{"id":206722,"date":"2019-12-02T15:31:41","date_gmt":"2019-12-02T10:01:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/?p=206722"},"modified":"2019-12-10T09:16:39","modified_gmt":"2019-12-10T03:46:39","slug":"excess-tamil-death-toll-magnified-in-the-course-of-british-interventions-in-the-sri-lankan-presidential-election","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/excess-tamil-death-toll-magnified-in-the-course-of-british-interventions-in-the-sri-lankan-presidential-election\/","title":{"rendered":"Excess! Tamil Death Toll Magnified In The Course Of British Interventions In The Sri Lankan Presidential Election"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span style=\"color: #ff6600;\"><strong>By <a style=\"color: #ff6600;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/?s=Michael+Roberts\">Michael Roberts<\/a> &#8211;<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_164808\" style=\"width: 160px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/07\/Michael-Roberts.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-164808\" class=\"size-full wp-image-164808\" src=\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/07\/Michael-Roberts.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/07\/Michael-Roberts.jpg 150w, https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/07\/Michael-Roberts-50x50.jpg 50w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 150px) 100vw, 150px\" \/><\/a><p id=\"caption-attachment-164808\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Dr. Michael Roberts<\/p><\/div>\n<p><strong>\u201cjust as in Kosovo if enough civilians died \u2026 the world would be\u00a0\u00a0 forced to step in\u201d<\/strong> <strong>(Pulidevan<\/strong>, the LTTE Political Commissar, <strong>message in early 2009<\/strong> to friends in Europe (quoted in Harrison: <em>Still Counting the Dead<\/em>, 2012: 63)<\/p>\n<p>The assessments of the last stages of Eelam War IV embracing 2008\/09 have been bedevilled by the verdicts of intellectuals and officials <strong>encased in drawing rooms located within an ivory tower<\/strong>. The hoary verdicts in the past have resurfaced today in the vociferous campaign aimed at influencing events in Sri Lanka \u2013 with the Shadow Chancellor of the Labour Party<a href=\"#_edn1\" name=\"_ednref1\"><strong>[1]<\/strong><\/a> and such HR activists as <a href=\"about:blank\">Alan Keenan<\/a>,<a href=\"#_edn2\" name=\"_ednref2\"><strong>[2]<\/strong><\/a> Fred Carver and Richard Gowing<a href=\"#_edn3\" name=\"_ednref3\"><strong>[3]<\/strong><\/a> participating in this grandstanding work. Possessing no experience of modern warfare, mostly unfamiliar with the landscape of the pertinent battle theatre within the northern Vanni and animated by human rights fervour, they have bought into the clever LTTE strategy that built up a picture of an \u201dimpending humanitarian catastrophe\u201d \u2013 a picture generated from mid-2008 and involving Tamil advocates within the diaspora as well.<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_206725\" style=\"width: 841px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/MAP-E-WAR-06_Jan_2009_defence.lk_.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-206725\" class=\"wp-image-206725\" src=\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/MAP-E-WAR-06_Jan_2009_defence.lk_-1024x743.