’t mind as long as they sit on their brain.

          What is the difference between you and a knife?

      • 9
        12

        DP
        What did ltte impose on innocent civilians of sri lanka for 30 years 35th? Peace, compassion and harmony??
        Terror supporters like you are the ones who mislead poor Tamils.

    • 17
      14

      Mann:

      LTTE were racists but your own kin and blood, your uncle the present day Dutugemunu and his cohorts swindled more than 20 billion dollars and stashed away in foreign vaults. Looks like even your pants would have gone missing if he had continued.

      I am sure you had kept count of the people killed by the LTTE and the jihadists in Europe. The UNHRC has accused the sinhala regime of murdering thousands of innocent Tamil civilians. The President, the PM, the FM, the army are all running in different directions. If any sinhalese has even an ounce of pride, there would have been an open and independent investigation long time ago.

      Passing the Sinhala Only Act, changing to a republican constitution, buddhism in the filth of politics do not look like racism to you? What a pathetic donkey you are. It has been proven over and over again that the sinhalese do not have the matter to run a country, they can only run banana plantations. Lot at the state of affairs now. Instead of preaching the Tamils, get your act together first. Now the foaming battle is between your uncle MR and his once pal, My3. How many pieces will you divide Buddha into in this country? Shame, really shameful. The Tamils can take care of themselves if the Sinhalese don’t poke their noses into the Tamils’ affairs but even when the Tamils have never interfered into the Sinhalese affairs, they are still running wild. Any idea why?

      • 8
        14

        Yeah “tamils will take care of matters” They will impose caste discrimination and Brahmins will prohibit lesser caste Tamils from coming and sitting with them; Reality. Fact is that if the USA had solid proof of 40,000 dead why not release satellite imagery of graves or fires of mass pyres? No that is myth of you Tamil racist goat eaters. Vellalas used lower caste able sea faring smugglers from VVT to start a war they could not control and they paid a price. Reality is you live overseas. Most tamils have lived and continue to live in Sinhala eelam.

        • 8
          6

          Beefsteak:

          “They will impose caste discrimination and Brahmins will prohibit lesser caste Tamils from coming and sitting with them”

          Why are you such a busy-body bothering about the tamils’ dicks. Take care of yours and make sure that it suddenly doesn’t vanish. Whatever the problems of Tamils are, no one asked the sinhalese to poke their nose and never invited them to share the table. Instead, the sinhalese are at each others throats. They can’t even solve their own problems and a donkey like you wants to preach the Tamils.

          “Fact is that if the USA had solid proof of 40,000 dead why not release satellite imagery of graves or fires of mass pyres?”

          You must have mortgaged you sensible part of your brain. It was the USA that was at the forefront of the last resolution passed by the UNHRC. If you people feel as confident as you boast, then why running so scared of facing an independent and credible investigation? Humbugs like you can only talk nonsense like vellalas, caste, etc. If you that smart, try getting lowly sinhalese girls married to highly placed sinhalese men? People will pat you the back but if in the process you lose your dick, don’t blame me. An imbecile like you talk of irrelevant matters. The figures are shady and that is one of the reasons why the call for an independent credible investigation to be fair to both sides. But promising one thing at the UN and dancing like witches and wolves at home will only end up like the cry wolf story. I will tell you a simple story. There was this sinhalese guy called HLD Mahindapala who had taken a sacred oath to marry off his children or his siblings children to sinhalese road sweepers. Join the club. At least Prabhakaran was man enough to get Tamilselvam, someone who in your language will term as low-caste, married to a girl of “higher” caste. He stood tall in that. Tell me how many of your leaders had the dick to do that? The Tamils have moved on but you still hold on tight to your dicky past and see through the same lenses others too. What a donkey you are?

          • 6
            11

            Jhansee

            you stupid cunt , your LTTE is dead an buried . The CIA and RAW operatives like mongala are not . but they are losing the country . independent mechanism for justice for what ? No one gives a shit . The US and India just wanted Chinese influence stopped . They dont care for anything other than that . you can dream all you want , that is the truth you dumb cunt !

            • 7
              6

              Abhaya:

              Looks like they have just released you from the mental asylum. I know your dick is failing you because your uncle/master did exactly that – going against the CIA and RAW and now he is counting the eggs in his coop. Sadly, this is what happens when he listens to imbeciles like you.

              You may not give a shit. Did Gota give a shit? After all, he has one foot in SL and another in the US, the very US that dickheads like you seem to forget. And more shit on your face – your master MR admitted openly that he fought India’s war and without India he may not have won the war. Looks like your dick is not going to wake up anymore.

              “No one gives a shit”

              What a dumb fool you are. You should tell your leaders not to give a shit by not attending the next round of the UNHRC session. Of course, they will confine you again to a mental asylum for being mischievous and will still go. Finally, it will dawn on you that no one gives you a shit.

              Cheers.

            • 6
              6

              bla bla blAbhaya

              “No one gives a shit”

              A word of caution. When the stuff is tossed at you make sure you close your mouth and if possible duck and dive.

      • 5
        8

        If there is a rouge who can win a war against all odds and save his country and people and then set off an unprecedented development we need more rouges.

        • 6
          7

          Buwa:

          Why stop supporting rogues. Put MR on your lap and put a feeding bottle into his mouth. Make sure he continues to suck the milk dry off the country, I mean the sinhalese portion of it. The Tamils do not want to have any of this rubbish.

