User:Gettingthere/sandbox

User:Gettingthere/sandbox

Tamil Tigress is marketed as the memoir of Niromi de Soyza (nom de plume), who claims to be a former child soldier of the deadly guerilla army LTTE (Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam)and one of its first female fighters. This is the first narration of a Sri Lankan female guerilla soldier to be published as a memoir in English. The book contains shocking revalations about the brutalities that surrounded the civil war in Sri Lanka, including the brutal practices of the LTTE.

The book was first published by Allen & Unwin in May 2011. Recently a Tamil writer, writing under the pen name Nadchathran Chevinthian(A.K.A Arun Ambalavanar),raised doubts about the authenticity of the memoir. Then another Sri lankan born Australian academic. further questioned the appropriateness of classifying Tamil Tigress as Autobiography

The book's classification as Memoir is challenged on ethnographic grounds as well as  on the grounds of a foundational error. The foundational error consists of the author's apparent ignorance, persisting to date, of the identity of her adversaries in Combat during the fighting tenure(late 1987 to 1988) attributed to herself in Tamil Tigress. From late July 1987 to early 1990, the signing of the Indo-Sri Lanka Accord and the consequent arrival of the IPKF ensured the withdrawal of the Sri Lankan troops from the Battlefield.

Under the terms of the agreement, Colombo agreed to a devolution of power to the provinces, the Sri Lankan troops were to be withdrawn to their barracks in the north and the Tamil rebels were to surrender their arms.

When the LTTE was at war with the IPKF from early October, 1987 to end of 1989, not one of the three arms of the Sri Lankan forces participated in joint action with the IPKF or had any integrated command structure. That the Sri Lankan forces stayed clear of direct combat with the LTTE during this period, apart from the limited operations undertaken at sea by the Sri Lankan Navy, is a basic fact, that would have been known to contemporary Tiger fighters of all ranks.

In contrast the blurb of Tamil Tigress announces, “Two days before Christmas in 1987, at the age of 17, Niromi de Soyza found herself in an ambush as part of a small platoon of militant Tamil Tigers fighting government forces in the bloody civil war that was to engulf Sri Lanka for decades…”

In her Margaret Throsby Interview(between 18.45 and 19.02) Niromi says; “…when I joined, the Indian forces had arrived and the tigers had chosen to fight the Indian forces as well as the Sri Lankan forces”

In the same interview(between 35.56 and 36.23), she responds to a question regarding a film, which claims to be a documentary covering the atrocities committed by the Sri Lankan Government Forces during the final stages of the Elam War ;

''“Were you able to watch the four corners documentary? “''

''“I watched it. I forced myself to watch it… It distressed the whole time….I couldn’t sleep that night… but at the same time it wasn’t new. This was something that I knew had happened. I mean I had witnessed much of it and I knew when… the Tamil tigers were caught by the soldiers those things would happen …they would be shot in the head, raped, tortured all of those things. It was nothing new.”''

There is thus an attempted projection of Sri Lankan Forces into her fighting experiences, from which they should in reality have been absent. A possible motive for creating this imagined context is given by by Niromi in her Throsby interview(between 35.21 and 35.54);

''“…in 2009 when the war …had ended in Sri Lanka and Tamil refugees were still arriving in Australian Shores by the boat and there was a complete misunderstanding, everyone labeling them as economic refugees because, the war had ended. But I knew different… So I thought somebody has to say something… At that time… the UN panel report wasn’t there…, the four corners documentary hadn’t been shown so I thought I needed to put this story out …despite the fact I didn’t want to...I’d felt there was a need….”''

The true identity of Niromi de Soyza is not available anywhere in the public domain todate.

Further clarification on the sources I am going to use to expand Tamil Tigress
Thanks Paul B But I no longer want to make a case for Michael Roberts under WP:SPS. Because the self published source which was challenged [http://thuppahi.wordpress.com/2011/08/21/another-demidenko-niromi-de-soyza-as-a-tiger-fighter/ Roberts Michael, 21August2011, ''Another Demidenko? Niromi de Soyza as a Tiger Fighter, Thuppahi's Blog] has now been rendered unnecessary as that article is now available as a reliable source, in [http://www.srilankaguardian.org/2011/08/captivating-fiction-with-political.html Roberts Michael, 27August2011, A Captivating Fiction with a Political Slant? Niromi de Soyza as Tiger Fighter'', Sri Lanka Guardian]. It is at present available in Tamil Tigress as a reference. Perhaps as an embellishment I will use [http://thuppahi.wordpress.com/2011/08/21/another-demidenko-niromi-de-soyza-as-a-tiger-fighter/ Roberts Michael, 21August2011, ''Another Demidenko? Niromi de Soyza as a Tiger Fighter'', Thuppahi's Blog] as an external link.