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"831\" height=\"603\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/MAP-E-WAR-06_Jan_2009_defence.lk_-1024x743.png 1024w, https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/MAP-E-WAR-06_Jan_2009_defence.lk_-300x218.png 300w, https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/MAP-E-WAR-06_Jan_2009_defence.lk_-768x557.png 768w, https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/MAP-E-WAR-06_Jan_2009_defence.lk_-1536x1114.png 1536w, https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/MAP-E-WAR-06_Jan_2009_defence.lk_-1200x870.png 1200w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 831px) 100vw, 831px\" \/><\/a><p id=\"caption-attachment-206725\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Situation Map at 6 January 2009<\/p><\/div>\n<p>Towards this end, the LTTE persuaded and pushed the civilians in their territory to move eastwards and northwards in the face of SL Army advances in 2008 \u2013 till these hapless people found themselves hemmed in within what has been termed \u201cthe Vanni Pocket\u201d and eventually within constantly decreasing territorial space in 2009.<\/p>\n<p>Behind this strategy, of course, was the determined dictator Velupillai Pirap\u0101haran and his commanders. His regime was fascist in character<a href=\"#_edn4\" name=\"_ednref4\"><strong>[4]<\/strong><\/a> and his cadre were committed to sacrificial devotion<a href=\"#_edn5\" name=\"_ednref5\"><strong>[5]<\/strong><\/a> to their cause. As <a href=\"about:blank\">the ABC filmmaker Paul Corcoran noted<\/a> when he spent time in the territories of <em>Thamil\u012blam<\/em> in 1999 and composed the film SRI LANKA. TIGERS AT THE GATE: &#8220;<strong>The truth is a political solution is as impossible as a military breakthrough because for the (Tamil) Tigers it&#8217;s all or nothing &#8211; a homeland or glorious death.\u201d<\/strong><a href=\"#_edn6\" name=\"_ednref6\"><strong>[6]<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<p>In consequence, the Tamil civilians became (a) one element in the Tiger defensive formations \u2013 that is, metaphorically speaking, just so many sandbags; while (b) providing ancillary services in carrying and fetching at the warfront or its rear\u00a0 &#8230; in a battlefield context where <a href=\"about:blank\">many Tiger soldiers did not wear uniforms<\/a>.<a href=\"#_edn7\" name=\"_ednref7\"><strong>[7]<\/strong><\/a> However, their prime purpose was in serving as a <em>raison d \u00e9tre<\/em> for the Western international powers and the UN to step in and enforce a ceasefire or a \u201drescue\u201d of the people and the LTTE leadership.<a href=\"#_edn8\" name=\"_ednref8\"><strong>[8]<\/strong><\/a> Towards this grand strategic end, they deployed their Tamil medical doctors and Tamil officials in the INGOs within<em> Thamililam<\/em> to feed <strong>bloated<\/strong> casualty figures and <strong>horrific<\/strong> scenarios of disaster\u00a0 to select members Western personnel in Colombo (UN and reporters) \u2013 personnel who did not raise questions about the access to satellite phones reposing in the hands of their informants.<a href=\"#_edn9\" name=\"_ednref9\"><strong>[9]<\/strong><\/a><strong>\u00a0 <\/strong><strong>\u00a0\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>That there was death and horror there can be no doubt. However, the issues are: (A) to what degree and (B) under whose fashioning.<\/p>\n<p>Central to any assessment of the death toll is an awareness of a basic fact of war: in virtually all battles in modern times <strong>the wounded soldiers outnumber the dead<\/strong> \u2013 sometimes as high as 13 to one,<a href=\"#_edn10\" name=\"_ednref10\"><strong>[10]<\/strong><\/a> but generally at about 4:1 or 5:1 &#8230;. though for the Australians in the Gallipoli Peninsula in 1915 the <a href=\"about:blank\">ratio of WIA to KIA was 2.23<\/a>.<a href=\"#_edn11\" name=\"_ednref11\"><strong>[11]<\/strong><\/a><strong> In other words, if 40,000 Tamil \u201ccivilians\u201d perished in 2008\/09, there had to be at least 80,000 wounded in the hospitals and IDP camps of April-June 2009.