Prisoners of the Past — says Dayan Jayatilleka

Elmo Jayawardane, reviewing Dayan Jayatilleka: Long War, Cold Peace

Dr. Dayan Jayatilleka has not stopped at merely hitting the nail on the head; he’s gone a lot deeper! The man has taken a Black and Decker and drilled the skull of the reader and carefully pushed in 498 pages of faction and action (shameful and laudable) that relate to our “Long War” of almost three decades.

It is a timely publication too. The International Tambourine Men gathered in Geneva flaunting their lily white innocence in attempts to barbecue us. At least, we the ordinary habitants of this land should know how the cookie crumbled while we suffered the consequences of divisibility for thirty grisly years. Of course the ‘mea culpa’ rests with none other than the leadership. They festered the wound of ethnic divide and titillated political maggots that nearly annihilated us as a nation. We need to know some truths that have been gagged and swept under the carpets by both sides, ably assisted by the good Samaritans who sat on the third seat preaching negotiated peace. ‘Long War, Cold Peace’ is the answer. Dr. Dayan is punching hard, in a ring where he knows the rules, and he is not holding anything back. There is a good possibility that the book may take him to the mouth of a long menacing serpent in the political game of ‘Snakes and Ladders.” But then, with his historically valuable contribution in ‘Long war, Cold peace’, he will walk tall among people who really matter. 

Sri Lanka and the Defeat of the LTTE by KM de Silva reviewed

Colonel Hariharan

KM de Silva’s Sri Lanka and the Defeat of the LTTE (Penguin books, 2012 ISBN 9780143416524) looks at the rise and fall of LTTE in the context of  South Asia and the India-Sri Lanka relationship, says R Hariharan. The story of Velupillai Prabhakaran’s rise from the backwoods of  Jaffna to build the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), one of the most  dreaded terrorist organisations, and his fall in the battlefield can be told in  many ways. Sri Lanka historian KM de Silva in his latest book looks at the rise  and fall of the LTTE in the larger context of South Asia and the India-Sri Lanka  relationship.

Emily Howie’s digest of recent Australian action on asylum seekers

Emily Howie in email circular

Foreign Minister announces 4 point plan to combat people smuggling in Sri Lanka
Statement by Australia’s Foreign Minister, Bob Carr
17 December 2012
Australia’s Foreign Minister announces a four point plan to combat people smuggling, including intelligence sharing, naval cooperation, public awareness and aid, which are designed to reduce people smuggling by “destroying the people smuggling business model.” “There is a message from these talks to people in Sri Lanka – by getting on that boat you risk your life, you’ll lose your money and you will be sent back home,” Senator Carr said. The plan includes provision of additional surveillance and electronic equipment to Sri Lanka, a joint training program to develop Sri Lanka’s intelligence expertise, $700,000 for advertising campaigns warning against travelling by boat, resources and training to expand Sri Lanka’s on water disruption activities and an aid program to ‘reduce demand’ for people smugglers’ business.

Velupillai Pirapaharan’s Q and A with Anita Pratap on 8 April 1990 at Mullaitivu

Courtesy of the TIME magazine

 Pirapaharan in Indian plane in 1987

Q: What made you confront India?
A: India claimed to have intervened in Sri Lanka to secure Tamil interests. In actual fact, India came to secure its own interests. There was never any genuine attempt to understand and solve our problems. India deliberately aggravated Sri Lanka’s ethnic crisis. It destabilized Sri Lanka [by training and arming Tamil militants, including the Tigers] so that it could play a dominant role in bringing Sri Lanka within its sphere of influence.

What I can’t forgive is the way India claimed to have intervened to protect the Tamils and then launched this war against our people. On the third day after the war started, I sent an appeal to India to stop the attack because of the civilian casualties. But India mistook it as a sign of weakness and pressed ahead with the offensive, thinking they could crush us.