But my querry was not about that. To develop Tamil Tigress further, adding a Controversy section, I claim the following as reliable secondary sources, which analyses the statements contained in the Throsby interview and Tamil Tigress blurb, contrasts them with the actual circumstances prevailing in Sri Lanka due to the Indo Lanka Accord and and forms conclusions i.e.;Market pitch/Fundamental Error, profound ignorance suggestive of non-residence in SL during the relevant period, a fabrication fashioned without adequate homework.


 * A- Michael Roberts (September 2011) Forbidden Fruits? Niromi de Soyza, Noumi Kouri and Helen Demidenko? The Island Part 1, Part 2.


 * B- Michael Roberts (31 August 2011) Forbidden Fruits: Niromi de Soyza’s “Tamil Tigress”, Noumi Kouri and Helen Demidenko?, Groundviews

"The word 'source' in Wikipedia has three meanings: the work itself (a document, article, paper, or book), the creator of the work (for example, the writer), and the publisher of the work (for example, The New York Times). All three can affect reliability."Policy WP:SOURCES

"The word 'source' as used on Wikipedia has three related meanings: the piece of work itself (the article, book), the creator of the work (the writer, journalist), and the publisher of the work (for example The New York Times, Cambridge University Press, etc.). All three can affect reliability. Reliable sources may be published materials with a reliable publication process, authors who are regarded as authoritative in relation to the subject, or both." Guideline WP:IRS

According to the above policy and guideline, A and B count as two sources, because even though it's the same article by the same author two different publishers are involved.

Confusion about sources
There is some confusion about these sources. Roscelese and Loonymonkey have accused me of original research and synthesis, of using personal analysis of interviews with author to prove she is lying. I think they only went through [http://thuppahi.wordpress.com/2011/08/21/another-demidenko-niromi-de-soyza-as-a-tiger-fighter/ Roberts Michael, 21August2011, ''Another Demidenko? Niromi de Soyza as a Tiger Fighter'', Thuppahi's Blog], saw no interview excerpts or analysis there and assumed OR.

Since, "Reliable sources may be published materials with a reliable publication process, authors who are regarded as authoritative in relation to the subject, or both", let me estasblish Michael Roberts as an authority or expert on the subject. Specially as in accordance with "When taking information from opinion pieces, the identity of the author may help determine reliability. The opinions of specialists and recognized experts are more likely to be reliable and to reflect a significant viewpoint. If the statement is not authoritative, attribute the opinion to the author in the text of the article and do not represent it as fact."-WP:NEWSORG guideline, I want to present his arguements as authoritative statements, not merely as intext attributions.

Michael Roberts as specialist and recognized expert
"Michael Roberts was educated at St. Aloysius College, Galle and his B.A degree with honours in History at the University of Ceylon at Peradeniya. He received a Rhodes Scholarship to Oxford and attended Merton College while completing his D.Phil in History. He taught at the Department of History at Peradeniya in 1961-62 and from 1966-75. He was Director Dogsbody of the Ceylon Studies Seminar during its halcyon days and one part of the engine room for Modern Ceylon Studies in its early years. He secured an Alexander von Humboldt Fellowship to Germany in 1975 and subsequently joined the Department of Anthropology at the University of Adelaide in 1977, where he is now an Adjunct Associate Professor. He was the founding Editor of Social Analysis in 1979. His Major works include Elites, Nationalisms and the Nationalist Movement in British Ceylon(Colombo: Department of National Archives, 1977); Caste Conflict and Elite Formation: The Rise of a Karava Elite in Sri Lanka, 1500-1931(Cambridge University Press, 1982); People Inbetween: The Burghers and the Middle Class in the Transformations within Sri Lanka, 1790s-1980s, Vol 1 (Colombo:Sarvodaya Press, 1989); Exploring Confrontation. Sri Lanka: Politics, Culture and History(Reading:Harwood Academic Publishers, 1994); Crosscurrents: Sri Lanka and Australia at Cricket, (Sydney: Walla Walla Press, 1998) …"-Taken from the book jacket of Sinhala consciousness in the Kandyan period, 1590s to 1815 with inline citations added by me where appropriate.

While Roberts can be described as a historical anthropologist, the fact remains that all his work engages the political relations of power and that he straddles the disciplines of Politics, Sociology, Anthropology and History. He is a prolific writer and contemporary political commentator on a wide range of subjects.

