Gajalakshmi Paramasivam
11 March 2018
Mistresses
in Parliament
We
don’t need to go to the UN nor have any Commissions of Inquiry. When we look at
ourselves through our own true structures, we would know which order we belong
in.
Political
Affiliations are naturally orderly when we have structures that have evolved on
the basis of our own Truth. There is a natural grouping that happens due to
such structures. However elementary such a structure may be the Truth on which it
is based has Absolute Power. That is the law of Nature. In Sri Lanka, we use the
religious pathway towards realizing this Absolute Power. The money-rich countries seek this through
common secular systems. Without this structure an institution is merely an
Association of Individuals. The whole will be equal to the sum of the
individuals at this mere Association level. The value of the whole becomes greater
than the sum of its individual parts only when there are forces that are not
visible.
Some
of these forces could be known through scientific calculations. Others could be
identified with only through deep belief. I believe that this is Absolute Energy.
Mr Harsha Gunasena –
in his Daily FT article ‘Duality of the general
public and the Parliamentarians’, presents the following about the
psychology of Sri Lankan Parliament as experienced by TNA’s (Tamil National
Alliance) Leadership heir the Hon M A Sumanthiran, as follows:
[Member of Parliament M.A. Sumanthiran was a
panellist at the Panel Discussion on ‘Mindfulness in Policy Making, Governance and Diplomacy’
on day two (25 February) of the Global Mindfulness Summit 2018 held at the Sri
Lanka Foundation Institute.
He added colour to the panel discussion and said he would reveal a secret. It
was announced sometime ago that for a period of one hour of every day, there
would be a live streaming of the sessions of Parliament. This was a precursor
to the current unrestricted live streaming of the parliamentary sessions.
The audience expected that the MP would say that all the MPs behaved nicely
during the said period and they would have started the normal behaviour after
that. To our astonishment he said what happened was completely the opposite.
MPs behaved very badly and accused each other during that period of one hour
and their behaviour was calm after that. He said they were playing to the
gallery and if the gallery thinks that listening is better than fighting, they
will listen. ]
As
a member of the Tamil Community I presented, on 09 March the following picture of Tamils during the time Muslims were in need
of the support by other minorities – especially Tamils who by their very
position in National Parliament through TNA confirm the presence of the Latent
power that makes Sri Lankan Parliament’s worth to be greater than the sum of
its individuals:
My article was headed ‘GTF & TNA Contradiction’ with
the message that they were talking about missing persons when minority problems
were surfacing in Sri Lanka.
Today, I noted the results through
the Island of March 10, the report headed:
[Global
Tamil Forum calls for stern action against those responsible for perpetrating
anti-Muslim violence in Sri Lanka]
As per my true structure, the above condemnation was
brought out by the deeper a community that was not merely an Association of
Individuals but an Institution capable
of upholding reliable order. Every person who contributes to an issue through
her/his Truth – contributes to that extent, Institutional Value, to the environment
that that person is a part of.
In the above picture of Fight, Flight and Freeze
theory of Psychology – TNA is shown as being in frozen mode in terms of Tamil
Tigers.
As per the above article ‘Mindfulness in Policy Making, Governance and Diplomacy’ Parliamentarians behave
differently under two different scenarios. I learnt about Fight, Flight or Freeze theory from my granddaughter’s textbook in
Psychology. I already had deep wisdom in Psychology needed by my environment, through
my deep lessons in life. Likewise, I leant the terminology ‘mindfulness’ from
my friend Accounting Pushpa Muthumala – a Buddhist - when my friend used it to
describe how she received what I was saying. This is that third dimension that
we all carry as per our own Truth.
Here
in the Sydney suburb of Coogee, I connect to the pain of Indigenous Australians
who were displaced to facilitate leisure facilities for the British. Deep
within me – I made the connection between this karma and the Bali bombing in
2002 in which about 25% of the Australian victims were from Coogee. Real pain
remains forever and could be offset at that time at that place only through a
believer with positive energy.
TNA’s
Freeze came to my mind, due to my
experience with the University of Jaffna – the Institution of Higher Education
in Mr Sumanthiran’s electorate. How the political victory of Mr Sumanthiran was claimed was presented as follows by Daily
News on 20 September 2017 under the heading ‘ Mavai Senathirajah’s landmark decision’ (Appendix) Intellectual discussions were reported to have been held in this Institution of Higher Education which
is expected to represent the claim of Tamils as an intellectually driven
community. Interestingly to me, the difference between the terms ‘Federal’ and ‘Confederation’ is the difference between
Association and Institution. When
Political parties are not bound by a common value the Parliament is a Confederation
of Political Parties. Then the areas in which such Political Parties have
majority power would qualify for secession under the laws of Nature – a reason why many
young families mentally move away from their parents.