Subhas Chandra Bose: A Pact with the Devil – Between Gandhi and Hitler

SEE http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xyhmI6a2qsA …..where in this revealing material we also see Prof Anita Pfaff, Bose’s daughter, as well as information about the Indian National Army. It was sent to me by MANGO with the note “Some kind soul has uploaded it to Youtube and translated it into English. A superb effort.” Web Editor

ALSO SEE http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VGCEDRB-MoI&feature=related … FOR Hitlers Secret Science: In the crucible of World War II, Germany’s most brilliant scientists race to create terrifying new weapons of mass destruction. Before the war is over, Germany will produce many technological firsts that remain the basis for many air and spacecraft today.
Did they have outside help?

Besides this revealing material we see Prof Anita Pfaff, Bose’s daughter, as well as informaion about the Indian National Army. It was sent to me by MANGO with the note “Some kind soul has uploaded it to Youtube and translated it into English. A superb effort.” Web Editor

Tamil Tigress presented in two puzzling forms in 2009 and 2011

Michael Roberts, courtesy of www.groundviews.org, under a different title, where you will see a throbbing set of comments of varying degrees of silliness and pertinence, one I have refrained from participating in [I dislike pseudonyms and nom de plume as a matter of principle]. The repetition here enables the insertion of illuminating photographs.

Niromi de Soyza’s so-called autobiography, Tamil Tigress, has received extensive coverage in Australia and has traversed the world now because of critical reviews by several personnel and devoted defence from others. It has been described as “part memoir, part compelling reportage, part mea culpa” by Nikki Barrowclough in the Sydney Morning Herald’s weekend magazine.[1] Gordon Weiss, the moral crusader, proclaimed it to be “incredibly moving” and considers it “a story of redemption” (as quoted by Nikki Barrowclough). This may well be one of the motifs that Robert Perinpanayagam, a perceptive commentator, sees as the potential crux of the book in his unelaborated blog comments.

Without denying that dimension of the book if one stretches a point and treats it as a “faction,” that is, a “fictional narrative based on real events,” rather than a historical account, its self-presentation as a memoir[2] and “true story” renders Tamil Tigress liable at the same time to the charge of deception (a combination stressed in my little-noticed third article on the topic[3]). Indeed, it is arguable that it could be subject to a legal charge for a misleading advertisement that deceives consumers.[4]

Deceiving Consumers: Impressions count when it comes to misleading consumers

Stephen King, courtesy of http://www.monash.edu.au/news/show/impressions-count-when-it-comes-to-misleading-consumers … with some extensions in the web-links from this Editor.

Christmas is coming, which means consumers are out looking for great deals to fill stockings and feed the family. And for retailers and manufacturers, the temptation to add “spin” to their marketing is high. However, these businesses must be careful not to step over the legal line when trying to boost their sales. Under Australia’s competition and consumer laws, a business must not engage in conduct that is misleading or deceptive, or that is likely to mislead or deceive. Of course, the devil is in the detail. When does marketing hype turn into illegal behaviour?

A current matter before the courts provides a good example of the issues. The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) is taking legal action against a number of poultry companies. At the heart of this matter is the term “free to roam”. Specifically, have the poultry producers engaged in misleading and deceptive conduct by claiming that their chickens have been raised in barns where they are “free to roam,” despite those chickens each having only about 500 square centimetres of space?

This case has brought a variety of responses from experts in animal welfare. Two examples are here and here. However, these experts miss the point. The law does not simply highlight claims that are incorrect from a scientific perspective. Rather, the law considers if the claims made by a producer are likely to mislead or deceive consumers.