    • 11
      10

      Racism is part and partial of gene of the Lion born Sinhala Fundamentalists. There is no end to that.

      • 2
        2

        Sinhalese are not racists, that is why they have even made the langauge of their neighbour an official one

        • 3
          2

          sachooooooooooo the stupid II

          “that is why they have even made the langauge of their neighbour an official one”

          Only after 30 years and several riots. It was left to the Hindians to kick JR where it hurt and forced him to amend constitution, after their Parripu drop.

          What is the difference between you and a knife?

          “Sinhalese are not racists,”

          I hate to agree with you. However they are stupid like their Tamil brethren.

          Sinhala/Buddhist a manufactured race is not only racist but stupid as well, for example, the noisy and vile minority, you, jimmy, somass, ….. Taraki, Lalitha, HLD M, Dayan, …..

  • 21
    26

    US army flattened not only bunkers but entire defense fortifications during the First Gulf War and bulldozed thousands who wanted to surrender. LTTE pretended to surrender and blew themselves up. If the LTTE leadership survived they would have prolonged the war. The same logic for shooting unArmed Bin Laden was applied to a far more critical savage group. The incidents of collateral damage and other real incidents from both sides need to be investigated but you are showing your LTTE bias. Everytime LTTE pretended to talk peace they regrouped and rearmed. They stole Tsunamic money to build bunkers and defensive bunds.

  • 18
    16

    “To End a Civil War …” by Norway or any other entity with the support of US, UK etc is a non starter. Whoever thinks that a coalition of those countries can stop a war civil or otherwise must have rocks in their heads. That such coalitions of those nations have in several countries, initiated and plunged many countries into Civil Wars, violent Regime Change games is a factor that should have taken into by Norway. And, their involvement in the conflict in Sri Lanka was no more than a “game” for them. There was no real plan to “End” the civil war. Can Mr Salter point to any successes of Ending Civil Wars by Norway and the Associates? What is clear is that by associating with countries that have poor track records in peace building, Norway and their Norwegian actors have demonstrated poor judgement and sincerity in their stated objectives.

    • 19
      15

      lal loo

      “Whoever thinks that a coalition of those countries can stop a war civil or otherwise must have rocks in their heads.”

      I hate to agree with you in this instance.

      It was the Hindian’s resolve that brought the war to an end with immense loss of civilian life and pain.

      You should be grateful to them as were MR and GR.

      Now its time for you to recite Jai Hind three times a day before or after every meal.

      • 18
        17

        Vedda,
        Another nonsensical response. Who cares who helped or not. The important thing is SL eliminated a brutal terror group who terrorized our citizens for over 30 years. All Sti Lankans can now go about peacefully with their business.

        • 13
          13

          eusense:

          “All Sri Lankans can now go about peacefully with their business.”

          Go on dreaming. Not only the Sinhala politicians are at each others throats, dividing Buddha into pieces by each faction, but they are watching their own backsides lest don’t know who will blow the other. The animated show that is selling to full house need voice-overs like you. Just a friendly word of advice. Watch your backside.

          • 7
            7

            jansee
            Keep dreaming doom for Sri lanka while We keep the N and E under surveillance for terror supporters like you.

            • 6
              7

              What is there to dream? SL is a banana republic being mortgaged to almost anyone that can throw some alms. Why do think your uncle MR often went begging to China and now Ranil has followed.

              “Terror supporters” are not under the surveillance now but the entire sinhalese regime is. May be the regime should send you to the June 2016 UNHRC session and succeed in what and where the regime failed. The whole world knows what a barbaric bunch you are and your uncle MR behaved the same way like you, thinking that he had his pulse on the North. Poor guy, today he must be bemoaning on his astrolger’s letdown. That place is vacant now and you are at liberty to apply.

              • 7
                7

                jansee
                UNHRCs have come and gone for 7 years since GOSL wiped out Tamil terrorists in 2009. Are you still dreaming? Wake up my dear and smell peace for god’s sake!

                • 5
                  6

                  Nuisanse the stupid I

                  “UNHRCs have come and gone for 7 years since GOSL wiped out Tamil terrorists in 2009.”

                  MR had come and gone.

                  How did that happen on the early morning of 9th January 2015 though he single-handedly won the war?

                  Nature works in mysterious ways. Or more precisely natural justice works in mysterious ways.

                  Stupid is as stupid types.

                  What is the difference between you and a knife?

                  • 4
                    4

                    Ex-terrorist vedda
                    Sri lankan citizens voted him out for his corrupt post war practices. For ignorant terrorists like you it is a natural miracle???
                    It is similar to wiping out tamil terrorists and its leaders who will never be back! MR, may be back because of terrorists like you.

                • 4
                  6

                  Eusense:

                  Does it look like that god is in a hurry to turn SL around?

                  UNHRC did not go anywhere. It has been screwing the regime’s balls. MR tried stretching his luck but the UNHRC is not in the mood to let the crooks go. Instead of hiding behind Mahinda’s skirt why not be the knight in shining armour.

        • 10
          8

          Nuisance

          “All Sti Lankans can now go about peacefully with their business.”

          Thanks to Hindians.

          “Another nonsensical response.”

          Why not?

          “Who cares who helped or not.”