Michael Roberts on Politics of Identity

 * The burden of history: Obstacles to power sharing in Sri Lanka Michael Roberts, Contributions to Indian Sociology, 2000
 * Roberts, Michael, and International Centre for Ethnic Studies. Firstness, history, place & legitimate claim to place-as-homeland in comparative focus/ Michael Roberts, International Centre for Ethnic Studies, Colombo: 2005
 * Michael Roberts Language and national identity: the Sinhalese and others over the centuries, Nationalism and Ethnic Politics, Volume 9, Issue 2, 2003
 * Roberts, Michael, and Pieris, Jeronis, Facets of modern Ceylon history through the letters of Jeronis Pieris/Michael Roberts, Hansa Publishers, Colombo : 1975
 * Roberts, Michael, and Ceylon National Congress. and Sri Lanka. Jatika Lekhanaraksaka Departamentuva. Documents of the Ceylon National Congress and nationalist politics in Ceylon, 1929-1950 / edited by Michael Roberts, Dept of National Archives, Colombo : 1977
 * Roberts, Michael, Collective identities, nationalisms, and protest in modern Sri Lanka/ edited by Michael Roberts, Marga Institute, Colombo : 1979
 * Michael Roberts, Of traditions, memories and ideological blockages Asian Studies Review Volume 18, Issue 2, 1994
 * Michael Roberts, The cultured gentleman: The appropriation of manners by the middle class in British Ceylon Anthropological Forum, Volume 7, Issue 1, 1994
 * Michael Roberts, Studying Collective Consciousness over Time in Sri Lanka: Questions for Post-Orientalism, Part I, lines magazine, May 2006 /August 2006
 * Michael Roberts, Apocalypse or accommodation? Two contrasting views of Sinhala‐Tamil relations in Sri Lanka South Asia: Journal of South Asian Studies Volume 12, Issue 1, 1989
 * Michael Roberts (1978). Ethnic Conflict in Sri Lanka and Sinhalese Perspectives: Barriers to Accommodation. Modern Asian Studies, 12, pp 353-376 doi:10.1017/S0026749X00006193
 * Michael Roberts, ESSAY Narrating Tamil Nationalism: Subjectivities and Issues, South Asia: Journal of South Asian Studies, n.s. Vol.XXVII, no.1, April 2004
 * Roberts, Michael, and Marga Institute. Sri Lanka : collective identities revisited/ edited by Michael Roberts, Marga Institute, (Colombo) : 1997

Michael Roberts on Politics of Knowledge

 * Michael Roberts Modernist theory : trimming the printed word : the instance of pre-modern Sinhala society Colombo : International Centre for Ethnic Studies, 2002
 * Roberts, Michael. and Brown, Kenneth. Using oral sources : Vansina and beyond / edited by Kenneth Brown & Michael Roberts Dept. of Anthropology, University of Adelaide, Adelaide :  1980
 * Michael Roberts, A tale of resistance: The story of the arrival of the Portuguese in Sri Lanka Ethnos, Volume 54, Issue 1-2, 1989
 * Michael Roberts Potency Power & People in Groups Marga Institute, ISBN 9789555821292, 2011

Michael Roberts on Politics of Cricket

 * Roberts, Michael, Essaying cricket : Sri Lanka and beyond/ Michael Roberts Vijitha Yapa Publishers, Colombo : 2006
 * Michael Roberts, John Howard: Cricket Australia's misjudged power-play, The Drum Opinion Australian Broadcasting Corporation, 5 July 2010
 * Michael Roberts, Landmarks and Threads in the Cricketing Universe of Sri Lanka, Sport in Society, Volume 10, Issue 1, 2007, Special Issue: Cricket, Race and the 2007 World Cup
 * Michael Roberts, Wunderkidz in a Blunderland: tensions and tales from Sri Lankan cricket Sport in Society, Volume 12, Issue 4-5, 2009, Special Issue: Cricket: International and Interdisciplinary Approaches

Michael Roberts on Politics of Conflict and Confrontations

 * Roberts, Michael, Confrontations in Sri Lanka : Sinhalese, LTTE & others / Michael Roberts, Vijitha Yapa Publications, Colombo : 2009
 * Michael Roberts, BLUNDERS IN TIGERLAND: PAPE’S MUDDLES ON “SUICIDE BOMBERS” IN SRI LANKA Heidelberg Papers in South Asian and Comparative Politics, Working Paper No. 32, November 2007
 * Michael Roberts Understanding Zealots and Questions for Post- Orientalism IIAS Newsletter 7 International Institute for Asian Studies
 * Michael Roberts Fire and Storm, Vijitha Yapa Publications ISBN 9789556651348, 2011

