Gajalakshmi Paramasivam – 19 April   2016

Kanchi Pattu  or China Silk?

‘Resolution of the impasse between Sri Lanka and China on the construction of a Chinese-funded port city at Colombo is not only indicative of the pragmatic policy posture of the Sri Lankan government, but also an important first step towards the materialisation of the maritime silk route initiative (MSRI) proposed by China.’ says a Singapore mind.

To my mind as a Tamil, this project is also about whether Tamil Politicians seek to take a position in Sri Lanka as part of the World or are resigned to remaining  local leaders in their minds. The recent revelation by the TNA leader in Kilinochchi confirms that the LTTE leader chose the latter. In action he confirmed this by rejecting Mr. Sampanthan’s proposal:

[Sampanthan told a gathering in Kilinochchi that he had several meetings and discussions with Prabakaran before the war ended in 2009 and had urged him to convert his fighting skills to politics]

In terms of  status it’s a question of whether one sought to be a big person in a small institution or a small person in a big institution. If LTTE had become part of the Political structure – Velupillai Prabhakaran would have been taken over by Political forces,  the same way Mr. Rajapaksa’s Government  was taken over by China. We all have such parallels in at our own levels. Participating in wider world events -  through those local experiences – helps us have the experience. Not having access to the benefits or being responsible for the costs and losses – makes us feel ‘free’ through that experience.

 In terms of my parallel personal experience, when I recognized that my Sri Lankan professional qualifications were not recognized here in Australia, I decided to apply for jobs that I was more likely to win. I needed the money.  The  lower status of Sri Lanka relative to Australia was helpful in this pathway. But once in the job - I always performed as per my professional standards. This helped me share my intelligence with fellow Australians – of majority class – the middleclass. Eventually this led to me being asked to stay on as consultant / contractor. Now I realize that by ‘sharing’ with fellow workers beyond the call of duty – my work value was naturally raised to policy level. To my mind, the system of democracy facilitates this so that even the worker in the smallest position is facilitated to contribute to policy when s/he shares through her/his position beyond the call of duty. Under the hierarchical system – we called this a debt/kadan  to our elders/seniors. When the debt is settled – including through gratitude – the experience gets completed. Once the experience is completed – we become Common part of the whole. Then debt becomes duty/kadamai.

The Vaddukoddai Resolution of 1976 was followed by Tamils winning Equal position in Parliament in 1977 – through the position of Opposition Leadership. We have achieved that again through the 2015 elections but we are not playing our role at national and international standards. We are not doing our Duty as Leading Opposition  -  by showing the ‘other side’ – the citizens’ side to the Government’s proposals.

The lack of active participation in the Colombo City-Project – from the point of the Common citizen – also confirms that TNA is seeking to be big in a small institution. The Duty of the Opposition is to show the side of the citizen who has had the experience and/or those to whom the project would be a liability.

As confirmed by the concept of Balance Sheet – Assets must equal Liabilities to confirm an accurate picture of sovereignty. Those who share at the total level – are owners and they are listed on the side of Liabilities – as the company taken as a separate entity,  owes them. That was one of my first lessons through our accounting guru - Mr. A.T. Benedict. The parallel of this Shareholding on the Asset side is Goodwill – the intangible Asset. In a truly sovereign entity – this goodwill will be equal to the shareholding/ownership.

Colombo Port-City issue is also about Land ownership. It is about whether China is a creditor or a shareholder. The Northern parallel is Sethu Bridge and Kachcha Theevu/Island – which are bases of cultural connections between India and Tamils of Sri Lanka. The higher mind would participate even through small opportunities. As per latest Indian news reports in regards to autonomy for Tamils one understands that:

‘Mr. Shivajilingam said Sampanthan said the current government could be more responsive to a federal arrangement and therefore, the TNA local politicians must not act indifferently at this stage.
"He said they are looking for a federal solution within an undivided Sri Lanka based on the merger of the north and eastern provinces," Shivajilingam said.
He said if the government did not accede to a federal solution, international pressure must be brought to bear upon it by the Tamils.’

Tamil Politicians depending on ‘International Pressure’ after the event – would tend to play catch-up and would have very little Goodwill credits within Sri Lanka outside their own community. This would eventually lead to their areas being ‘taken-over’ by foreigners as happened in South – with China taking over areas towards its own Maritime Silk Route. The Natural system as created by the Lord – renders  the higher return when we invest in those who are least connected to us and hence through Common Values. Where the other side is complacent – we need to make their values common to ourselves.

Had Mr. Rajapaksa contributed through Sri Lanka’s small position but using global pathways – we would not have allowed the world to enter Sri Lanka. The investment made by China would have been tangible and the terms would have been transparent. Excessive focus on producing low level wins to be displayed as victories over world terrorism – leads to opening the backdoor to foreigners. This often happens when we are indifferent to our duty to the institution as per our positions.

A local guy in Northern Sri Lanka was driven by easy donation from a member of the Diaspora, who like China wanted to show ownership without having experienced that ownership when the community was in need – the type of pressure that Mr. Sivajilingam refers to. The local guy had the ‘welfare’ mentality and hence got carried away with words rather than looking for shared experiences. Had I advised him previously – he would not have accepted it – but would have discarded it as ‘theory’. Now that he is receptive I said NOT to do both – family as well as common service – at the same time. Both leaders in the Sri Lankan armed war – had this problem of mixing family with common-service. Those who are looking to win – would be defeated by that very mix. Those who make them ‘common’ through sacrifice of benefits at the lower structural level – would have the Common experience.

As a minority party holding the position of  Leading Opposition in Parliament – the TNA has the Responsibility to show the ‘other’ side of  National & International Projects and Programs and where necessary seek and find ‘International Participation’ towards this – by sacrificing local benefits. Where an International Operator has had the Experience – the picture presented by that mind would be International and the status  would be that of the country that the person is officially part of. This could be the likes of Canada, UK etc. But in democracy this needs to be above political level and the TNA needs to openly show such partnership on ongoing basis. To go running to the International Communities confirms dependence – the same reason why the Colombo Port-City project is now presenting an ownership problem. Sacrifice is needed at the local level to get naturally promoted to the higher level. Without this it is highly likely that Tamils will also lead foreigners to interfere in Sri Lankan Politics.

As per the system of karma – when we deny those below us their earned status – we are denied our own by someone higher and/or we ‘forget’ that we are owners and instead think we are traders or welfare recipients. Experience is the ownership test. When we experience – we do not ‘see’ and v.v. The previous regime is confirmed to have had the ‘take-over’ experience. The current Government seems to be having the ‘trading’ experience. Tamils can take the other side and elevate the issue so we would have the Global experience. That would also satisfy the requirement to become Tamil Nation.