Sandwiched in between: Tamil Dissidents and Others in the Furnace of War & its Killings, January 1989-December1990 via Ben Bavinck’s Diary

Sharika Thiranagama rides a bike in emulation of her mother Rajani Thiranagama nee Rajasingam for the biographical documentary NO MORE TEARS

As the ethnic conflict in Sri Lanka escalated from July 1983 and the Tamil liberation struggle developed along several militant paths, Tamils throughout the island were placed in a difficult position. The focus here is on the sentiments of those identified in the census as “Sri Lanka Tamils” as distinct from “Indian Tamils” – wherever they resided in the island.[1]

But within this framework the emphasis is on those Sri Lankan Tamils who resided in the northern and eastern parts during the period extending from August 1988 to October 1992, the time spanned by the first volume in Ben Bavinck’s diaries. Note, here, that Bavinck was a fluent Tamil speaker and because of his long experience in the Jaffna Peninsula in the 1950s-70s he was, as Val Daniel suggests, a de facto Tamil in sentiment.[2]

However, he did not look Tamil. On several occasions he was treated as a foreign NGO person or even as “a foreign dignitary.” In the period of his diary, moreover, he was attached to the National Christian Council and was undertaking welfare and relief measures throughout the island. As such, he was able to intervene on behalf of people who were at the receiving end of the conflict. A good part of this work took him to the north on many occasions. Therefore his dairy extracts reveal the thinking of many of his friends, acquaintances and others in this region during the period of warfare between the Tigers and the Indian Peace Keeping Force (till late 1989) and, thereafter during the short interregnum of peace negotiations from January to April 1990 and, thirdly, the renewal of war between the LTTE and the government of Lanka (GoSL) from June 1990 onwards.

A theatrical dramatization of the murder of Rajani Thiranagama by the National Film Board of Canada with Sharika Thiranagama in the role

 His information, therefore, is a voice of his times and conveys invaluable information. It should not be dismissed as “gossip,” though of course some of the reportage has to be treated cautiously as second-hand or third-hand reportage of events that Bavinck did not witness himself. These tales, clearly, must be sifted and evaluated in the light of other contemporaneous information

Forbidden Fruits? Niromi de Soyza under Scrutiny

Michael Roberts, courtesy of www.groundviews.org, where the article appeared earlier  under a slightly different title

The literary world is now poised on the brink wondering if the Tamil Tigress (Allen & Unwin, 2011) is going to join Forbidden Love (Random House, 2003) and The Hand that signed the Paper (Allen and Unwin, 2000) in the house of literary infamy. Has the Tamil lady who uses the nom de plume Niromi de Soyza[1] woven an autobiographical tale of lies that match those coined by Norma Toliopoulos and Helen Darville who wrote their memoirs as Norma Kouri and Helen Demidenko?

When Kouri’s book was challenged by the Jordanian National Commission for Women on the ground that it contained 70 exaggerations and errors, Random House Australia indicated that “they were satisfied with the veracity of the story, [though] names and places had been changed to protect the identities of those involved.”[2] Their defense did not hold up for long as Malcolm Knox spearheaded the media questioning in Australia. Random House pulled the book from the shelf [3] – but that was after the first run of this memoir had sold over 200,000 copies in Australia alone and after “enthusiastic Australians voted it among their favorite 100 books of all time.”[4]

Pirapāharan, Ambassador Dixit and Major-General Harkirat Singh, Commander of the IPKF in a relaxed mood after a conference on 26 Sept. 1987 and before a split developed and the LTTE went to war with the IPKF — Pic from Sachi Sri Kantha, “Prabhakaran and the LTTE”

 When Demidenko’s manuscript was submitted to the Universityof Queensland Pressin 1993, they had rejected it,[5] but The Hand That Signed the Paper appeared in print under the masthead of Allen and Unwin in 1994. It is said that the Allen & Unwin editorial staff believed that it was essentially autobiographical, though they persuaded the author to alter the family’s name in the book to “Kovalenko.”[6] The book won the Vogel Award for a first novel in 1994, which was followed in 1995 by the most prestigious literary prize inAustralia, the Miles Franklin Award, as well as the Gold Medal of the Association for the Study of Australian Literature. When it was subsequently discovered that Demidenko had no Ukrainian background, a literary storm erupted. This furore was further exacerbated by Darville’s continued evasions as well as her manifest anti-Semitic prejudices.