          We do care. We want to know how much did MR clan, army officers, bureaucrats, suppliers, and their b***s carriers made money out of misery?

          We also want to know what did GR do with the cash and gold that he looted from VP’s fort Knox?

          The official MR’s b***s carrier is KASmaalam K A Sumanasekere. He has indicated his willing to continue in this job for the foreseeable future. Therefore there is no vacancy at the moment.

          • 8
            11

            pro-terror Vedda,
            It does not matter whom to thank; It may be Indians, Chinese, Pakistanis or anybody else, but the important thing is terrorists and terrorism supporters like you were eliminated.
            Nobody should explain to terrorists like you “how much did MR clan, army officers, bureaucrats, suppliers, and their b***s carriers made money out of misery”. Personally I don’t care how much money they made. Wiping out terrorism is worth every penny of that money!
            If you have needs, learn to negotiate, negotiate and negotiate. Not terrorize innocent Sri Lankans.

    • 9
      14

      He should have explained why Pabakaran did not trust any of those.

      Was Pabakaran did not know what he was doing or He knew that Norway was trying to accomplish US agenda ?

      • 7
        12

        Because, Prabakaran is an idiot.

  • 16
    22

    Interesting Salter can think only of Syria as an example. How about the US bombing hospitals, weddings in Afghanistan. Well stick to your knitting mate leave Sri Lanka alone.[Edited out]

    • 21
      19

      Patriot pathetic

      “How about the US bombing hospitals, weddings in Afghanistan.”

      Does what US did or didn’t do in Afghanistan absolve what the war criminals did in this island?

      A country which claimed to have a Sinhala/Buddhist civilisation of 2500 years now have to rely on US war crimes to justify its own. It is sad but true.

      Why don’t you follow US which put men on moon and brought them back alive and do the same?

      Pathetic Little islanders have nothing comparable to US achievement in science and technology except scale of war crimes and crime against humanity.

      • 9
        17

        Are you sure that the US even went to the moon? As for technology and science, your worship of anything Uncle Sam does, you neglect the contribution of Europe and other nations in Asia, Latin America and most importantly Soviet Union. Currently Russia and China are having better space exploration!

      • 13
        19

        pro-terror vedda,
        This is not following what the US did. SL is looking for equality in justice. Isnt that what the Tamils are looking for in SL?
        Never heard you saying otherwise!

    • 12
      11

      Patriot:

      I think I know why Afghanistan features in you – is it because the Taliban blew up the Bamiyan Buddha? I know you tried as a patriot would to prevent that happening but…

    • 8
      13

      U.S killed over 100,000. Iraqi civilians just get Saddam Hussain, in an unwanted war. Tiger Terrorist killed over 100.000 Sri Lankan civilians in a stupid war.

      • 9
        4

        You are so good at statistics that your God Mr Xi has refused to give Lanka the much awaited $1 billion (budget: tax and vat in suspense) to tide over.
        We are all awaiting for you to become cannibals. Whoooha!!

      • 12
        8

        Lalitha

        “Tiger Terrorist killed over 100.000 Sri Lankan civilians in a stupid war.”

        Will you please submit your dossier to the Paranagama commission which could use it to absolve armed forces from almost all accusation of war crimes and crime against humanity, actually from 5th April 1971?

      • 2
        3

        Lalitha:

        That stupid war came about because of stupid politicians who cared more for their positions than the country’s future. And who chose those stupid politicians – stupid donkeys like you.

  • 20
    20

    And who cares? The fact is westerners profited form our misery of 33 years, and they did not like it to end in 2009. Tried all kind of tricks in the book to save LTTE. (anyone remember the picture westerners eating fried chicken while LTTE man standing next to them with a American M16 in his hand) Is it good for Tamil civilians if the west save Prabakaran in 2009? May be only for few who profited from war.

    Now write books (profit again) and argue finer points to justify war crimes allegations (can profit some more). If the ‘Karma’ is true, westerners will get the misery back to them one-day.

    • 16
      15

      Parakrama

      “Tried all kind of tricks in the book to save LTTE.”

      The westerners might or might not have profited from the war. However it was the Hindians resolve to finish off LTTE that brought the war to end albeit with immense loss to the unarmed civilians.

      I would be grateful if you could give us a summary of how westerners profited from the war with comparative figures for other countries such as China, Pakistan, Israel, Ukraine, …..

      I would also be grateful if you could give us a summary of how Sri Lankan politicians, army commanders, bureaucrats, local suppliers of goods and services, … made profit out of war, not to mention the police which made profit out of ordinary civilians.

  • 15
    19

    how did white dogs profited from our war?
    1. arms industry
    2. genocide industry
    3. HR industry
    4. NGO industry to further their strategic interests.

    I hope to see islamic radicals bombing scandinavia in the future. and may allah bless them

    • 14
      10

      sachooooooooooooooooooo the stupid II

      “how did white dogs profited from our war? 1. arms industry 2. genocide industry 3. HR industry 4. NGO industry to further their strategic interests.”

      Now give us a break down of how white dogs profited from the war?

      Could you also give us comparative figures for other dogs profiting from the same war, and our own local dogs’ share of profits.

      • 9
        17

        It is not only overseas based white dogs who put fuel to the war. THe fifth column of these dogs based in Sri Lanka (from Colombo Austins to to Galewela Pootens and Baddegama Winters) also did the same thing to blacken Sri Lanka’s name.

