{"id":164806,"date":"2016-07-05T15:46:26","date_gmt":"2016-07-05T10:16:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/?p=164806"},"modified":"2016-07-11T13:08:01","modified_gmt":"2016-07-11T07:38:01","slug":"a-bout-at-chandrikawewa-29th-april-2009-miliband-kouchner-vs-mahinda-rajapaksa","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/a-bout-at-chandrikawewa-29th-april-2009-miliband-kouchner-vs-mahinda-rajapaksa\/","title":{"rendered":"A Bout At Chandrikawewa, 29th April 2009: Miliband & Kouchner Vs Mahinda Rajapaksa"},"content":{"rendered":"

By<\/strong>\u00a0Michael Roberts<\/a><\/span> –<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"Dr.<\/a>

Dr. Michael Roberts<\/p><\/div>\n

The manner in which President Mahinda Rajapaksa withstood and totally deflated the imperialistic moves by Miliband and Kouchner, respective Foreign Ministers for Britain and France, in late April 2009 has been the stuff of salacious gossip in pro-Rajapaksa and Sri Lankan patriot circles. Any re-telling of this tale in solid detail on the foundations of direct witness will cast me into the same mould in the minds of those beyond that circle — whether sanctimonious, liberal and\/or snooty. No matter: historical recording must trump popular polling and moral posturing. Meeting Lalith Weeratunga[1]<\/a> enables me to present the story in vivid detail.<\/p>\n