    The issue facing us today, therefore, is whether Tamil Tigress is going to join such ‘august shelves’ in some attic that contains Forbidden Love and The Hand that signed the Paper. The latter books are placed within the context of serious issues, honour killing in

Sleeping with the enemy, Tekwani lived with the Tigers

Amanda Ross, 16 November 2010, from http://www.upiu.com/culture-society/2010/11/16/Sleeping-with-the-enemy-Tekwani-lived-with-the-Tigers/UPIU-1431289942817/

Embedded journalism is a governmental practice of attaching a journalist to a military unit involved in armed conflict to control the information the journalist receives.  Associate Professor with the Asian Pacific Center for Security Studies Shyam Tekwani was not embedded when he reported on the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, or the Tamil Tigers as a photojournalist for an Indian news magazine.  Tekwani titled his talk “Sleeping with the Enemy” to express how he came to photograph the group as an insider. Sri Lankan government officials refused to grant Tekwani and other journalists access to Tamil Tigers areas. So Tekwani entered Sri Lanka illegally, using Tamil Tiger boats from the tip of India to the northern boundary of Sri Lanka and lived with the Tigers for weeks. If the Sri Lankan military had seen him during this time he would have been treated as a Tamil Tiger and killed.TigeTiger fighter with cyanide capsule relaxes in camp –Pic by Tekwani (copy with Roberts)

In a talk to a group of Michigan State University students as part of the Visual Journalists Reporting in Asia Colloquium series, Tekwani explained that the LTTE was considered the most successful terrorist organization due not only to the fact that they are the only terrorist group to have assassinated two world leaders, but that the LTTE pioneered the use of suicide bombers and had advanced media skills.  The talk focused on Tekwani’s work in Sri Lanka covering the ethnic conflict between the majority Sinhalese, who controlled the government, and minority Tamils. During this war, which lasted for over 27 years, the Tamil Tigers grew from a rag tag group of boys to a highly organized military that included an air force and navy.Working without governmental protection, or even press protection, led Tekwani into dangerous places. At one point, the boat he was in with the Tamil Tigers sank, separating him from the Tigers. A local family took him in and hid him from the authorities to save his life. Yue Xu, a journalism master’s student at Michigan State University said: “His experience is just like a Hollywood big movie! So adventurous!” When Tekwani later visited the family that saved his life they requested he smuggle their son out of the country to save him from being forced to join either the LTTE or the Sri Lankan military. This decision resonated with Xu who said: “I don’t know if he was right or wrong, but it would be hard for any of us to make that decision.” In the end Tekwani guided the young man safely to India.

Velupillai Prabhakaran led the Tigers through force of personality, and by killing anyone he felt threatened his position. He was a secretive man who only met with two journalists during his 30 year tenure at the head of the LTTE. In 2009 the Sri Lankan military killed Prabhakaran and his family.

Michigan State University student, Joyce Walter said of Tekwani’s statement that “one man’s terrorist is another man’s freedom fighter”; “It is interesting how this notion must have guided him in reporting on one of the most violent conflicts in our generation, … it must have been difficult to avoid taking a side with or against the LTTE.” During the time that Tekwani was with the Tigers, India sent troops to fight to LTTE. This meant that he photographed the Tigers brutally killing his own countrymen.

“I am a medical school dropout,” Tekwani told the students, “I dropped out after two semesters to because I couldn’t handle the blood and gore.” After dropping out of medical school Tekwani then decided to enter journalism in hopes of being able to make a difference in the world. Although Tekwani began as an editor he soon decided to become a writer since he was sure he could write better than the work he was reading. He then decided to enter photojournalism when he realized photographers always get a “ringside seat to history.”

His first photo assignment was to photograph Mother Theresa. He brought two rolls of film and when he finished the first roll Mother Teresa settled down and presented a perfect photo opportunity.  At that moment, he realized that he didn’t know how to load the film.

“{She} must have uttered a prayer for me after that because after that things looked up,” he said to the students.

Tags:shyam tekwani, ltte, liberation tigers of tamil eelam, michigan state university, visual journalists reporting in asia