        Salter should be salted.

        • 11
          5

          In that case tie a string to the moon- you could howl better.

          ” blacken Sri Lanka’s name.”

          Born black marketers – begging bowl island. Can you ever stop begging even for ambude??

      • 11
        16

        Pro-terror vedda
        People have to spoon feed you in this? Try to read and find for your self!

        • 11
          10

          Nuisance

          “Try to read and find for your self!”

          Find what, your brain?

          I accept, it is an impossible task.

          I give up.

          • 7
            9

            pro-terror vedda,
            keep posting childish nonsense.

      • 7
        15

        i dont see any use in responding to you, you are nothing but a plain racist tamil idiot

        • 12
          9

          sachooooooooooooooooooooooooo the stupid II

          “i dont see any use in responding to you, you are nothing but a plain racist tamil idiot”

          Now give us a break down of how white dogs profited from the war?

          Could you also give us comparative figures for other dogs profiting from the same war, and our own local dogs’ share of profits.

    • 2
      12

      I hope they will destroy Saudi Arabia. As per you Allah will bless them.

      • 10
        3

        pingota that would be a loss of $1 billion per year from house maids ( nation newspaper of lanka) that you send on your own free will- sex on demand- lalitha harem in sri lanka subsidy for casino no??

  • 8
    0

    How about shelling the wedding ceremony. I saw the dead groom and the bride.

  • 10
    18

    First we had Callum Master now we have Mark Master.

    http://web.archive.org/web/20060515161203/www.svik.org/videos/ambatamil.mp3

    Norway has supported LTTE financially, with equipment and made every effort to make this terrorist organisation a “legitimate” negotiation partner.

    Telephone wiretaps above has revealed the close cooperation between the Norway and the LTTE terrorist leaders.

    In this wiretap the ambassador gives information about the communication equipment and inform that the Norwegian’s will pay for the added costs. It reveals a discussion with the Norwegian Ambassador who speaks to Duleep of LTTE.

    A total of six tons of electronic equipment was delivered to the LTTE in 2002, including V-Sat equipment used in satellite communications. The conversation also revolves around a document that has been signed by Tamilchelvam and another is requested to be mailed to the ambassador’s residence and not to the embassy.

    After these wiretaps nobody can be in doubt of the illegal Norwegian support of the LTTE terrorists.

    • 17
      10

      Puppetmaster: there was no subterfuge involved in the Norwegian purchase and delivery of radio and other electronic equipment to the LTTE in 2002. The whole exercise was undertaken at the express request and with the full knowledge of the Sri Lankan authorities,

      • 7
        16

        Only thing is their radio equipment could have tuned to the same conversations.

      • 15
        21

        Mark
        Good. Do Norwegians always support terrorists? Why do you think they did not turn down the request? What did the Norwegians expect the LTTE to do with those supplies? Do you consider the norwigians as an accessory to death of civilians. Your book should have looked for answers to these questions too.

        • 14
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          eusense, You appear to be confusing messenger (Norway) with message sender (the GoSL). The Norwegians do not and did not ‘support terrorists’ – in Sri Lanka or anywhere else to my knowledge. As official peace facilitators in Sri Lanka, among other things Oslo responded to requests for assistance from both parties – in this instance, a request from the GoSL to provide radio equipment to the LTTE. If you don’t like the action in question then I suggest you blame those responsible for it – not those who facilitated its implementation. End of story.

          • 11
            10

            Mark Salter

            “not those who facilitated its implementation.”

            Could Norway facilitate brain transplant surgery on jim softy the dimwit, Nuisance the stupid I, sachooooo the stupid II, somass, ravi perera the Sinhala speaking demela, Another Sinhala/Buddhist, Lalitha, patriot the pathetic, mad mann, Ranmenika the racist, …..

          • 11
            13

            what a idiotic reply Mark (u r a true suddha) – if that ws the case shouldn’t Norway be talking to SLgov instead of LTTE about what kind of equipment. truth is Norway cunningly manipulated SL gov to do LTTE bidding. listening to above tape proves that. please make ur profit(from ur book- after all that’s ur living – made out of misery of others) and leave sri lanka alone. who are u to tell us about what we suffered for 30 yrs.

          • 9
            13

            mark,
            I don’t know whose confused here. You or me? Though you say “The end of story”, the story doesn’t end that fast!
            Are you saying the Norwegians did not know what the LTTE was doing to innocent civilians? Do you know how many suicide bombings they carried out, to cold bloodedly murder thousands of innocent Sri Lankans? If you are trying to portray Norwegians as morally superior, you have failed miserably. Take GOSL as a third world, morally deplorable and oppressing as described by most posters here. When such a Gov. request underhand corrupt activities from the Norwegians, what do you think the Norwegians should do? Carry out such request or decline? Carrying out the request show Norwegians are not second to GOSL in immoral behavior. Not only that, contrary to your statement it shows that Norwegian do support terrorism.
            Sad that you some how missed this important aspect in your writings and got any related questions answered by the Norwegians!