Preceding Context<\/strong><\/p>\n

Comprehending the circumstances of Miliband and Kouchner\u2019s forcible imposition of selves into a country in the throes of a deadly war demands a summary recounting of pertinent facts.<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Within the broader context of Eelam War Four the LTTE had created the parametres of the battle theatre[2]<\/a> in their declining land-area by (a) encouraging their mass of supporters to move east so as to serve as a defensive formation and body of hostages-cum-labour force as well as (b) the ground on which they could raise the spectre of \u201can impending humanitarian catastrophe\u201d by utilising their efficient agit-prop machinery, Tamil migrants abroad and pliant\/attentive Western media engines[3]<\/a> so as to secure a rescue act from powerful quarters.<\/li>\n
  2. This campaign drew strong interventions from human rights agencies such as Amnesty International Watch, Human Rights Watch and International Crisis Group, while attracting numerous liberals and radicals in the Western world \u2013 together constituting what was a third force impinging on Eelam War IV.\"Britain's<\/a><\/li>\n
  3. It also drew increasing support from the Western powers who saw themselves as \u201cthe international community\u201d and the moral pinnacle of the Good. The reference here is to what analysts refer to as \u201cNeo-Con\u201d thinking. One guide to this current was State Department staffer Samantha Power\u2019s book, A Problem from Hell<\/em>.[4]<\/a> When Barack Obama became President and Hilary Clinton was made Secretary of State in January 2009, this impetus received a further boost as USA adopted a tougher line towards the government of Sri Lanka (GSL) and the UN bureaucrats in Geneva and New York took a more forceful interventionist line.<\/li>\n
  4. The sum total of these lines of activity saw USA, Britain and EU seeking to protect the Tamil civilians caught in the Tiger corral by asking both sides to institute a ceasefire. Such a demand favoured the warring party on the defensive back foot: that is, it helped the LTTE.<\/li>\n
  5. However, the pressure they could exert of the LTTE was limited. Ambassador Robert Blake put matters in a nutshell in a despatch (No. 133 via Wikileaks) to his superiors on the 5th<\/sup> February 2009: \u201cthe LTTE had refused to allow civilians to leave because the LTTE needs the civilians as human shields, as a pool for forced conscription, and asa means to try to persuade the international community to force a cease-fire upon the government, since that is the LTTE\u2019s only hope.\u201d\u00a0Again, a memo from Tore Hattrem, the Norwegian ambassador in Lanka, to Basil Rajapaksa on the 16th<\/sup> February 2009 indicates that the international power-brokers were getting nowhere in their attempts to secure cooperation from the LTTE (see copy).<\/li>\n
  6. This did not deter USA and these several agencies from pressurizing GSL to institute a ceasefire or cease military advances. Indeed, US ambassador Blake even waved the sword of \u201cwar crimes\u201d over the government\u2019s head at a meeting with Foreign Minister Bogollagama on the 18th<\/sup> March 2009<\/a><\/span>.<\/li>\n
  7. In the meanwhile, a key segment of the international power-cabal had got into bed with KP and other Tiger representatives at Kuala Lumpur in February 2009<\/a><\/span> to hatch a plan to rescue the Tiger leadership.[5]<\/a> KP\u2019s emphasis was on saving the LTTE leaders. In partial contrast the tale presented to the world by Solheim\u2019s alter voice, Mark Salter, is about an international operation dedicated to the rescue of the Tamil civilians and a silencing of LTTE guns (2015: 348). USA was kept abreast of this conspiracy and even sent a PACOM team to Sri Lanka to explore possibilities. Salter is studiously silent about the date on which the plot was discussed at Kuala Lumpur and precisely when the PACOM team reached Sri Lanka.[6]<\/a> I now believe that this exploratory visit may even have been in late February.[7]<\/a><\/li>\n
  8. GSL side-stepped these pressures. The leading SL Army officers were men who had seen how the Vadamaratchchi operation had been stymied by imperialistic action from outside (by India under Rajiv Gandhi) and were determined to crush the Tigers. Gotabaya Rajapaksa blandly stonewalled when faced with Blake\u2019s high-handed insistence in mid-April 2009 that the GSL should cease military advances. He must have had experience in poker-games.<\/li>\n
  9. Within ten days of this \u2018poker-match,\u2019 commando forces penetrated the Last Redoubt of the LTTE (some 24-30 square miles in extent) on the 18\/19th<\/sup> April, while the escape routes which the SL Army had devised enabled some 103-110,000 civilians (inclusive of some Tigers) to reach safe government-controlled terrain<\/a><\/span> over the course of the next four days.<\/li>\n
  10. This remarkable operation[8]<\/a> seems to have been blanketed out in powerful strands of the Western media, though Reuters<\/a><\/span> and the Indian press conveyed decent accounts of this marvellous outcome. Indeed, the strident tales in Western media outlets were only one notch below the histrionic agitation of Tamil migrants in Western cities who assembled en masse in striking demonstrations in April and May 2009.[9]<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    This background set the platform for strong-arm tactics from the self-appointed \u201cinternational community.\u201d Secretary of State Clinton verbally admonished GSL. On Wednesday the 22nd<\/sup>\u00a0April\u00a0she told the world<\/a><\/span>\u00a0that \u201ca terrible humanitarian tragedy\u201d was taking place in Sri Lanka, referred to \u201cgenocide\u201d and demanded a halt to fighting so that \u201cwe could secure a safe passage for so many of the trapped civilians as possible.\u201d Notice the arrogant \u201cwe.\u201d USA was to call the shots.<\/a>\"photo\"<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

    USA\u2019s sidekicks then entered the fray. David Miliband and Bernard Kouchner rushed to Sri Lanka at the end of April to exert full-frontal pressure on the government.[10]<\/a> Their amateurish readings of the battlefield scenario appear to have blinded them to the difficulties of any military rescue operation by outside forces, however powerful (a perspective that contrasted with the US embassy\u2019s realistic awareness[11]<\/a>). Subsequent revelations<\/a><\/span> from British administrative circles suggest that Miliband was driven in part by constituency considerations because of a number of Sri Lankan Tamil votes in his electorate of South Shields. In my surmise, however, his Left wing views and moral fervour \u2013 deepened further by his Jewish sensibilities[12]<\/a> \u2013 inspired gullibility to the tales conveyed to him by Tamils as well as British media personnel swayed by the Tamil propaganda.<\/p>\n

    It is this gross misreading of the situation on the war front, besides outstanding arrogance, that emerges from the details of his encounters with two of the three key players in the Sri Lankan firmament. The first encounter of the two Foreign Ministers seems to have been on April 28th<\/sup> with Gotabaya Rajapaksa, the Defence Secretary. The Guardian<\/em><\/a><\/span> (in UK) called it a \u201cheated exchange\u201d (2009). The editorial<\/a><\/span> in the local newspaper, the Island<\/em>, is more revealing:<\/p>\n