<a href=\"#_edn12\" name=\"_ednref12\">[12]<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>That this fundamental fact has not been considered by the UN Panel of Experts headed by Darusman and by subsequent \u2018verdicts\u2019 from powerful offices as well as Rajan Hoole of the UTHR<a href=\"#_edn13\" name=\"_ednref13\"><strong>[13]<\/strong><\/a> indicates <strong>how idiotic and\/or prejudiced<\/strong> these personnel have been. That is why I have depicted them as <strong>individuals reposing within a drawing room in some ivory tower<\/strong>. That is a mild characterization. More lurid metaphors would be on the mark.<\/p>\n<p>A further illustration of this amateurish approach to a serious issue was when the UNHCR offices in Geneva, viz., the Office Investigating Sri Lanka (OISL in short) invited submissions after they proceeded to investigate the war. Memoranda were sought from far and wide. But their specifications decreed that no photographs, videos etc could be deployed.<a href=\"#_edn14\" name=\"_ednref14\"><strong>[14]<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<p>That proviso was further proof that powerful agencies in the West were not only encased in an ivory tower: <strong>they were also colour blind and thus doubly idiotic.<\/strong> Photographic evidence, satellite imagery and mapwork should have been critical tools of investigation. They remain vital to any historical work on Eelam War IV in its last stages.<\/p>\n<p>I have kept this ESSAY brief. It is, therefore, less comprehensive and wide-ranging than it should be \u2013 given the complexity of the war situation in the Vanni as well as its ramifications around Colombo and within the propaganda currents in the media waves of the world then in 2008\/09.<\/p>\n<p>Brevity impinges on thoroughness and clarity. Alas, it seems that the pressmen and presswomen in today\u2019s world demand brevity. Hence this partial review is fashioned in relatively succinct form. Readers who are not thus hidebound are directed to the items in my BIBLIOGRAPHY.<\/p>\n<p><strong>A CURTAILED BIBLIOGRAPHY &#8230;. I could easily double the references <\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Al-Jazeera<\/strong><strong>\u00a0<\/strong>2009 \u201cSL army closes in on Tamil Tigers,\u201d 1 February 2009, &#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;..\u00a0 &#8230;&#8230;&#8230;\u00a0 <a href=\"about:blank\">https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=CZc_Am5HUSs<\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>Balachandran PK<\/strong> 2015 \u201cPK Balachandran on Overt and Covert Faces in Indian and American Policies Towards the Sri Lankan War,\u201d 16 September 2015,<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"about:blank\">https:\/\/thuppahi.wordpress.com\/2015\/09\/16\/pk-balachandran-on-overt-and-covert-faces-in-indian-and-american-policies-towards-the-sri-lankan-war-2008-09\/<\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>[Bavinck, Ben<\/strong>] 2011 \u201cPirapaharan as uncompromising killer prone to vengeance,\u201d http:\/\/thuppahi.wordpress.com\/2011\/11\/01\/pirapaharan-as-uncompromising-killer-prone-to-vengeance-testimonies-from-the-jaffna-heartland-1989-91\/<\/p>\n<p><strong>Coupland, RM &amp; DR Meddings<\/strong> 1999 \u201cMortality associated with use of weapons in armed conflicts, wartime atrocities, and civilian mass shootings: literature review<em>,\u201d British Medical Journal<\/em>,\u00a0 1999, 319 319\u00a0doi:\u00a0<a href=\"about:blank\">https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1136\/bmj.319.7207.407<\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>Corcoran, Mark 1999 &#8230; at <\/strong><a href=\"about:blank\">https:\/\/thuppahi.wordpress.com\/2017\/08\/07\/revisiting-jaffna-and-the-ltte-in-mid-1999-guided-by-mark-corcoran-and-the-abc\/<\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>De Silva-Ranasinghe, Sergei<\/strong>\u00a02009d \u201cSri Lanka\u2019s Experience in Counter-Insurgency Warfare,\u201d\u00a0<em>AsiaPacific Defence Reporter<\/em>, Oct. 2009, Vol. 35\/8, pp. 40-46.