            • 10
              7

              Eusense, this is what a 20 December 2002 US Colombo Embassy cable (published on Wikileaks) has to say on the subject of the radio equipment:

              “Norwegian Ambassador (Jon) Westborg told us that the Sri Lankan government had specifically requested his Embassy’s assistance (for the importation of radio equipment) several months ago . . . The Norwegians underscore that they were working to further the peace process at GSL request….. the GSL says it assisted in the import of the equipment in exchange for the LTTE´s agreement to work within broadcasting regulations . . . Moreover, the Government of Norway “(GoN) only agreed to help if the equipment was provided to the (Sri Lankan) Peace Secretariat — and not directly to the LTTE . . . The Norwegian Embassy confirmed that it turned the consignment over to the GSL´s Peace Secretariat, which then passed the items over to the LTTE with the assistance of the Defense Ministry’.

              The nature of the involvement of the Sri Lankan Defence Ministry, GoSL as a whole and Norwegian government in this affair surely puts paid to any notions of ‘corrupt’ of ‘underhand’ dealings. Nor, fprmally speaking, were the LTTE a terrorist organization at this point. The GoSL had deproscribed them in advance of the CFA’a aignature in early 2002, and following this Colombo was attempting to engineer peace talks with them, talks that in fact began in September 2002.

              This, in other words, was a hopeful time when a peaceful settlement of the Sri Lankan conflict seemed, for a while, a real possibility. Later developments should not be allowed, or otherwise used, to obscure this important fact.

              • 9
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                Salter

                You are a natural born idiot , you think peace was ever possible with the LTTE , do you still believe in Santa Claus ? Does he still come down the chimney for you . may be he gets you in the ass when he does .

                You should go into Syria with a white flag to propose peace with ISIL . They would be for more worthwhile than copying useless crap on CT to prove your fictional point .

                • 9
                  4

                  Abhaya the foot soldier,

                  What makes you think you are right, disgusting,, smelly,malodorous, foul little pygmy??

                  Syria is Putin’s only ME base…he is attending to the matter- Stalin need American money to create his totalitarian regime and save from being overrun by Germans and Japanese.

                  Abe the Little Pygmy.

                  • 4
                    6

                    Cool story, bro :D

                  • 4
                    0

                    SSS
                    Need help?
                    Another look in the mirror should help.
                    Otherwise I know someone who could help.

              • 9
                13

                Mark,
                If you are trying to portray that GoN as so naive and innocent about it’s intelligence on LTTE, you have not convinced me. In fact Norway should not have got involved on this peace process if they had no idea of what was happening. By 2002 the LTTE had suicide murdered over 25,000 innocent civilians. What other evidence does GoN need to convince them that the LTTE is a terrorist organization?
                The US cable leaked by Wikileaks reveals that the then Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission (SLMM) chief Tryggve Teleffensen admitted in a conversation with US Ambassador in Colombo that the SLMM had helped an LTTE terrorist arms ship to escape the Sri Lanka Navy. The then President Chandrika Kumaratunga accused Teleffensen and the SLMM of having helped that vessel flee. Subsequently, the Norwegians also helped the Tamil terrorists smuggle shiploads of arms into Sri Lanka.
                This resulted in one of the most vicious bloodbaths the island has ever seen.
                Norwegians Against Terrorism (NAT) has revealed massive amounts of funding for LTTE front organizations in Norway. In just one year, TRO (a globally recognized front for the Tamil Tiger terrorists) had received 15 million NOK (2.2 million U.S. dollars). Later, Norwegian Foreign Ministry agency Norad hid payments made to the LTTE terrorist by removing them from the unrestricted payments list.
                I have no issue with you condemning the GOSL. These are corrupt politicians. However, You need to to know that SL was desperate with this terror war with no end in sight, which was often called by the west “Sri Lanka’s unwinnable war”. Under these conditions I would not blame the GOSL trying to bribe the LTTE to get them to negotiate.
                I am fairly convinced that GoN have blood in it’s hands. The following news item in 2004 may give more evidence of GoN actives; http://www.asiantribune.com/news/2004/09/05/oslo-conference-helped-expose-norwegian-duplicity

                • 11
                  9

                  Eusense,

                  “”innocent about it’s intelligence on LTTE, you have not convinced me.””

                  On CT no one has ever convinced saffron clad baldie blockhead Eusense Pingona based in the USA.Like Jim Softy
                  You have 10 years of questions papers that you churn out on CT and you never expect an answer that would change you- yes or no my way.
                  Communism and Fascism are products of the same mind. No type of mind is so like the extreme left as the extreme right.- both use force.
                  You can never be human . Logical does not mean being human.

                  Grow up or Drown in the pond when you cross it next.

                  • 7
                    9

                    Jb
                    Just post relevant points as a rebuttal. That is if you have any. Otherwise stop posting personal attacks.

                    • 7
                      6

                      You have never been relevant but a bigot. Like Hitler spreading the lie over again until l everyone believed it was the truth.- that is how logic works Puddhu- what is personal about you creep from the start??
                      tell us ??

              • 2
                0

                How do you silence biased, anti-Sri Lankan and terror supporting westerners like Mark Salter? By publicizing the truth.

                More than 5 days have passed he has no answers to me.

            • 6
              5

              Eusense ,

              You are sitting on a pin cushion and speaking both ways as if you are judge and jury- good Samaritan?? Are you a foot soldier dear like your troops out on this thread or just another mercenary talking of MORALS while you hold the begging bowl from independence and hoodwink??
              Why did you godfather Xi refuse $1 billion. he is now learning to be the master of chopping off corruption.
              You are cheesed to be exposed? In that case tell us all what your profession is `Eusense` is California based European company on innovation- when did idiots of Lanka innovate??
              Tell us stupid 24/7/53 pook/troll then I let it pass.
              remember this: you tried us all in india I am neither tamil nor sinhalese.

