Comments on: Review of My Belly is White by Austin Fernando (in Sinhala) http://groundviews.org/2008/07/19/review-of-my-belly-is-white-by-austin-fernando-in-sinhala/ Groundviews is an award winning Sri Lankan citizen journalism initiative Mon, 13 Feb 2012 00:23:22 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 By: Sathya Pala http://groundviews.org/2008/07/19/review-of-my-belly-is-white-by-austin-fernando-in-sinhala/#comment-3696 Sathya Pala Wed, 08 Oct 2008 09:42:44 +0000 http://www.groundviews.org/?p=915#comment-3696 Fernando contradicts himself He calls them "unpredictable", "stubborn" and "ruthless" and accuses them of trying to have their way at every turn, of creating "many-faceted problems". For one accused of appeasement, his understanding is revealing: "LTTE cadres suspected everybody, and breaking into their hearts was extremely difficult. The outer rim of the LTTE mind was very thick and rigid and also the core. Their hearts were of hard rock." But the Tigers "had a long range vision, mission, strategizing and action planning." Fernando however contradicts himself. "LTTE cadres would not change their stripes just because their leader has signed on a dotted line." Eighty pages later, he says: "They changed their stripes (so) fast (that) one cannot place trust on promises made by the LTTE." Fernando has a grouse against Erik Solheim, Norway's first Special Envoy to Sri Lanka. He calls him "stubborn" and accuses him of "favouring the LTTE for some unknown reasons." In the same breath, he gives credit to the Norwegians for persisting and coming up, in December 2002, with what came to be called the Oslo declaration, in which the LTTE agreed to explore a possible federal solution to the ethnic conflict. But what is the point of giving out Solheim's phone number in the book? Fernando contradicts himself
He calls them “unpredictable”, “stubborn” and “ruthless” and accuses them of trying to have their way at every turn, of creating “many-faceted problems”. For one accused of appeasement, his understanding is revealing: “LTTE cadres suspected everybody, and breaking into their hearts was extremely difficult. The outer rim of the LTTE mind was very thick and rigid and also the core. Their hearts were of hard rock.” But the Tigers “had a long range vision, mission, strategizing and action planning.” Fernando however contradicts himself. “LTTE cadres would not change their stripes just because their leader has signed on a dotted line.” Eighty pages later, he says: “They changed their stripes (so) fast (that) one cannot place trust on promises made by the LTTE.”

Fernando has a grouse against Erik Solheim, Norway’s first Special Envoy to Sri Lanka. He calls him “stubborn” and accuses him of “favouring the LTTE for some unknown reasons.” In the same breath, he gives credit to the Norwegians for persisting and coming up, in December 2002, with what came to be called the Oslo declaration, in which the LTTE agreed to explore a possible federal solution to the ethnic conflict. But what is the point of giving out Solheim’s phone number in the book?

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