<\/p>\n<p><strong>De Silva-Ranasinghe, Sergei<\/strong>\u00a02009e \u201cGood Education. Sri Lankan Military learns Counter Insurgency Lessons,\u201d\u00a0<em>Jane\u2019s Intelligence Review<\/em>\u00a0Dec. 2009, pp. 3-7.<\/p>\n<p><strong>De Silva-Ranasinghe, Sergei<\/strong><strong>\u00a0<\/strong>2010b \u201cInformation Warfare and the Endgame of the Civil War,\u201d\u00a0<em>Asia-Pacific Defence Reporter<\/em>, May 2010, 30\/4: 35-37 &#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;. .<a href=\"about:blank\">http:\/\/www.asiapacificdefencereporter.com\/ articles\/40\/Sri-Lanka<\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>Gray, David<\/strong>\u00a02009 \u201cA Day at the Front Line in Sri Lanka (Photographer\u2019s Blog),\u201d 27 April 2009,\u00a0<a href=\"about:blank\">http:\/\/blogs.reuters.com\/photographers-blog\/2009\/04\/27\/a-day-at-the-front-line-in-sri-lanka\/<\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>Hull, C. Bryson<\/strong>\u00a02009 \u201cSri Lanka opens eye in the sky on war zone,\u201d 20 April 2009,\u00a0<a href=\"about:blank\">http:\/\/mobile.reuters.com\/article\/idUSCOL450259<\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>IDAG [i.e. Citizen Silva]\u00a0<\/strong>2013 \u201cThe Numbers Game: Politics of Retributive Justice,\u201d\u00a0<a href=\"about:blank\">http:\/\/www.scribd.com\/doc\/132499266\/The-Numbers-Game-Politics-of-Retributive-Justice<\/a><strong>\u00a0<em>OR <\/em><\/strong>http:\/\/<a href=\"about:blank\">www.satp.org\/satporgtp\/countries\/shrilanka\/document\/TheNG.pdf<\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>Jeyaraj, D. B. S.<\/strong>\u00a02009d \u201cWretched of the Earth break Free of Bondage,\u201d\u00a0<em>Daily Mirror<\/em>, 25 April 2009,\u00a0<a href=\"about:blank\">http:\/\/dbsjeyaraj.com\/dbsj\/archives\/380<\/a>.<strong>\u00a0\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Jeyaraj, D. B. S.<\/strong>\u00a02011\u00a0<em>\u201cKP\u2019 Speaks Out. An Interview with Former Tiger Chief<\/em>, Vavuniya: NERDO.<\/p>\n<p><strong>[LTTE]<\/strong>\u00a02014 \u201cLTTE War Video recovered by the Government\u2013Revealing Episode,\u201d\u00a0<a href=\"about:blank\">http:\/\/thuppahi.wordpress.com\/2014\/02\/13\/ltte-war-video-recovered-by-the-government-revealing-episodes\/<\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>Keenan, Alan <\/strong>2019a <strong>\u201c<\/strong><a href=\"about:blank\">Alan Keenan of the ICG comments on the Presidential Election Results in Sri\u00a0Lanka<\/a>,\u201d 19 November 2019, &#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;..<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"about:blank#more-38905\">https:\/\/thuppahi.wordpress.com\/2019\/11\/19\/alan-keenan-of-the-icg-comments-on-the-presidential-election-results-in-sri-lanka\/#more-38905<\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>Keenan, Alan <\/strong>2019b \u201cSri Lanka\u2019s Presidential Election Brings Back a Polarising Wartime Figure,\u201d ?? November 2019, \u00a0<a href=\"about:blank\">http:\/\/www.ipsnews.net\/2019\/11\/sri-lankas-presidential-election-brings-back-polarising-wartime-figure\/<\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>Mango\u00a0<\/strong>2014 \u201cSri Lanka\u2019s War In Its Last Phase: Where WIA Figures Defeat The Gross KIA Estimates,\u201d 14 February 2014,<a href=\"about:blank\">https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/sri-lankas-war-in-its-last-phase-where-wia-figures-defeat-the-gross-kia-estimates\/<\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>Marga\u00a0<\/strong>2011<em>\u00a0An Analysis and Evaluation of The Report of the Advisory Panel to the UNSG nn the Final Stages of the War in Sri Lanka,\u00a0 &#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;..