              The duty of the human mind, that is not called upon to make a stupidly logical argument, but should try to maintain a sane balance in an ever-changing sea of conflicting impulses, feelings, and desires. And such is truth in human affairs that that is true which we will to make so. In human affairs, it is often the illogical course of conduct that is the most convincing

      • 9
        17

        So Norwegians did do that and of course white man’s servant RW did approve that, something even the then president CBK questioned.

      • 3
        12

        You are a huge supporter of LTTE. How much you get paid by LTTE ?

      • 1
        9

        “The whole exercise was undertaken at the express request and with the full knowledge of the Sri Lankan authorities.”.

        Of course, just like the CFA. How thoughtful of our Northern friends.

        BTW. Don’t ask Erik Solheim, he is “not an electronic expert”, he wouldn’t know how the LTTE used this equipment.

  • 7
    16

    Obama admits to helping dismember Libya. Today, Libya is in the throes of massive tribal jihadi islamist wars for turf control.

    Iraq Invasion: Has Mark Salter written anything about it and the collateral damage during the initial phase of the war where white christian american bombs killed nearly 54,000 Iraqi civilians in “shock and awe” and “precision strikes?” (2003)

    Yes of No Mr. Salter? Give me example of western white christian leaders expressing outrage . Give me examples of western white christian leaders expressing outrage at the battle of falluja where dozens, if not hundreds of civilians were slaughtered by jittery marines and where white Phosphorous was used.

    Can you give me examples of Norwegian, British, French politicians expressing any outrage over the massive number of civilians killed by Predator Drone strikes. War is hell. US Bulldozed, and buried alive thousands of Iraqi soldiers hiding in their trenches in 1991.

    US wanted Praba rescued so they will have leverage. Soon if the GOSL does not abide by their overtures to use Trinco and join their anti Chinese coalition, US will start Eelam via CIA which is now working with USAID as they did in Cuba and in many Latin American countries.(USAID is the new destablizing group infiltrated by the CIA and they are already engaging in massive propaganda unnoticed by Ranil in Eelam areas; They will do a South Sudan in Sri lanka in the next 5 years)

    • 13
      2

      “”Obama admits to helping dismember Libya. Today, Libya is in the throes of massive tribal jihadi islamist wars for turf control. “”

      Both those wars took root in the west- expat Iraq’s Syrians Libyans who were sent out to study for free. They felt greedy and very greedy for power and hoodwinked the west that Only they can promote Democracy. Where the F are the highly educated Libyans?? They just took western kindness for weakness.

      • 4
        10

        Stop20:

        How come you are fully converted now ?

  • 6
    6

    These guys will sell any third world carcass to make money.
    A real Vulture

  • 13
    4

    The bane of Lankas problems arise from the Free Education like Libyan Iraqis etc had.
    Topped it with Rice from the Moon so they are in their element Howling like Wolves unable to see the origin – it is in your Badagini!!

    Independence was a mistake. Rule of the brutes- your DNA does not lie.

  • 2
    10

    Norwegian suppot to LTTE part 2:

    http://web.archive.org/web/20070925164739/http://www.svik.org/Videos/GENTAMIL.mp3

    Sensitive information is given to the terrorist leader and the Norwegian general are coaching the terrorist leader to give the blame on the latest terrorist action to a “third party” with stolen uniforms! The general also states, “I’m using all their resources to calm down the Sinhalese part of the population” and requests Puleedevan to
    order his people to do the same, whereupon Prabhakaran agrees, but states
    that the “Tamil people are always on the receiving end.”

    Norwegian generals have also given sensitive information to the LTTE terrorist leaders. General Trygve Tellefsen leaked information about the Navy’s pursuit of a LTTE arms smuggling ship to the Tamil rebel group allowing them to escape. After the incident President Chandrika Kumaratunga wrote to the Norwegian Prime Minister, Kjell Magne Bondevik to remove the Head of the Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission, Retired Major General Trygve Tellefsen.

  • 2
    7

    White Christian American bombs in Iraq killed over 54,000 innocent civilians during the initial “shock and awe” campaign with their laser guided precision munitions. No Mark Salter weeping.

    Sanctions as per Madeline Albright’s later confessions killed over 500,000 Iraqi children. No Norwegian tears or offer to solve problem.

    Predators have killed more civilians under Barry Sotero Hussein Obama than under Bush the evangelical crackpot. No Mark Salter or Norwegian offer to intervene or stop the war.

    Falluja Iraq: Phosphorous bombs and Jittery Marines killed hundreds of civilians along with those Moqtada Shia followers too.

    Afghanistan: collateral damage continues. Taleban violence continues. Al Qaeda violence continues. Mark Salter needs to go negotiate with them.

    Libya : No point even talking about the lies. A few dozen deaths was magnified by Samantha Power, and Susan clueless Rice and exaggerated. End result ?Chaos and Jihdi Islamist savages running amok. No Mark Salter investigating causes of war.

    No Norwegian Lutheran Tears nor Mark Salter investigations.

