The Western World’s Cumulous Clouds of Deception: Blanketing the Sharp Realities of Eelam War IV

Michael Roberts, Courtesy of Colombo Telegraph , October 2018

 

This is a provocative piece on the last stages of Eelam War IV in 2008/09 and on its aftermath of Reports and You Tube cut-and-thrust. It makes specific claims in assertive style. These assertions are founded on lengthier articles with their supporting evidence. So, it is by assertion that I proceed.

Ehaaa. Mehaa. Presidential Manouevres in Sri Lanka

Rajan Philips, in The Island, 13 October 2018 where the title reads “Checkmate Politics II: Diminishing Options for MS, MR and RW

There is no presidential checkmate after all as many of us were alerted to last week. President Sirisena is in no position to checkmate anyone. No surprise there. He has burnt his boats with the UNP, and even Mahinda Rajapaksa cannot rally everyone in the JO to support a new political arrangement with the old defector. It is now reported that Maithripala Sirisena first approached the UNP to canvass for a second term as President with UNP support, and only after being rebuffed by the UNP that he sought an alliance with the Rajapaksas. It is also known that there were quite a few meetings between Maithripala Sirisena and Mahinda Rajapaksa, which would only confirm that the former President has been quite serious about pursuing a deal with the current incumbent. And obviously because a second term Sirisena presidency is the only way to secure a path for the now underage Namal Rajapaksa to become president in 2024. That the former President could not get others on board for this scheme shows how tenuous and tentative are the loyalties within the Joint Opposition. Be that as it may.

The Lines of Fire within Mark Field’s Paternalist Message

Michael Roberts, courtesy of The Daily Mirror and Colombo Telegraph

Mark Field’s visit to Sri Lanka is very, very significant. His pronouncements are threaded by the paternalistic air of an Etonian schoolmaster pontificating to students. That should not be allowed to mask the Sword of Damocles that is above the Sri Lankan body via the UNHCR as the instrument of the Western international community.

British Minister stresses Importance of Reconciliation

Mark Field, in Daily Mirror,  where the title is “Why does reconciliation in Sri Lanka matter to the UK?”

Next year Sri Lanka will have enjoyed 10 uninterrupted years free from the misery of armed conflict. Whatever your view on how Sri Lanka has progressed since, that very fact alone is one to cherish. I know how deep the scars from decades of conflict run. When I visited last year I heard first-hand from the families of disappeared persons. It was a stark reminder of how much all communities in Sri Lanka have suffered.

Vicious Politics from CRICKET AGE targets Chandika Hathurusingha in Chauvinist Style

 Michael Roberts

I recall a recent article by reporter Krishnamurthy in Cricket Age which was marked by its mud-slinging character [as well as its poor command of the English language – jarring but not a major issue]. But his venal essay on Chandika Hathurusingha’s religious preferences is beyond the pale. It must be challenged and undermined.

     Chaminda Vaas (a Catholic) and Sanath Jayasuriya (a Buddhist) in intense mood as they proceed towards a propitiatory vow at St. Anthony’s Church, Kochchikade  on 28th June 2000

  Arjuna Ranatunga receives a pirit nula from Bellanwila Wimalaratna Thero 1997

For one, it neglects the fact that Sumathipala was among those who brought Hathuru into the fold. … and that Sumathipala himself has been an arch conspirator throughout his many years in the BCCSL and then in Sri Lanka Cricket.

Beware the Global Human Rights Mafia and Their Sri Lankan Parrots

C. A. Chandraprema, in Island, September 2018, with this title “Cardinal’s words and Mangala’s response”.… the highlighting is the work of the Editor, Thuppahi

The comments made by Malcolm Cardinal Ranjith last Sunday at the Ekala St Matthew’s Church have made waves with Minister Mangala Samaraweera and Saliya Peiris criticising the Cardinal’s words and the former President Mahinda Rajapaksa and several Catholic MPs in the Joint Opposition condemning Samaraweera and Peiris for taking on the Cardinal. What the Cardinal said last Sunday during a sermon delivered in Sinhala was roughly as follows.

“The latest religion in the West is the religion called human rights. Human rights were discovered only recently. It is being regarded as a wonderful new discovery which is being held aloft and we are being relentlessly lectured about it. However our people began adhering to religions centuries ago. Some people in our country talk of a secular society. Human life is not just food and drink and the pursuit of comfort. Many people in the West now regard religion as an outer garment. They use religion when it suits them but if they are required to make sacrifices, they put religion aside. Our lives are short and if we limit it to the pursuit of pleasure we will come to an unfortunate end. If we adhere to a religion we don’t need human rights. Those who are dependent on human rights are those who have no religion. We must not be misled by these chimeras. We must look at this intelligently.”

Kishani’s “Danno Budunge” in 2016: Further Vibes and Reverberations

An INTRODUCTORY NOTE

In February 2016 I borrowed an article  by Sasanka Perera in Groundviews and placed it in Thuppahi   When I recently advertised this article in FACEBOOK it drew a critical comment from Vinod Moonesinghe of Sri Lanka and then a spate of comments. Several of these thoughts provide food for thought …and debate.  So, let fruitful reflections flow –beginning here with my original note and then deploying the critical line penned by VINOD MOONESINGHE to encourage more sparks to kindle flames.

 Vinod Moonesinghe Tony Donaldson Darshanie Ratnawalli