    [Rajapaksa] told him that the government would not stop its war on terror until the LTTE was crushed and its leader Velupillai Prabhakaran captured, dead or alive.\u2026 the Defence Secretary did not mince his words, when he said it was Sri Lankan troops and civilians who had perished in the conflict and therefore the government was determined to finish off the LTTE. He said humanitarian concerns were only a ploy employed by some people to extricate Prabhakaran and his top leaders from the mess they had got into. He said a truce would only help the LTTE to regroup.<\/p>\n

    “The only person who could stop this war,” a plain-spoken Defence Secretary told the British dignitaries, “is the President of Sri Lanka.”<\/p>\n

    So, the intentions of the European big-wigs now depended on their ability to persuade or overwhelm President Mahinda Rajapaksa.<\/p>\n

    The latter, however, had chosen a strategic playing field for this potential confrontation, one beyond the urbane environment of urban buildings. On the 29th<\/sup> April Miliband and Kouchner had been flown by government helicopter (with Palitha Kohona in attendance) to the detention centres at Manik Farm where the Tamil displaced were being catered for in what was a massive relief operation (see Roberts, Tamil Person & State. Pictorial<\/em>, 2014: 185-203) . It was from thence that Miliband and Kouchner were flown by air force helicopter to the Presidential circuit bungalow at Chandrikawewa near Embilipitiya<\/a><\/span> overlooking the irrigation tank at that location in the southern part of Sri Lanka \u2013 not quite jungle but near enough.<\/p>\n

    The meeting took place in the presence of Foreign Minister Bogollagama, Lalith Weeratunga (Secy to the President), Palitha Kohona (Secretary, Ministry of Foreign Affairs), Ms Kshenuka Seneviratne, Additional Secretary, Ministry of Foreign Affairs and included the local British and French ambassadors. After the initial pleasantries, Miliband opened the \u2018bowling\u2019 aggressively with a fiery \u2018bouncer\u2019: \u201cMr President, we have a message from the international community.\u00a0<\/strong>Your forces are threatening the annihilation of the Tamils<\/strong>. We want you to stop these attacks on Tamils immediately.”<\/p>\n

    Mahinda Rajapaksa\u2019s response was as sharp as angry: \u201cRemember, we are no longer a colony of yours. That ended in 1948.\u00a0I will not stop until our forces will finish terrorism.” At this point Kouchner intervened: \u201cwe are your friends.\u201d To which Rajapaksa retorted: \u201cI know who my friends are.\u201d Also Rajapaksa lambasted Miliband,\u00a0“When people die here it’s just news for you, but it’s agony for me and my people. I am the elected leader of this country and we are very close to ending terrorism. We will not stop.”<\/strong><\/p>\n

    It was a two-over match. The visitors were stymied, deflated. No further elaborations are required. Mahinda Rajapaksa\u2019s fierce response on this occasion was on the same plane as the retort directed at Solheim in March 2006 when the latter told the President that the LTTE could not be defeated.[13]<\/a> Now, on 31 April 2009 and on the cusp of a momentous military victory, Mahinda Rajapaksa was in no mood for polite responses to big power bombast \u2013 bluster rooted in gross magnification of the battlefield casualties and the gullible acceptance of media reports by highly-placed men with an abysmal awareness of ground realities. One could not have asked or a more amateurish reading of the battlefield situation (or its politics) than that postulated by David Miliband. That such idiocy reposed so firmly in such a powerful institution in the international firmament indicates serious deficiencies in the Britain\u2019s Foreign Ministry.<\/p>\n

    BIBLIOGRAPHY<\/strong><\/p>\n

    Black, Chris & Edward S. Herman\u00a0<\/strong>2000 \u201cAn Unindicted War Criminal.\u00a0Louise Arbour and the International Crimes Tribunal,\u201d <\/strong>http:\/\/www.whale.to\/c\/unindicted_war_criminal.html<\/a><\/p>\n

    Black, Chris\u00a0<\/strong>2016 \u201cTerrorism. A Matrix of Lies and Deceit,\u201d\u00a0http:\/\/journal-neo.org\/2016\/06\/17\/terrorism-a-matrix-of-lies-and-deceit\/<\/p>\n