    LTTE refused to ever change. On January 8th Mr. Salter, Kilinochchi fell to the army. By then the writing was on the wall. NO LTTE leader wanted to negotiate or change their ideology. Instead like Japan’s crazy WWII suicide warriors on Saipan and Iwo Jima these guys decided to blow themselves up. Ask US soldiers how they would react when dozens of young brainwashed kids rush to them wearing explosive packs or pretend to surrender with white flags and blow up. US SHOOTS the f**k out of them before they have a chance to hit. If Jihadis shoot from Mosques, the mosques are razed to the ground. That is war.

    Those bodies were stripped because they usually booby trap them. There was a first hand story narrated to me: 2 girls (sisters) pretended to surrender. One was mortally wounded and screaming with her leg blown off. Asked for water and when the Sinhala soldiers approached them, both blew themselves up.

    Talk to veteran officers please Mark.

    US bulldozed alive Iraqi soldiers hiding in fear of US troops in 1991. They just buried them alive. No war crime because those were darkie Arabs and the soldiers were predominantly white and all christian.

    Read following: I did not hear the King of Norway Harald V saying anything nor your PM nor your Parliament nor you Mark.

    United States Army forces buried alive scores of Iraqi soldiers in their trenches in the early hours of the allied ground attack that ended the Persian Gulf war, Army commanders said this week.

    The deaths took place during the operation in which American M1-A1 tanks of the First Infantry Division cut lanes through a 10-mile-wide stretch of barbed wire, minefields, bunkers and trenches north of the Iraqi-Saudi Arabian border on Feb. 24 as the allied ground offensive unfolded.

    Army officials said the Iraqi soldiers who died remained in their trenches as plow-equipped tanks dumped tons of earth and sand onto them, filling the trenches to insure that they could not be used as cover from which to fire on allied units that were poised to pour through the gaps. Avoiding Hand-to-Hand Combat

    The Army said it knew the operation would kill Iraqis who did not surrender or otherwise get out of the way, but said the tactic spared the lives of American soldiers who would have had to leave the safety of their armored vehicles and fight Iraqi troops hand to hand in the trenches.

    “People somehow have the notion that burying guys alive is nastier than blowing them up with hand grenades or sticking them in gut with bayonets,” said Col. Lon Maggart. “Well it’s not.”

    Colonel Maggart, commander of one of two brigades that led assaults on a key line of Iraqi defenses, said in a telephone interview from Fort Riley, Kan., that between 80 and 250 Iraqis had been buried alive. Army officials said the First Infantry’s experiences had been the only incidents of live burials during the war.

    At a news conference here on Thursday, the Pentagon spokesman,

    (reference and source of extract :http://www.nytimes.com/1991/09/15/world/us-army-buried-iraqi-soldiers-alive-in-gulf-war.html)

    War is war is war is hell.

    • 7
      2

      Even today the Afghans say the west were not as dastardly as the Russians who wiped out folk. They admit that their own people are killing more.- this is fact of life.

      Check out Syria which is Russia’s only navel base and access to the middle east.
      Putin said he was going to shoot anything that moves and looks like terrorist- he did not mince his words.
      At russia when Chechnya terrorist took hostages Putin and his men killed the whole lot- its the bears culture while the west is tolerant to let you live off them and speak.

      We are waiting to see you become cannibals in the near future when you dig deep into own economic embargo.

  • 1
    7

    Nearly half a million people have died from war-related causes in Iraq since the US-led invasion in 2003, according to an academic study published in the United States on Tuesday.

    That toll is far higher than the nearly 115,000 violent civilian deaths reported by the British-based group Iraq Body Count, which bases its tally on media reports, hospital and morgue records, and official and non-governmental accounts.

    The latest estimate by university researchers in the United States, Canada and Baghdad in cooperation with the Iraqi Ministry of Health covers not only violent deaths but other avoidable deaths linked to the invasion, insurgencies and subsequent social breakdown.

    It also differs from some previous counts by spanning a longer period of time and by using randomized surveys of households across Iraq to project a nationwide death toll from 2003 to mid 2011.

    Violence caused most of the deaths, but about a third were indirectly linked to the war, and these deaths have been left out of previous counts, said lead author Amy Hagopian, a public health researcher at the University of Washington.

    Those included situations when a pregnant woman encountered difficult labor but could not leave the house due to fighting, or when a person drank contaminated water, or when a patient could not get treated at a hospital because staff was overwhelmed with war casualties.

    “These are all indirect deaths, and they are significant,” Hagopian told AFP.

    The aim of the study was to provide a truer picture of the suffering caused by war, and hopefully to make governments think twice about the harm that would come from an invasion, she said.

    “I think it is important that people understand the consequences of launching wars on public health, on how people live. This country is forever changed.”

    The research team from the University of Washington, Johns Hopkins University, Simon Fraser University and Mustansiriya University conducted the work on a volunteer basis using pooled internal resources instead of seeking outside funds.

    Their tally was compiled by asking adults living in 2,000 randomly selected households in 100 geographic clusters across Iraq if family members had died, when and why.

    Researchers used the survey data, which was completed by 1,960 of those chosen, to calculate the death rate before the war and after. When multiplied by the whole population, they returned a number that represented “excess deaths.”

    Researchers estimated there were 405,000 excess Iraqi deaths attributable to the war through mid-2011.

    They also attempted to account for deaths missed because families had fled the country, and estimated 55,805 total deaths, bringing the total to nearly 461,000.