\u00a0 &#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230; <\/em><a href=\"about:blank\">https:\/\/www.dropbox.com\/s\/0eybj1ynej6spaa\/The%20Darusman%20Report-%20Final%20doc-2.doc<\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>Narendran, Rajasingham\u00a0<\/strong>2014\u00a0<strong>\u201c<\/strong>Harsh Ground Realities in War: Decomposing Bodies and Missing Persons and Soldiers,\u201d 28 January 2014,<a href=\"about:blank\">https:\/\/thuppahi.wordpress.com\/2014\/01\/28\/11702\/<\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>Noble, Kath\u00a0<\/strong>2013b \u201cNumbers Game reviewed by Kath Noble: The Full Monty,\u201d 14 July 2013,\u00a0<a href=\"about:blank\">https:\/\/thuppahi.wordpress.com\/2013\/07\/14\/numbers-game-reviewed-by-kath-noble-the-full-monty\/<\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>Reddy, Muralidhar<\/strong><strong>\u00a0<\/strong>2009 \u201cMultiple Displacements, Total Loss of Identity.\u201d <em>The Hindu<\/em>, 27 May 2009,<a href=\"about:blank\">http:\/\/www.hindu.com\/2009\/05\/27\/stories\/2009052755811500.htm<\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>Reddy, Muralidhar<\/strong>\u00a02009 \u201cFinal Assault. A first-hand account of the war and the civilians\u2019 plight as Eelam War almost comes to a close,\u201d\u00a0<em>Frontline<\/em>, 26\/11, May 23-June 5, 2009,\u00a0<a href=\"about:blank\">http:\/\/www.frontline.in\/navigation\/?type=static&amp;page=archive<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Roberts, Michael 2005<\/strong><strong>\u00a0<\/strong>\u201cSaivite Symbols, Sacrifice, and Tamil Tiger rites,\u201d <em>Social Analysis<\/em>, 2005, vol. 49,\u00a0pp. 67-93.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Roberts, Michael 2007<\/strong><strong>\u00a0<\/strong>Suicide Missions as Witnessing: Expansions, Contrasts,\u201d <em>Studies in Conflict &amp; Terrorism,<\/em> 2007, vol. 30, pp 857-887.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Roberts, Michael<\/strong><strong>\u00a0<\/strong>2013 \u201cTowards Citizenship in\u00a0<em>Thamil\u012blam<\/em>\u00a0Sri Lanka\u2019s Tamil People of the North, 1983-2010,\u201d\u00a0<em>South Asia Research<\/em>, 2013, 33: 57-75.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Roberts, Michael<\/strong><strong>\u00a0<\/strong>\u00a02013 \u201cBBC-Blind: Misreading the Tamil Tiger Strategy of International Blackmail, 2008-13,\u201d <a href=\"about:blank#more-11221\">http:\/\/thuppahi.wordpress.com\/2013\/12\/08\/bbc-blind-misreading-the-tamil-tiger-strategy-of-international-blackmail-2008-13\/#more-11221<\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>Roberts, Michael<\/strong><strong>\u00a0<\/strong>2014\u201cFrom Godse and Gandhi to the Selfless Sacrifice of Tamil Tigers,\u201d 13 June 2014, <a href=\"about:blank\">http:\/\/thuppahi.wordpress.com\/2014\/06\/13\/from-godse-and-gandhi-to-the-selfless-sacrifice-of-tamil-tigers\/<\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>Roberts, Michael<\/strong><strong>\u00a0<\/strong>2014\u201cRunning the Gauntlet in Academia: The Case of \u2018Selfless Sacrifice\u2019 \u2014 A Rejected Article,\u201d 15 June 2014, <a href=\"about:blank\">http:\/\/thuppahi.wordpress.com\/2014\/06\/15\/running-the-gauntlet-in-academia-the-case-of-selfless-sacrifice-a-rejected-article\/<\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>Roberts, Michael<\/strong><strong>\u00a0<\/strong>\u00a02014\u00a0<strong>\u201c<\/strong><a href=\"about:blank\">Truth Journalism? Marie Colvin hoist on her own\u00a0Petard<\/a><strong>,\u201d<\/strong>\u00a05 November 2014,\u00a0<a href=\"about:blank\">https:\/\/thuppahi.wordpress.com\/2014\/11\/05\/triuth-journalism-marie-colvin-hoist-on-her-own-petard\/<\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>Roberts, Michael<\/strong><strong>\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Roberts, Michael<\/strong><strong>\u00a0<\/strong>2014 \u201cThe War in Sri Lanka and Post-War Propaganda,\u201d 18 November 2014, &#8230;.. <a href=\"about:blank\">https:\/\/thuppahi.wordpress.com\/2014\/11\/18\/the-war-in-sri-lanka-and-propaganda-debates\/<\/a>\u00a0\u2026 being Memo sent to OISL with Hyperlinks and Images added.