A People Without a Story: the Lankan Tamils

Aatish Taseer, courtesy of SUNDAY, where the title is “a People without a Story”

 celebrations in the south–May 2009

FOUR years ago this week, the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam announced that their struggle for an independent homeland in northern Sri Lanka had “reached its bitter end.” The group had been fighting on behalf of the Tamil people for more than a quarter-century, and its defeat was absolute.  Today, great sections of Tamil country are still a scene of devastation. The houses are either destroyed or brand-new; the land is uncultivated and overgrown; there are forests of decapitated Palmyra palms, damaged by heavy shelling. And then there are the relics of war — graveyards of L.T.T.E. vehicles rotting in the open air; the remains of a ship, its superstructure blown to pieces and in whose rusting starboard a gaping hole gives on to blue sea.

In Appreciation of Shelagh Goonewardane

Yasmine Gooneratne

Born on 12 December 1935 in Colombo, Shelagh Goonewardene  was the younger daughter of Lt. Col. Dr T.R. Jansen, OBE, ED (one-time Commander of the volunteer corps), and  Mrs Georgiana Jansen.  Like her elder sister Suzette, Shelagh  was educated at Bishop’s College, Colombo, and benefited  from the  fine teaching of Mrs Doreen Keuneman, Miss Norma Vanderwall, Miss Lesley Tirimanne (now Alles), and her special mentors Pauline and Dick Hensman. Her love for  the stage made itself evident from her earliest years at Bishop’s, where she appeared in innumerable playlets devised for class and school entertainment , besides  acting the parts of Melisande in Apple Pie Order, Rosalind in As You Like It,  and taking a starring role in Patricia Pantin Munro’s production of Alice in Wonderland. While still at school she appeared on the Colombo stage in Chekhov’s play The Wedding (for the Little Theatre Group), and from there it was a short step to the  ‘Dram Soc’ at the University of Ceylon in Peradeniya, where Professor Lyn Ludowyk was quick to observe her talent. Shaw’s Major Barbara and  Androcles and the Lion  were among the plays in which she took part under Ludowyk’s direction.

All the World’s a Stage

Shelagh Goonewardene ** …. sadly and fondly In Memoriam -Editor 

    The words are Shakespeare’s, the greatest English-speaking playwright, and continue “and men and women merely players / They have their exits and their entrances.’’

For all performers, including politicians who are invariably performers of high calibre, this is the view of the world that is dominant.  For me, I was a performer since childhood and devised my own plays with my sister and friends to which we would invite our families and the neighbours. This activity was welcomed at school where we were encouraged once a year to produce a concert for the Principal’s birthday.  Each class was left entirely to its own resources, sans teachers, to produce an item which could be dramatic, comedic, tragic and frequently involved mime and song or music of some kind.  All this was preparation for me to continue these activities when I entered the University of Ceylon in 1954.  The University Dramatic Society had been established by an Englishman, Professor Leigh Smith, in 1922 when he was Professor¹ of English.

For All Sri Lankans: A Message of Tolerance and Conflict Resolution from Ven Galkande Dhammananda

Courtesy of COLOMBO TELEGRAPH — SEE http://www.colombotelegraph.com/index.php/a-sri-lankan-buddhist-monk-speaks-out-let-sri-lanka-have-thousands-of-buddha-putras-like-him/ … and also absorb the blog comments it draws. NOTE: the sinhala is precise and lucid if high-flown. Indeed, it is a lesson in concise clarity. AND it is translated intoTamil and English as well. a MUST SEE and must listen –both media.

A Note from Dr WA Wijewardena: “It is indeed heartening to see an erudite Buddhist priest speaking out, guided by the teaching of the Master, when many have chosen to remain silent. Ven Dhammananda, Lecturer at the University of Kelaniya, speaks through his experience, but has not been angered or being revengeful despite the personal loss to him. Let Sri Lanka have thousands of Buddha Putras like him to guide this nation, which is now stranded and moving aimlessly, to its future glory!” says a former Deputy Governor – Central Bank of Sri Lanka, Dr. W.A. Wijewardena.