    Gamage, Daya\u00a0<\/strong>2008 \u201cBarack Obama & Civil War in Sri Lanka; Robert Blake\u2019s Mind-Set; Negating R2P Psychology Build-Up,\u201d 2 November 2008,http:\/\/www.asiantribune.com\/?q=node\/14004<\/a>.<\/u><\/p>\n

    Gamage, Daya<\/strong>\u00a02009 \u201cRudrakumaran\u2019s Role to promote LTTE contravenes US material support Laws,\u201d 22 September 2009,http:\/\/www.asiantribune.com\/news\/2009\/08\/23\/rudrakumaran%E2%80%99s-role-promote-ltte-contravenes-us-%E2%80%98material-support%E2%80%99-laws<\/a><\/p>\n

    Gamage, Daya\u00a0<\/strong>2011b \u201cInternational Humanitarian Law \u2013 at all times \u2013 applicable to LTTE atrocities: Why was the West silent?\u201d 6 July 2011,http:\/\/www.asiantribune.com\/news\/2011\/07\/05\/applicability-ihl-provisions-ltte-violent-acts-why-was-west-silent<\/a><\/p>\n

    Gamage, Daya<\/strong>\u00a02014 \u201cThe American Agenda for Sri Lanka\u2019s National Issues,\u00a01970s-2014<\/a>,\u201d\u00a0<\/u>5 July 2014,https:\/\/thuppahi.wordpress.com\/2014\/07\/05\/the-american-agenda-for-sri-lankas-national-issues-1970s-2014\/<\/a><\/p>\n

    Guardian <\/strong>2010\u201cMiliband in row with Sri Lankan defence minister,\u201d 30 April 2009,<\/p>\n

    https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/world\/2009\/apr\/30\/sri-lanka-tamil-tigers<\/a><\/p>\n

    Guardian <\/strong>2010\u201cWikileaks cables: David Miliband focused on Sri Lankan war ‘to win votes’,\u201d https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/world\/2010\/dec\/01\/wikileaks-david-miliband-sri-lanka<\/a><\/p>\n

    Holmes, Maj-General John T. <\/strong>2015 \u201cExpert Military Opinion,\u201d 28 March 2015, in Paranagama Commission<\/em>, 2015, pp. 180ff.<\/p>\n

    Hull, C. Bryson<\/strong>\u00a02009 \u201cSri Lanka opens eye in the sky on war zone,\u201d 20 April 2009,\u00a0http:\/\/mobile.reuters.com\/article\/idUSCOL450259<\/a><\/p>\n

    Hull, C. Bryson & Ranga Sirilal<\/strong>\u00a02009\u00a0<\/strong>\u201cSri Lankan War in Endgame, 100,000 escape rebel zone,\u201d\u00a0<\/strong>23 April 2009,\u00a0http:\/\/www.reuters.com\/article\/us-srilanka-war-idUSTRE53J0IZ20090422<\/a><\/p>\n

    Hull, C. Bryson & Ranga Sirilal\u00a0<\/strong>2009\u00a0<\/strong>\u201cSri Lanka\u2019s long war in bloody final climax,\u201d 17 May 2009,\u00a0http:\/\/mg.co.za\/article\/2009-05-17-sri-lankas-long-war-in-bloody-final-climax<\/a><\/p>\n

    Island <\/strong>2009 \u201cWar won\u2019t stop until Prabhakaran is taken, dead or alive
    \nGota tells Miliband and Kouchner,\u201d 30 April 2009,     http:\/\/www.island.lk\/2009\/04\/30\/news18.html<\/a><\/p>\n

    Jeyaraj, D. B. S.<\/strong>\u00a02009 \u201cFraudulent concept of a \u201cfire-free, no-fire, safe zone,\u201d 18 April 2009,\u00a0http:\/\/dbsjeyaraj.com\/dbsj\/archives\/343<\/a>.<\/u><\/p>\n

    Jeyaraj, D. B. S.<\/strong>\u00a02011\u00a0\u201cKP\u2019 Speaks Out. An Interview with Former Tiger Chief<\/em>, Vavuniya: NERDO.<\/p>\n

