BETA

One should not be surprised that with the advent of internet, we are being bombarded with the weekly fiction of Tamil fiction writers, whose canvas is mainly limited to LTTE’s personalities. B. Raman, Col. R. Hariharan (Retd.), N. Sathiya Moorthy and last but not the least D.B.S. Jeyaraj have been the major names in this game of fiction writing. Here are four samples from these fiction writers, about Thamilselvan which in my opinion tell something about the incestuous thoughts of these LTTE gossip mongers.

(1) “Even before his death, the political head was No. 3 in the pecking order of the LTTE. The relationship between Prabhakaran and the late Anton Balasingham, LTTE’s sole ideologue and predecessor of Thamilchelvan at the negotiating table, was on a closer and more equitable plane than Thamilchelvan…” – Col.R.Hariharan (Retd.), South Asia Analysis Group, Note No. 413, Nov.7, 2007.

(2) “Thamilselvan, the presumed No.3 in the pecking order of the LTTE leadership after Prabakaran and Pottu Amman, the chief of the intelligence wing of the LTTE, was the only leader not involved in any major act of terrorism either in Sri Lankan or Indian territory…” – B. Raman, South Asia Analysis Group, Paper No. 2456, Nov.15, 2007

Revisiting the Views of Kumar Ponnambalam

Ponnambalam Jr.’s Assertions

The International Centre for Ethnic Studies (ICES) is the public house built by Dr.Neelan Tiruchelvam (born 1944), in 1982. This year marks the 25th anniversary of the founding of ICES, and its opportune to think a little about the deals of Dr.Neelan and why ICES came to be built. One should search for clues beyond what is presented in the website of ICES. The ICES was built at the time when Cold War rhetoric was flourishing. The chief patron of ICES was the Ford Foundation, one of the grand wands of American philanthropy cum diplomatic maneuvers.

Until Neelan Tiruchelvam’s assassination on July 29, 1999, I had read a few disgruntled commentaries penned by anti-Tamil polemicists such as Dr.Susantha Goonetilake and H.L.D.Mahindapala on the pernicious influence on the Sri Lankan policy making by the local relays of Yankee imperial agents (read as Dr.Neelan Tiruchelvam) and their public house of dubious repute (read as ICES).

I had initially felt that these were sour grape comments of Sinhalese analysts who lacked Neelan Tiruchelvam’s talent in attracting American funding. However, following his assassination such overt criticism on Neelan became muted, since projecting Neelan (a fellow Tamil ethnic) as an unfortunate victim of LTTE brutality was good for pro-Sinhalese propaganda. Thus, a ‘dead Neelan’ became the darling of these same carrion-feeding commentators.

Tiruchelvam was a CIA agent

It seems the documentary movie ‘No More Tears Sister’, featuring the tragic life of Dr.Rajani Thiranagama (1954-1989) and directed by a Canadian Helene Klodawsky, is now being promoted vigorously by  interested parties. One blurb I read states, “No More Tears Sister – explores the price of truth in times of war. Set during the violent ethnic conflict that has enveloped Sri Lanka over decades, the documentary recreates the courageous and vibrant life of renowned human rights activist Dr.Rajani Thiranagama.” But, we all know that blurbs are merely blurbs, even if hyped by incorporating the phrase ‘price of truth’. Let me present here, a contra view on Sister Rajani’s career as a human rights activist in Jaffna.

I borrowed the title of this essay from an old Hollywood movie ‘Two Mules for Sister Sara’ (1970), featuring two endearing icons of my era – Clint Eastwood and Shirley MacLaine and directed by Don Siegel. In the wake of recent revelations which appeared in the Colombo Daily News (see below), I had humorously adopted this movie title into ‘Three Mules and Sister Rajani’, to refer to the so-called four Tamil human rights activists, who co-authored the much hyped Broken Palmyra (1990) book.

 The‘Two Mules for Sister Sara’(1970), featured Shirley MacLaine in the title role as Sister Sara. Generally in Clint Eastwood genre, female lead characters do not stand out, with a few exceptions like this movie, or ‘The Bridges of  Madison County’ (1995) or the recent ‘Million Dollar Baby’ (2004). Of course, the ‘Sister Sara’ in the Two Mules for Sister Sara was no authentic nun, but a prostitute in the garb of a convent Sister, of a plot set in the Mexican back-county of 1860s.