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Roberts, Michael<\/strong><strong>\u00a0<\/strong>\u00a02014 \u201c<a href=\"about:blank\">Cartographic &amp; Photographic Illustrations in support of the Memorandum Analysing the War in Sri Lanka and Its Propaganda\u00a0Debates<\/a>,\u201d 18 November 2014, \u00a0<a href=\"about:blank\">https:\/\/thuppahi.wordpress.com\/2014\/11\/18\/cartographic-photographic-illustrations-in-support-of-the-memorandum-analysing-the-war-in-sri-lanka-and-propaganda-debates\/<\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>Roberts, Michael<\/strong><strong>\u00a0<\/strong>2014 \u201cGenerating Calamity, 2008-2014: An Overview of Tamil Nationalist Operations and Their Marvels,\u201d 10 April 2014, <a href=\"about:blank\">http:\/\/groundviews.org\/2014\/04\/10\/generating-calamity-2008-2014-an-overview-of-tamil-nationalist-operations-and-their-marvels\/<\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>Roberts, Michael<\/strong><strong>\u00a0<\/strong>2014\u00a0<em>Tamil Person and State. Essays<\/em>, Colombo: Vijitha Yapa Publishers.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Roberts, Michael<\/strong><strong>\u00a0<\/strong>2014\u00a0<em>Tamil Person and State. Pictorial<\/em>, Colombo: Vijitha Yapa Publishers.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Roberts, Michael<\/strong><strong>\u00a0<\/strong>2015 \u201c<a href=\"about:blank\"><strong>A Drama in Four Acts: Dishonest Reportage by Amnesty International and Aussie Journalists remains\u00a0Unmasked<\/strong><\/a><strong>,\u201d<\/strong> 2 September 2015, <a href=\"about:blank\">https:\/\/thuppahi.wordpress.com\/wp-admin\/post.php?post=17560&amp;action=edit&amp;postpost=v2<\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>Roberts, Michael<\/strong><strong>\u00a0<\/strong>2016 \u201cSaving Talaivar Pirap\u0101haran,\u201d 6 April 2016, &#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;. <a href=\"about:blank\">https:\/\/thuppahi.wordpress.com\/2016\/04\/06\/saving-talaivar-pirapaharan\/<\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>Roberts, Michael<\/strong><strong>\u00a0<\/strong> 2016 \u201c<a href=\"about:blank\">Reuters in Word and Image: Depicting the Penetration of the LTTE\u2019s Last Redoubt, 19-22 April\u00a02009<\/a>,\u201d 19 March 2016,<a href=\"about:blank\">https:\/\/thuppahi.wordpress.com\/2016\/03\/19\/reuters-in-word-and-image-depicting-the-penetration-of-the-lttes-last-redoubt-19-22-april-2009\/<\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>Roberts, Michael<\/strong><strong>\u00a0<\/strong>2016 \u201cWhen Weiss, Amnesty International and Aussie Greens Lie,\u201d 16 June 2016 <a href=\"about:blank\">https:\/\/thuppahi.wordpress.com\/2016\/06\/16\/a-puzzle-when-weiss-amnesty-international-and-aussie-greens-lie\/<\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>Roberts, Michael<\/strong><strong>\u00a0<\/strong>2017 \u201cRevisiting Jaffna and the LTTE in mid-1999 guided by Mark Corocran and the ABC,\u201d 7 August 2017, <a href=\"about:blank\">https:\/\/thuppahi.wordpress.com\/2017\/08\/07\/revisiting-jaffna-and-the-ltte-in-mid-1999-guided-by-mark-corcoran-and-the-abc\/<\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>Roberts, Michael<\/strong>\u00a02018 \u201c<a href=\"about:blank\">The Western World\u2019s Cumulous Clouds of Deception: Blanketing the Sharp Realities of Eelam War\u00a0IV<\/a>,\u201d 16 October 2018, <a href=\"about:blank\">https:\/\/thuppahi.wordpress.com\/2018\/10\/16\/the-western-worlds-cumulous-clouds-of-deception-blanketing-the-sharp-realities-of-eelam-war-iv\/<\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>Roberts, Michael<\/strong>\u00a02018 \u201cA Response to Rajan Hoole re Reviews of Eelam War IV and Western Deceit,\u201d 28 October 2018, <a href=\"about:blank\">https:\/\/thuppahi.wordpress.com\/2018\/10\/28\/a-response-to-rajan-hoole-re-reviews-of-eelam-war-iv-and-western-deceit\/<\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>Salter, Mark\u00a0<\/strong>2015\u00a0<em>To End a Civil War. Norway\u2019s Peace Engagement in Sri Lanka,\u00a0<\/em>London: Hurst &amp; Company.