Niromi De Soyza’s Message to the Australians at Adelaide Writers’ Week

 Presented on 20 March 2013 — SEE http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m9uWKa5YfKQ

Thuppahi was led to this presentation of self by”Niromi” by a blog comment inserted in its ‘leaves.’ This was in the SECTION on “BOOK REVIEWS” rather than the initial review of Tamil Tigress by myself on 21 August 2011. I was on holiday when the Writers’ Week event took place, but those present at one of Subothini Mariatta Anandarajah, alias Niromi’s, presentations said that she shed tears on stage. Those present at two other events in Sydney and Melbourne also indicated that she burst into tears. The implications of this fact remain open to differing interpretations; but must enter everyone’s reading. As significantly, DBS Jeyaraj one of her erstwhile defenders, did not produce his fifth article as promised. In any event, apart from the different versions of the book the world is being presented with (see Bala’s comments) Subothini Anandarajah has shifted her stance and told her [silent] interviewer at Adelaide that she was confronted with the “enemy” when she functioned as  a female Tigress guerilla. But the first book’s back cover blurb speaks of her encounter with “government troops” during that first awful (because her bosom pal died) skirmish in December 1987 . Elsewhere in the book and in interviews she refers to encounters with both Indian and government troops. Again, one has to compare her initial 2009 newspaper account with the stories later. Unfortunately I was only led to the 2009 story AFTER I had written my initial essays.  The discrepancies are quite outstanding. Alas, readers seem to be guided by whether one is a good Tamil-for-the -Tamil-cause or a bad Tamil or a bad non-Tamil. Brand someone a government apologist and thereafter whatever  s/he says becomes unacceptable. Even women indulge in this tactic of playing the man not the ball.  Cheap tactics, simpleton minds! BALA  is a refreshing change [assuming he is truly a Bala].

Spare a moment’s reflection,too, for the Australian journalists and publishers who lap all this up without asking searching questions! Nikki Barraclough in Sydney reacted immediately when I first contacted her and sent the initial questioning of the book. She was on a flying visit abroad and said she would get back to me. Well, nothing followed. Likewise one of the book distributors in Melbourne who was organising a forum and inquired if I was available.When I said I would be severely critical and would not be a good choice, there was surprise expressed and I was not contacted again –no surprise that.         

Tamil IDPs Today and Yesterday… Pudukuduyirippu and Beyond

Michael Roberts hijacking Dhaneshi Yatawara

I: Preamble by Michael Roberts

Dhaneshi Yatawara is a Sri Lankan reporter whom I do not know and have no contact with. I happened to be in Sri Lanka in April-June 2009 and collected news clippings, which now guide me to items on web. Among the latter are a series of striking photographs provided by Dhaneshi Yatawara on the 10^th and 17^th May 2009 respectively. The first lot were obviously (though not so stated) snapped on the foreshores in the Pulmoddai or Trinco area as Tamil IDPs injured and “carers” were disembarked from ICRC ships guided by the SL Navy. Parenthetically I note here between the 10^th February and 15^th May 2009 the ICRC ships “Green Ocean” and “Seruvila” escorted by the SL Navy made several trips and evacuated “over 13,500 sick and wounded people and their caretakers” (http://www.icrc.org/eng/resources/ documents/ update/sri-lanka-update-090609.htm).[1]

 This Pic is not from Yatawara

The Sri Lankan Republic at 40: Reflections on Constitutional History, Theory and Practice

Type of Publication: Edited Collection…..Publisher(s): The Centre for Policy Alternatives (CPA), and the Friedrich Naumann Stiftung für die Freiheit (FNF) 

Place Publication: Colombo, Sri Lanka ….. Date of Publication: 21^st December 2012…….

Size of Publication: 1168 pages in two volumes (Vol. I: pp.1-660; Vol. II: pp.661-1168)

ISBN: 978-955-1655-93-8 ………..Bar Code: 9 789551 655938

Editor: Asanga Welikala

Website: http://republicat40.org (entire contents downloadable in complete volumes or as individual chapters)

 Pakiasothy Saravanamuttu of CPA

Purpose and Scope of the Publication: In 2012, Sri Lanka marks the fortieth anniversary of the founding of its republic. With the promulgation of the first republican constitution on 22^nd May 1972, Ceylon severed its remaining constitutional links with Britain that had survived the grant of independence as a dominion in 1948. Both the process adopted in the making of that constitution as well as its substance were historic – a decisive ‘constitutional moment’ – reflecting dramatic political currents that had dominated the late-colonial and post-independence period, and establishing a constitutional order that has, despite being replaced by a second republican constitution in 1978, retained its essential substantive character as a highly centralised unitary state to the present.