    Jeyaraj, D. B. S.<\/strong>\u00a02015 \u201cThe Life and Death of Velupillai\u00a0Pirap\u0101haran<\/a>,\u201d 9 May 2015,\u00a0https:\/\/thuppahi.wordpress.com\/2015\/05\/09\/the-life-and-death-of-velupillai-pirapaharan\/<\/a><\/p>\n

    [Mango] <\/strong>\u201cAmnesty International reveals its Flawed Tunnel-Vision in Sri Lanka in\u00a02009,\u201d<\/strong> 10 Aug. 2011, https:\/\/thuppahi.wordpress.com\/2011\/08\/10\/amnesty-international-reveals-its-flawed-tunnel-vision-on-sri-lanka-in-2009\/<\/a><\/p>\n

    Melvern, Linda\u00a0<\/strong>2011 \u201cA response to Stephen Wertheim\u2019s \u2018A solution from hell: The United States and the rise of humanitarian interventionism, 1991\u20132003\u2019,\u201d Journal of Genocide Research<\/em>, 13: vol. 1 & 3, pp. 153-157<\/p>\n

    Nessman, Ravi<\/strong> [of Associated Press] 2009 \u201cFrench, British ministers in Sri Lanka for talks,\u201d 28 April 2009, http:\/\/www.sandiegouniontribune.com\/news\/2009\/apr\/28\/sri-lanka-civil-war-042809\/<\/p>\n

    Peiris, Gerald H. <\/strong>2010 \u201c<\/strong>The Doctrine of Responsibility to Protect: Impulses, Implications and Impact,\u201d 30 June 2010, http:\/\/www.slguardian.org\/2010\/06\/the-doctrine-of-responsibility-to-protect-impulses-implications-and-impact\/<\/a><\/p>\n

    Roberts, Michael<\/strong>\u00a02009 \u201cDilemmas at War\u2019s End: Thoughts on Hard Realities,\u201d\u00a010 Feb. 2009,\u00a0http:\/\/groundviews.org\/2009\/02\/10\/dilemmas-at-wars-end-thoughts-on-hard-realities\/<\/a>, rep. in Roberts,\u00a0Fire and Storm,\u00a0<\/em>Colombo: Vijitha Yapa Publications, pp. 267-74.<\/p>\n

    Roberts, Michael<\/strong>\u00a02009\u00a0<\/strong>\u201cDilemma\u2019s at War\u2019s End: Clarifications and Counter-offensive,\u201d<\/em>\u00a0www. groundviews.org<\/a>, rep. in Roberts,\u00a0Fire and Storm,\u00a0<\/em>Colombo: Vijitha Yapa Publications, pp. 275-87.<\/p>\n

    Roberts, Michael<\/strong>\u00a02010\u00a0\u201cSimpletons at the World\u2019s Peak: Sri Lankan Situation Stumps the World,\u201d<\/strong>\u00a0in Roberts,\u00a0Fire and Storm,<\/em>\u00a0Colombo: Vijitha Yapa Publications, pp. 289-302.\u2026 originally in\u00a0Frontline\u00a0<\/em>under a different title in May 2009<\/p>\n

    Roberts, Michael<\/strong>\u00a02011a \u201cPeople of Righteousness target Sri Lanka,\u201d 27 June 2011,\u00a0https:\/\/thuppahi.wordpress.com\/2011\/06\/27\/people-of-righteousness-target-sri-lanka\/<\/a><\/p>\n

    Roberts, Michael 2013 <\/strong>\u201cBBC-Blind: Misreading the Tamil Tiger Strategy of International Blackmail, 2008-13,\u201d\u00a08 December 2013,<\/strong> <\/strong>https:\/\/thuppahi.wordpress.com\/2013\/12\/08\/bbc-blind-misreading-the-tamil-tiger-strategy-of-international-blackmail-2008-13\/#more-11221<\/a><\/p>\n

    Roberts, Michael 2014 \u201cGenerating Calamity, 2008-2014: An Overview of Tamil Nationalist Operations and Their Marvels,\u201d<\/strong> 10 April 2014, http:\/\/groundviews.org\/2014\/04\/10\/generating-calamity-2008-2014-an-overview-of-tamil-nationalist-operations-and-their-marvels\/<\/a><\/p>\n