The recent Local Government elections have
confirmed that the Political Parties in
Jaffna are showing tendency towards Confederation. This is highlighted as
follows in the Daily News article:
[But many
intellectuals are becoming disenchanted with the TNA, Thananchayan said,
believing they were “too compromised.”
“The TNA is not very strong in demands and wishes to work
with the government,” he said.
Instead, young people and intellectuals are looking for a
new path to self-determination, separate from the violence of the LTTE, but
also different than the political calculus of the TNA.
This has led to some supporting the Tamil National People’s
Front, a breakaway from the TNA launched in 2010.]
As per this Daily News article,
Professor K. Guruparan, head of the
Department of Law at the University of Jaffna, seems to be one of those seeking
Confederation. Likewise at the political
level TNPF headed by Mr Gajendrakumar
Ponnambalam, the grandson of the Hon G G Ponnambalam who wanted 50% representation of minority dominated electorates
in National Parliament.
Let us check whether the University of Jaffna is a Federal structure or confederation structure – i.e.
an Association of its different faculties. In his letter of Dismissal of an
Academic, dated 08 March 2018, the Vice Chancellor of the University of Jaffna,
where Professor Guruparan is reported to be the head of Law, wrote:
[The
Council having noted the contents of the formal inquiry report, acting in terms
of the provisions in the sections 12:4 & 12:5 of chapter XII of the
Establishment code of the Universities Grants Commission and the Higher Education Institutions and the powers vested to the
Council of the University under the section 45(2)(XII) of the Universities Act,
decided that you be dismissed from the post of Senior Lecturer Grade 1 in Music
with effect from 14.10.2015 on which you were served notice of interdiction on
the grounds that the above charges against you are proved in the formal inquiry.]
The letter opens with reference to Charge
Sheet dated 01.07.2017. On the face of the above document itself, one is
entitled to conclude that the interdiction
took place on 14.10.2015 before charge
sheet was issued on 01.07.2017.
To one Bound by the Establishments Code of the University Grants
Commission and the Higher Educational
Institutes and by the Universities Act No. 16 of 1978 ,
consciously or subconsciously, the University of Jaffna would be an Institution
with firm position structures. To one who is not so bound, but uses its power, the
University of Jaffna is an Association of Individuals. To the current Vice
Chancellor who wrote the above letter of dismissal, the University is an
Association. The following confirm that the Vice Chancellor was not so bound by
the law:
(1)Chapter XII of the said
Establishments Code states in paragraph 1:1 (b) :
1:1 The disciplinary authorities of the University
Grants Commission and of Higher Educational Institutions are:
(b) The Council of a University in respect of the
staff of the University- provided that, except
in the case of Officers and Teachers disciplinary powers may be delegated to
the Vice Chancellor.
Section 45(2)(xii) of the Act
(2) Section
45(2)(xii) of the Universities
Act No. 16 of 1978 provides as follows:
(a)
Section 45:
45. (1) Subject to the provisions of this Act, the
Council shall exercise the powers and perform and discharge the duties and
functions conferred or imposed on, or assigned to, the University.
(2)
Without prejudice to the generality of the
powers conferred upon it by subsection (1), the Council shall exercise, perform
and discharge the following powers, duties and functions:-
(xii)
to appoint persons to, and to suspend, dismiss or otherwise punish persons in
the employment of, the University:
Provided that, except
in the case of Officers and teachers, these powers may be delegated to the
Vice-Chancellor;
The Vice Chancellor in
the University of Jaffna of Mr
Sumanthiran’s electorate, by expressly referring to Section 45(2)(xii) in the case of an
Academic has confirmed acting in breach of the law and abused the name of law
to deliver his own judgment or the judgment of those whom he is fearful of to
dismiss an Associate. If the Council had taken on the authority, the applicable
section is Section 45 (1) of the Act.