A Son stands bravely and simply by his Mother, Dr. Shirani Bandaranayake, Chief Justice

Shaveen Bandaranayake

My mother is the 43rd Chief justice of this country. She is also the 1st female Chief Justice in this country’s 200+ year history. She is an academic, one who possessed a PhD in Law before it went on sale. She is also a loving sister, mother and a wife. She is a hardworking woman who loves her country dearly and wishes to preserve its seemingly flailing integrity. She is not a politician. She is not the kind of person who expects to do something and expect something in return. She is also not the kind of person who would waver or change under pressure or intimidation. She is not going to change her conscience on a whim. There have been many occasions in which she could have given in and been rewarded lavishly. Most people are unaware of who my mother really is. Until recently, seldom would anyone have heard anything from her or about her. She has always believed that as a judge and as the Chief Justice, she must not socialize or be seen to favour any party. It is not that she is not a sociable person. It is purely because she feels it’s a burden she must carry in order to uphold the integrity of the august position which she holds. Is that incapacity? Is that misbehaviour? The powers that be claim the impending impeachment to be one to uphold democracy and the concept of separation of powers. Frankly, in my humble opinion, it is one of vengeance. It is one of spite and pure hatred.

The Fake Memoirist’s Survival Guide

 Christopher Beam  on “How to embellish your life story without getting caught” ….  

……… SEE http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/low_concept/2008/03/the_fake_memoirists_survival_guide.html

See JUDY MARIAMPILLAI IN http://www.lankaweb.com/news/items/2012/09/21/unfolded-truth-about-the-tamil-tigress-book-written-by-niromi-de-soyza-sri-lankan-born

The Fair Niromi

Especially recommended for DBS Jeyaraj, Nikki Barraclough, Shanika Sriyananda and all those who have swallowed the performance of Niromi de Soyza in presenting her so-called autobiographical memoir, Tamil Tigress, wth the assistance of Allen & Unwin [of Demidenko fame]. A careful study will probably indicate, as Arun Ambalavanar suggests, that she has at times leaned on the work of Narayan Swamy — thereby repeating  the same little mistakes that he made in relating a few incidents [mistakes that are inevitable in relating a complex story from afar, but are less likely if one is a bystander or participant in the events]

. The real Niromi , namely, Subothini Mariatta Anandarajah

SEE ** Judy Mariampillai in http://www.lankaweb.com/news/items/2012/09/21/unfolded-truth-about-the-tamil-tigress-book-written-by-niromi-de-soyza-sri-lankan-born/

** Michael Roberts: “Clouds of Deception: Jeyaraj anoints and cloaks Niromi Tigress,” in www.groundviews.org

** Michael Roberts: “Niromi de Soysa’s Path of Redemption with Deception? or Both?” 27 October 2011, http://thuppahi.wordpress.com/2011/10/27/niromi-de-soysa%E2%80%99s-path-of-redemption-with-deception-or-both/

An Overview: Setunga V, 22 July 2009

Myrna Setunga, 22 July 2009 …. providing a summary description of conditions in early June when Zone 4 was being set up and moving on to circumstances in July. Web Editor.

Dear family and friends,  This is the second part of the report on my visits to Vavuniya. I had intentions of printing this report and posting it to selected people because I do not want this report to be circulated. Please think twice before you pass this on, because I could get into trouble. Some of this information could be seen as sensitive. My printer is refusing to obey my commands – so here it is in the form of an email. Your comments are welcome.

As I said in the emailed report we went to Menik Farm on the 1^st of June. We were in the temporary camp [in Zone 4] which consisted of tents and could see the semi- permanent zinc structures in the distance. These are similar to the ones constructed after the Tsunami. There is a barbed wire fence separating the two parts but I saw a woman quietly creeping through the fence to get to the tent section. Any relative from the outside who wants to visit an IDP in the camp has to wait at the gate till the person is summoned over the loud speaker. The visitors and their parcels are thoroughly searched. I saw this happen at all the camps I visited. The visitor is not allowed into the camp and can speak to the IDP in a special shed which is in full view of the Military Police who guard all the camps. The reason given for this is that there are still LTTE members among the IDPs. They have found the wife and children of Tamilshelvam among the IDPs. Prabakaran’s parents too are in the Menik farm Camp. One has to therefore understand why these people are like prisoners behind barbed wire.