    Roberts, Michael<\/strong>\u00a02014 \u201cWinning the War: Evaluating the Impact of Api Wenuwen Api<\/em>,\u201d 1 September 2014, https:\/\/thuppahi.wordpress.com\/2014\/09\/01\/winning-the-war-evaluating-the-impact-of-api-wenuwen-ap\/<\/p>\n

    \u00a0<\/strong>Roberts, Michael 2015 \u201cThe Realities of Eelam War IV,\u201d 27 October 2015, <\/strong>https:\/\/thuppahi.wordpress.com\/2015\/10\/27\/the-realities-of-eelam-war-iv\/<\/a><\/p>\n

    Roberts, Michael<\/strong>\u00a02014 \u201c\u201cBBC-Blind: Misreading the Tamil Tiger Strategy of International Blackmail, 2008-13,\u201d in Roberts,\u00a0Tamil Person and State. Pictorial<\/em>, Colombo: VijithaYapa Publications, pp. 210-29.<\/p>\n

    Roberts, Michael<\/strong> 2014 Tamil Person and State. Pictorial<\/em>, Colombo: Vijitha Yapa Publications.<\/p>\n

    Roberts, Michael<\/strong>\u00a02015 \u201cTargeting Sri Lanka by playing ball with Tamil Extremism,\u201d 24 July 2015, https:\/\/thuppahi.wordpress.com\/wpadmin\/post.php?post=17127&action=edit&postpost=v2<\/a><\/p>\n

    Roberts, Michael\u00a0<\/strong>2015b \u201cAmbassador Blake in Never-Never-Land: Misreading LTTE Capacity in Early 2009,\u201d 26 August 2015,https:\/\/thuppahi.wordpress.com\/2015\/08\/26\/ambassador-blake-in-never-never-land-misreading-ltte-capacity-in-early-2009\/<\/a><\/p>\n

    Roberts, Michael\u00a0<\/strong> 2016 \u201cSpeaking to Gotabaya-I: Plans Afoot in 2009 to Rescue the Tiger\u00a0Leadership<\/a>,\u201d 8 March 2016, https:\/\/thuppahi.wordpress.com\/2016\/03\/08\/speaking-to-gotabaya-i-plans-afoot-in-2009-to-rescue-the-tiger-leadership\/#more-20092<\/a><\/p>\n

    Roberts, Michael <\/strong>2016 \u201cSaving Talaivar Pirap\u0101haran,\u201d 5 April 2016, https:\/\/thuppahi.wordpress.com\/2016\/04\/06\/saving-talaivar-pirapaharan\/<\/a><\/p>\n

    SMH <\/strong>2009 \u201cTamils protest outside Kiribilli House,\u201d 27 April 2009, http:\/\/www.smh.com.au\/\/breaking-news-national\/tamils-protest-outside-kirribilli-house-20090427-aknf.html<\/a><\/p>\n

    Tamil Guardian<\/strong> 2009 \u201cDiaspora Tamils protest, fast in increasing numbers; call for ceasefire,\u201d 15 April 2009, http:\/\/www.tamilguardian.com\/article.asp?articleid=2281<\/a>.<\/p>\n

    Telegraph 2009<\/strong> \u201cBritain and France fail to persuade Sri Lanka to end war,\u201d http:\/\/www.telegraph.co.uk\/news\/worldnews\/asia\/srilanka\/5242076\/Britain-and-France-fail-to-persuade-Sri-Lanka-to-end-war.html<\/p>\n

    US Embassy<\/strong> 2014 \u201cBall-by-Ball through Wikileaks: US Embassy Despatches from Colombo, 2009:\u00a0ONE<\/a>,\u201d 27 August 2014, http:\/\/thuppahi.wordpress.com\/2014\/08\/27\/ball-by-ball-through-wikileaks-us-embassy-despatches-from-colombo-2009-one\/#more-13481<\/a><\/p>\n