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Shanmugarajah, V.<\/strong><strong>\u00a0<\/strong>2014\u00a0<strong>\u201c<\/strong>Dr. Veerakanthipillai Shanmugarajah\u2019s Affidavit Description of Conditions in the Vanni Pocket in Refutation of Channel Four,\u201d 5 January 2014, &#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230; &#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;\u00a0 <a href=\"about:blank\">http:\/\/thuppahi.wordpress.com\/2014\/01\/05\/drveerakanthipillai-shanmugarajahs-affidavit-description-of-conditionsin-the-vanni-pocket-in-refutation-of-channel-four\/<\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>UN PoE<\/strong><strong>\u00a0<\/strong>2011\u00a0<em>Report of the Secretary General\u2019s Panel of Experts report on Accountability in Sri Lanka,<\/em><em>\u00a0<\/em>March 2011\u2026.<a href=\"about:blank\">http:\/\/www.un.org\/News\/dh\/infocus\/Sri_Lanka\/ POE_Report_Full.pdf<\/a><u>.<\/u><\/p>\n<p><strong>UTHR<\/strong>\u00a02009<em>\u00a0<\/em><em>A Marred Victory and a Defeat Pregnant with Meaning,<\/em><em>\u00a0<\/em>Special Report No. 32.\u00a0<a href=\"about:blank\">http:\/\/www.uthr.org\/SpecialReports\/spreport32.htm<\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>UTHR<\/strong>\u00a02009\u00a0<em>Let Them Speak: Truth about Sri Lanka\u2019s Victims of War<\/em>. Special Report No. 34,\u00a0<a href=\"about:blank\">http:\/\/www.uthr.org\/SpecialReports\/Special%20rep34\/Uthr-sp.rp34.htm<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Video Image [GSL]<\/strong>\u00a02014 \u201cA balanced insight into the Sri Lankan ethnic conflict \u2013 \u201cCommon Differences\u201d (HD),\u201d\u00a0<a href=\"about:blank\">https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=_L8QfZw0XUo<\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>Weiss, Gordon<\/strong><strong>\u00a0<\/strong>2012\u00a0<strong>\u201c<\/strong>New Evidence \u2014 The Death of Colonel Ramesh,\u201d 21 March 2012,\u00a0<a href=\"about:blank\">https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/newevidencethe-death-of-colonel-ramesh-warning-disturbing-images\/<\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>END NOTES<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"#_ednref1\" name=\"_edn1\">[1]<\/a> \u201c<a href=\"about:blank\">Oppression of Tamils should be recognised as attempt at genocide,\u201d &#8211; John McDonnell<\/a>\u00a0 &#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230; <a href=\"about:blank\">https:\/\/www.tamilguardian.com\/content\/%E2%80%98oppression-tamils-should-be-recognised-attempt-genocide%E2%80%99-john-mcdonnell<\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"#_ednref2\" name=\"_edn2\">[2]<\/a> The American Alan Keenan has been the executive head of the international Crisis Group\u2019s London office for many years. See Keenan 2019a and 2019b for reviews of the Presidential vote.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"#_ednref3\" name=\"_edn3\">[3]<\/a> Richard Gowing is presently the \u201cCampaign Director\u201d of the <strong>Sri Lanka Campaign for Peace and Justice <\/strong>centred in London; while Fred Carver is a Member of its \u201cCouncil,\u201d while also being the \u201cHead of Policy\u201d at the <a href=\"about:blank\">United Nations Association of UK.<\/a> Carver recently noted that \u201c<em>&#8230; the path that the Government of Sri Lanka is walking leads to totalitarianism, and will inevitably lead back to war.