Michael Roberts as a Contemporary Political Commentator

 * Michael Roberts, Crude reasoning The Drum Opinion, Australian Broadcasting Corporation 17 Nov. 2009
 * Michael Roberts Taken in by Tamil tall tales The Australian, November 04, 2009
 * Michael Roberts, ''Realities of war, A response challenging the calls for ceasefire as a solution to the hard realities around the LTTE’s endgame. FRONTLINE, Volume 26 - Issue 10 :: May. 09-22, 2009
 * Michael Roberts Some pillars for Lanka’s future FRONTLINE, Volume 26 - Issue 12 :: Jun. 06-19, 2009
 * Michael Roberts A Verbal Joust between a Tamil Nationalist and a Thuppahi Mongrel 12 September 2011, Melbourne, Sri Lanka Guardian

Double barrelled reliability
"...Reliable sources may be published materials with a reliable publication process, authors who are regarded as authoritative in relation to the subject, or both"-Guideline WP:IRS Accordingly I claim A-Michael Roberts (September 2011) ''Forbidden Fruits? Niromi de Soyza, Noumi Kouri and Helen Demidenko? The Island Part 1, Part 2 . as a source which is reliable on both counts(author+publication) and B-Michael Roberts (31 August 2011) Forbidden Fruits: Niromi de Soyza’s “Tamil Tigress”, Noumi Kouri and Helen Demidenko?'', Groundviews as a source which assumes reliablity beacause of the author.

Misrepresentation of Groundviews
Roscelese has wrongly represented Groundviews as a source falling within WP:NOTRELIABLE"Questionable sources are those with a poor reputation for checking the facts, or which lack meaningful editorial oversight. Such sources include websites and publications expressing views that are widely acknowledged as extremist, or promotional, or which rely heavily on rumor and personal opinion. Questionable sources should be used only as sources of material on themselves, especially in articles about themselves; see below. They are unsuitable for citing contentious claims about third parties."

Groundviews Funding and support

Groundviews was set up under the Voices of Reconciliation Project, conducted by the Centre for Policy Alternatives (CPA) from 2005 – 2006 and funded by CIDA and AusAID. From February 2007 to late 2009, Groundviews did not receive any funding from local or international sources. From late 2010 to date, core operational costs are met by funding from Ford Foundation. The Centre for Policy Alternatives is the institutional anchor for Groundviews, since its inception.

Groundviews Awards

In December 2007, Groundviews was awarded an Award of Excellence in New Communications from the Society for New Communications Research. It is the first and to date only civil society and media web initiative in Sri Lanka to have won a competitive international award for excellence in journalism and media. “Groundviews exemplifies the mission of this awards program: the successful and innovative use of new communications solutions and social media practices to enhance communications and relationships” commented Mike Manuel, SNCR Best Practices committee chairman.

In 2009, Groundviews won the prestigious Manthan Award South Asia. The grand jury’s evaluation of the site noted, ''“What no media dares to report, Groundviews publicly exposes. It’s a new age media for a new Sri Lanka… Free media at it’s very best!”''

Where available, academic and peer-reviewed publications are usually the most reliable sources, such as in history, medicine, and science. But they are not the only reliable sources in such areas. Material from reliable non-academic sources may also be used, particularly if it appears in respected mainstream publications. Other reliable sources include university-level textbooks, books published by respected publishing houses, magazines, journals, and mainstream newspapers. Electronic media may also be used, subject to the same criteria. WP:SOURCES

Questionable sources are those with a poor reputation for checking the facts, or which lack meaningful editorial oversight. Such sources include websites and publications expressing views that are widely acknowledged as extremist, or promotional, or which rely heavily on rumor and personal opinion. Questionable sources should be used only as sources of material on themselves, especially in articles about themselves; see below. They are unsuitable for citing contentious claims about third parties. WP:NOTRELIABLE

Policy: Wikipedia articles usually rely on material from secondary sources. Articles may make analytic or evaluative claims only if these have been published by a reliable secondary source. WP:SECONDARY

When taking information from opinion pieces, the identity of the author may help determine reliability. The opinions of specialists and recognized experts are more likely to be reliable and to reflect a significant viewpoint. If the statement is not authoritative, attribute the opinion to the author in the text of the article and do not represent it as fact.WP:NEWSORG guideline.

Quotations The accuracy of quoted material is paramount and the accuracy of quotations from living persons is especially sensitive. To ensure accuracy, the text of quoted material is best taken from (and cited to) the original source being quoted.