    About 70 percent of Iraq deaths from 2003-2011 were violent in nature, with most caused by gunshots, followed by car bombs and other explosions, said the study.

    Coalition forces were blamed for 35 percent of violent deaths; militias were blamed for 32 percent. The rest were either unknown (21 percent), criminals (11 percent) or Iraqi forces (one percent).

    • 0
      0

      ClintonsHuma and others, For a detailed account of US’s war in Iraq read Nicholas Cage’s book “Blood on Our Hands”

  • 3
    11

    Salter

    All this for what , in defence of a book no one will ever read . I suppose it does not matter if the CIA is paying your bills . Dont act like you are a journalist when you are nothing but a mole . good luck in the future with your Arab Springs or indonesian jumping jacks no one here gives a shit . Ask uncle obama to put in a vote for Trump .

    • 7
      4

      bla bla blAbhaya

      “All this for what , in defence of a book no one will ever read .”

      You may be right, that no one in this island will read. When did the last time they read any books? What was the title of the book?

      In your case, I don’t even want to raise those questions.

      Have you ever had the time to read Mahawamsa or Mahinda Chintana, or even top shelf magazines? Top shelf magazines are full of photos hence, you would have bought them for recreational purpose.

      • 0
        0

        Veddha

        is the mahawamsa or Mahinda Chintanaya on Amazon ?

        • 4
          0

          bla bla blAbhaya

          “is the mahawamsa or Mahinda Chintanaya on Amazon ?”

          Both can be freely accessed on google:

          Mahavamsa : the great chronicle of Ceylon
          by Geiger, Wilhelm, 1856-1943; Bode, Mabel Haynes

          Published 1912
          Topics Mahavamsa, Legends, Sinhalese, Sri Lanka — History Sources Ancient period

          https://www.google.co.uk/webhp?
          sourceid=chrome-instant&ion=1&espv
          =2&ie=UTF-8#q=archive.org+Mahawamsa

          https://ia800300.us.archive.org/
          26/items/mahavamsagreatch00geigrich/
          mahavamsagreatch00geigrich.pdf

          Don’t bother with Mahinda Chintanaya, as it is not an original treatise of immense value. You won’t miss anything if you haven’t read it yet.

          sri lanka the emerging wonder of asia
          Mahinda Chintana Vision for the Future

          http://www.treasury.gov.lk/
          publications/mahindaChintanaVision
          -2010full-eng.pdf

          Take your Children to the new film:

          The Man Who Knew Infinity’ –
          The Genius of Srinivasa Ramanujan
          the young Indian mathematician

          Drop your children at the cinemas, and wait outside until they leave the hall.

          Then of course you can teach them how these Toilet Nadu Tamil defecated in open space, bla, bla, bla….

          Let your children be part of the wider world, and drag you out of your Sinhala/Buddhist ghettoized mind.

  • 1
    0

    Mr. Salter,

    “…it would be heartening to discover that it was informed both by a careful reading of the text itself, and an avoidance of fatuous personal jibes.”

    About a couple of years before the end of the war, Roberts started showing symptoms of serious partiality to the Rajapaksa regime, unmindful of any academic objectivity, and ‘fatuous personal jibes’ have been his stock-in-trade since then.

    In a February 10, 2009 article, ‘Dilemmas at war’s end: Thoughts on Hard Realities,’ Roberts had this to say:
    “…Statistics, ah!! As the LTTE retreated and the remnant ‘civilian’ population of SL Tamils was increasingly in danger of being engulfed by troop fire-fights and artillery projectiles, aid agencies in Sri Lanka have trotted out figures to underline the potential disaster awaiting the Tamil people. During January 2009 figures of 250,000 trapped were quoted by both Lankans and foreigners situated in Colombo; while sometimes the figure rose to 400,000. These statistics have been duly parroted in global media circuits. They are still in the air (7 February 2009)!!

    “Impelled by genuine humanitarian concerns, those in Colombo who underlined these figures probably felt that their goals would be enhanced if the numbers were larger: so in their reasoning presumably 250,000 could engender a better outcome than say, a figure of 130,000. But questions arise: don’t their emotional ethical concerns also warrant more careful considerations of veracity and fact? … and a closer examination of the category ‘civilian’? And thus the addition of significant caveats in the information conveyed to those outside the Sri Lankan realm? Emotional agitation does not excuse political naivety among those moderate and/or non-partisan.”

    As the IDP camps overflowed with more than 300,000 people at the end of the war, it became clear who the real liars were. Roberts has never revisited this issue, nor apologized; he continues as a mouthpiece of the Rajapakska regime and allied war criminals, and finds the West, NGO’s and aid workers a convenient target.

  • 0
    0

    Please use my penname Dionysus

    Most readers responding to Mark Salter’s article seem not to understand English. Or for that matter, probably any language. Like a group of maddened dogs they bark and bark, without making any sense.

  • 1
    0

    Agnos.

    Roberts,in his salad days would have written essays to the effect that Money was the Root of all Evil!
    Later on he would have discovered,after jumping out of the Bath Tub,like Archimedes,the Route is by holding a brief for the Rajapakses!

    His last essay had REFERENCES and FOOTNOTES GALORE.
    Mark Salter has been misinterpreted!
    Perhaps,even his other sources,most probably,have been taken out of context!

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