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"#_ednref4\" name=\"_edn4\">[4]<\/a> See Hull 2009 and [Bavinck] 2011, \u201cPirapaharan as uncompromising killer prone to vengeance: &#8230;,\u201d http:\/\/thuppahi.wordpress.com\/2011\/11\/01\/pirapaharan-as-uncompromising-killer-prone-to-vengeance-testimonies-from-the-jaffna-heartland-1989-91\/<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"#_ednref5\" name=\"_edn5\">[5]<\/a> \u201cSacrificial devotion\u201d is the concept I coined and continuously deployed in order to comprehend various strands of \u201csuicide terrorism\u201d [a pejorative concept]. It was the guiding concept behind a Workshop in Adelaide in 2007 and gave birth to the web site &#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;. sacrificialdevotionnetwork.wordpress.com. Also see my articles<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"#_ednref6\" name=\"_edn6\">[6]<\/a> See Corcoran <strong>at <\/strong><a href=\"about:blank\">https:\/\/thuppahi.wordpress.com\/2017\/08\/07\/revisiting-jaffna-and-the-ltte-in-mid-1999-guided-by-mark-corcoran-and-the-abc\/<\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"#_ednref7\" name=\"_edn7\">[7]<\/a> See Roberts &#8230;. <a href=\"about:blank\">https:\/\/thuppahi.wordpress.com\/2014\/02\/13\/ltte-war-video-recovered-by-the-government-revealing-episodes\/<\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"#_ednref8\" name=\"_edn8\">[8]<\/a> See Roberts 2018 \u201c<a href=\"about:blank\">Where USA sought to arm-wrestle Sri Lanka in March-April-May\u00a02009<\/a>\u201d and Mark Salter 2015: 348, 354.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"#_ednref9\" name=\"_edn9\">[9]<\/a> In our discussions the veteran Indian journalist PK Balachandran was quite derisive about the gullibility displayed by these Western personnel.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"#_ednref10\" name=\"_edn10\">[10]<\/a> Note: \u201cDuring the fighting of war the number of people wounded is at least twice the number killed and may be 13 times as high; this ratio of the number wounded to the number killed results from the impact of a weapon system on human beings in the particular context of war\u201d \u2013 Coupland &amp; Meddings, 1999 at <a href=\"about:blank\">https:\/\/www.bmj.com\/content\/319\/7207\/407<\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"#_ednref11\" name=\"_edn11\">[11]<\/a> See Roberts, 2015 \u201cA Drama in Four Acts, &#8230;,\u201d Section C.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"#_ednref12\" name=\"_edn12\">[12]<\/a> Note Mango 2014.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"#_ednref13\" name=\"_edn13\">[13]<\/a> See Rajan Hoole\u2019s comment dated 16 October 2018 in <em>Colombo Telegraph<\/em> as presented and challenged in Roberts \u201cA Response &#8230;,\u201d 2018.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"#_ednref14\" name=\"_edn14\">[14]<\/a> I submitted a memorandum. When I placed it on web however I inserted maps and diagrams ( see <a href=\"about:blank\">https:\/\/thuppahi.wordpress.com\/2014\/11\/18\/the-war-in-sri-lanka-and-propaganda-debates\/<\/a>) &#8230;.. and then followed up with a more extensive use of pictorial data in Roberts<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"about:blank\">Cartographic &amp; Photographic Illustrations in support of the Memorandum Analysing the War in Sri Lanka and Its Propaganda\u00a0Debates<\/a>,\u201d 18 November 2014<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p> [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":60,"featured_media":206725,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3,46,8],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-206722","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-colombotelegraph","category-constitutional-reforms","category-editorial"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v26.3 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Excess! 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