In the above matter,
I highlighted the provisions of Section 45(2)(xii)
, on the basis of which the Fundamental Rights Petition filed in the Supreme
Court was duly amended. I believe, I noted it due to my absorption of the Unlawful
Discrimination pain at the University of NSW. Hence I believe I carry that
latent Energy to help the needy – which in this instance is the University of
Jaffna where militancy has seriously diluted Institutional powers. Associates
in a ‘free environment’ become subdued in an Institutional environment. Hence
the duality in Sri Lankan Parliament. Likewise at the University of Jaffna
including by law experts the Hon M A Sumanthiran and Professor Guruparan whose 2012
report in the above matter was never published, despite the person being
investigated, asking for it.
The question posed at
the end of the article is :
[But
people such as Guruparan and Thananchayan wonder: “Can they trust the results
of a process where they believe they’ve sacrificed so much, where they must go
to the Supreme Court just to affirm their right to self-determination?]
The victims of abuse
of Administrative power by the Administrators of the University of Jaffna –
many of whom have been dismissed on the claim of sexual harassment charges by
junior staff and students, without any evidence even in academic areas where records
would be available but were suppressed, would also ask the above question in
terms of their lost positions and opportunities to earn income.
Mr Harsha Gunasena
highlights Gandhi’s contribution to unity as follows:
[Mahatma Gandhi
conducted his last hunger strike demanding the rights of the Muslims ]
The best a person can
do is to forego her/his own earned pleasures. When such is done in good faith –
by one to whom the whole and s/he are one – Natural Forces come to her/his
support. That was how TNA become Equal Opposition in Sri Lankan parliament,
including through members of the LTTE who believed that they were fighting for
self-determination. That power will
support any true believer seeking the militant pathway but did/does so without
damaging any other who is also so seeking. They would share their powers with
the Muslims, consciously or subconsciously.
Mr Harsha Gunasena refers
to the De Facto Opposition as follows: Those
sub-committees were headed by Mahinda Samarasinghe, Rauff Hakeem, Sagala
Ratnayaka, Bandula Gunawardana, Susil Premajayantha and Dharmalingam Sithadthen
respectively. They have different political affiliations and all the parties
represented in the parliament were represented in those committees, including
the Joint Opposition. The reports of these sub-committees were published and
were available on the web but there was insufficient public debate on those
reports.
The Mistress and the Wife cannot be indiscriminately recognized at the same level at the same time, unless the mistress is driven by Truth and Truth alone. When the Joint Opposition is recognized in National Parliament, the Parliament demotes itself to Mistress status. The Official wife in National Parliament is the TNA. The other group is an Association of those driven by de facto mentality – as LTTE was. Sri Lankan Government needs such groups to the extent it is lacking in structural powers of institution. Duality is part of their makeup – as is alternating between pleasure and pain.
Appendix
http://www.dailynews.lk/2017/09/20/features/128687/mavai-senathirajah%E2%80%99s-landmark-decision
Mavai Senathirajah’s landmark decision
Jaffna University
During the
month of August, amidst a summer dominated by high-level political resignations
and firings, the Supreme Court of Sri Lanka ruled on a major case.
A
Three-Judge Bench, including Chief Justice Priyasath Dep, found that Tamil
political parties who were advocating for an increased sharing of power under a
new Federal model, were not breaking the law.
“These
parties did not support, espouse, promote, finance, encourage or advocate the
establishment of a separate State within the territory of Sri Lanka,” Chief
Justice Dep noted in his decision.
A finding in
the opposite direction would have been crippling for parties such Illankai
Thamil Arasu Kadchchi, or ITAK: arguing for secession is a crime in Sri Lanka
under the Sixth Amendment to the Constitution.
At the time,
many in civil society, especially Tamil political parties, celebrated
Chandrasoma v. Mavai Senathirajaha’s a “landmark” decision.
But a month
later, some were beginning to question as to how significant the decision
actually was.
A long - fought battle
Recently, in
an airy top-floor lecture hall at the University of Jaffna one afternoon, M. A.
Sumanthiran defended his hard fought decision in front of the Supreme Court.
 |
Sumanthiran,
who is a Member of Parliament for the Jaffna District and a leading Counsel on
the case, said the Supreme Court’s decision was a “direction changer” for
politics in this country.
The court
“had no necessity to go this distance in this particular case,” he said. “But
they have.”
Sumanthiran
traced the long battle leading to the judges’ unanimous opinion. The petition
was originally filed against the ITAK, a constituent party of the Tamil
National Alliance, by Hikkadu Koralalage Don Chandrasoma, a resident of
Kelaniya, in 2014.