    Washington Post<\/strong>\u00a02009\u00a0\u201cClinton & self-styled peacemakers obstructing Tiger defeat,\u201d<\/strong>\u00a027 April 2009,http:\/\/www.priu.gov.lk\/news_update\/Current_Affairs\/ca200904\/20090427clinton_self_styled_peacemakers_obstructing_tiger_defeat.htm<\/a><\/p>\n

    Wertheim. Stephen<\/strong>\u00a02010\u00a0\u201cA solution from hell: the United States and the rise of humanitarian interventionism, 1991\u20132003,<\/strong>\u201d\u00a0Journal of Genocide Research<\/em>, 12: vol. 3 & 4, 149 -72<\/p>\n

    \n

    [1]<\/a> We met in Colombo 14th<\/sup> June 2016.<\/p>\n

    [2]<\/a> These contentions have been spelt out in detail in Roberts, \u201cGenerating Calamity\u201d 2014 and \u201cRealities,\u201d 2015.<\/p>\n

    [3]<\/a> One example is Nessman 2009.<\/p>\n

    [4]<\/a> Printed by Perennial, in New York in 2003. For these trends se Wertheim 2010.<\/p>\n

    [5]<\/a> See Salter 2015; Jeyaraj 2011 and Roberts, \u201cSaving Talaivar,\u201d 2016b.<\/p>\n

    [6]<\/a> Such silence can be read as deliberate. Temporal markings are central to delineation of cause and effect. KP\u2019s account too lacks some critical details; but DBS Jeyaraj did indicate to me tentatively (by email) that Pirapaharan\u2019s rejection of the faxed rescue plan was in early March.<\/p>\n

    [7]<\/a> I have not got very far in my efforts to extract details about the PACOM visit and its outcome. Gotabaya Rajapaksa denied any knowledge of such a visit when I contacted him on Skype telephone from Australia (Roberts, \u201cSpeaking to Gotabaya-I,\u201d 2016).<\/p>\n

    [8]<\/a> From the position of an amateur person of office background, I ventured to argue that the penetration and capture of the LTTE\u2019s \u201cLast Redoubt\u201d matched the victory of the Viet Minh at Dien Bien Phu in being one of the marvels of modern warfare (Roberts, \u201cEvaluating the Impact of Api Wenuwen Api<\/em>,\u201d 1 September 2014,). This evaluation has been subsequently given indirect support by the Memorandum from former SAS officer J. T. Holmes appended to the Paranagama Commission Report (2015: 180ff).<\/p>\n

    [9]<\/a> See the images in Roberts, \u201cOne-eyed Zealousness,\u201d 2015. Also see \u201cTamils protest outside Kiribilli House,\u201d Sydney Morning Herald<\/em>, 27 April 2009 and Tamil Guardian<\/em><\/strong> \u201cDiaspora Tamils protest, fast in increasing numbers; call for ceasefire<\/a>,\u201d 15 April 2009.<\/p>\n

    [10]<\/a> The Norwegian Foreign Minister was to be part of this team, but his application was turned down by GSL.<\/p>\n

    [11]<\/a> When an American reporter met a staff officer in the US embassy in Colombo in pursuit of information relating to grapevine gossip about a possible international rescue act, he found that the Embassy officer believed that the circumstances did not lend themselves to intervention. In this reporter\u2019s view Miliband was far more optimistic and gung-ho about the prospects of an international humanitarian rescue act.<\/p>\n

    [12]<\/a> Many Jews, especially those of Liberal or radical political leaning, incline towards sympathy for peoples who they believe (whether mistakenly or validly) to be threatened by a more powerful force. Gordon Weiss, an Australian of Polish Jewish lineage, falls into this category. With the Miliband brothers there was the added inspiration of their father\u2019s intellectual engagement in fostering the New Left Review <\/em>in circumstances where the Miliband family were only too aware of their good fortune to escape from Europe in the 1930s. Ralph Miliband was born in Belgium to Polish Jewish immigrants as \u201cAdolphe Miliband\u201d (1924\u20131994) and became a sociologist of repute. He has been described as “one of the best known academic Marxists of his generation”, in this manner being compared with E. P. Thompson<\/a>, Eric Hobsbawm<\/a> and Perry Anderson<\/a><\/p>\n

    [13]<\/a> Information from Lalith Weeratunga (to be related in separate account)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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