He alleged
that the ITAK was a political party whose ‘aims’ and ‘objects’ were the
establishment of a separate State within the territory of Sri Lanka. If so,
under Article 157A of the Constitution, the party’s members could be stripped
of their office as well as their property which was not necessary for the
sustenance of such a person and his family.
The
petitioner focused on a section of the party’s constitution to build up his
case. Its English translation reads: “The objective of this party is to
establish political, economic and cultural liberation among the Tamil speaking
people by way of forming an autonomous Tamil Government and autonomous Muslim
Government as part of the united federal Sri Lanka in accordance with the
principles of self - determination.”
But Lawyers
for Chandrasoma said the party’s constitution had been amended in 2008 to
replace the word ‘federal’ with confederation,’ which means an alliance between
separate and sovereign states, rather than allied states under a central
government.
Sumanthiran
and his legal team however, countered that point, arguing that the petitioner
had misunderstood the Tamil word in question. In 2008, the Party did change the
Constitution’s wording, he said, to replace the Sanskritized “samashdi” with
the pure Tamil “inaippadchi.”
The Official
Languages Commission agreed with position.
In response,
the petitioner acknowledged that the word did not meant confederation, but
argued that the act of advocating for self-determination in itself involved
attaining an independent state.
But once
again, the court sided with ITAK. “It is clear that the right to
self-determination has had an internal dimension, in that, it could be
exercised within the country to the benefit of a ‘people,’ inside the country,”
the Chief Justice wrote.
The judges
dismissed Chandrasoma’s petition on August 4th.
Sumanthiran
stressed that this was a major achievement.
“So the
significance of the judgement is that it says it is not illegal, it is not
unlawful and it is not unconstitutional to claim to have a system of government
based on a federal form, based on the principle of right to self-determination
and shared sovereignty,” Sumanthiran said.
He said
these findings provide Tamil parties important legitimacy and leverage at the
bargaining table of the new Constitution-making process.
Counterpoint
“The fact
that a political party in Sri Lanka has to go through the Supreme Court and
convince Court that they are not advocating for secession, is in itself an
attack on free speech,” he said.
Guruparan
added that he believed the Sixth Amendment to the Constitution which
criminalizes advocating for secession, should be done away with.
He agreed
with Sumanthiran that the Court’s ruling “goes against the grain” of previous
government decisions.
But pointed
to specific parts of the opinion he found troublesome.
Although the
decision legitimized the political parties’ ability to advocate for a federal
form of power-sharing, it does not explicitly say if arguing for a
confederation model is the same as arguing for secession.
In fact, the
Court had taken great pains to make sure the ITAK was promoting a “federal”
form of government, rather than a “confederation.”
Guruparan
said that presently, it was not clear if parties that argue for a confederation
model, where sovereign states give a specified set of functions to a central
authority, such as the European Union, would now stand in violation of the
Constitution.
The language
of the decision, he said, gives a “problematic, rigid interpretation of what a
unitary state means.”
“We need to
be careful,” he added.
Shifting the political landscape
After the
forum, Sinnarasa Thananchayan, a Law student of the University of Jaffna, said
the two men’s positions represented a fundamental change happening in Tamil
politics.
Sumanthiran’s
position was rooted in the landscape of a party politician, where the currency
is measurable political wins and losses. “I’ve consistently argued these
concepts in front of the courts,” he had said earlier. “This is a direction
change.”
But many
intellectuals are becoming disenchanted with the TNA, Thananchayan said,
believing they were “too compromised.”
“The TNA is
not very strong in demands and wishes to work with the government,” he said.
Instead,
young people and intellectuals are looking for a new path to
self-determination, separate from the violence of the LTTE, but also different
than the political calculus of the TNA.
This has led
to some supporting the Tamil National People’s Front, a breakaway from the TNA
launched in 2010.
Thananchayan
said the TNPF argues more forcefully for recognition of the Tamil identity, a
strong federal system of government and accountability for war crimes.
The decision
in Chandrasoma v. Mavai Senathirajah may give the Tamil parties a stronger
position in the new constitution-making process.
But people
such as Guruparan and Thananchayan wonder: “Can they trust the results of a
process where they believe they’ve sacrificed so much, where they must go to
the Supreme Court just to affirm their right to self-determination?
If they get
a new Constitution, would it actually represent their interests?
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