Gajalakshmi Paramasivam

22 April 2018                                         

The Ex’s avoiding the Why’s

[Sri Lanka Unites is also training these youth on how to use Social Media more effectively in order to counter hate speech, expose harmful rumors and to speak up against violent rhetoric. SLU believes that this, in tandem with grassroots engagement is key to transform the current context. Many youth have been brainwashed and bought into the hateful narratives of racism via social media. These systematic efforts to poison the hearts and minds of our children for political and nationalist gains needs to be thwarted at the root. Sri Lanka Unites looks to do this through their YouTube channel SLUTV , their facebook and instagram platforms. To do this they need the assistance of moderate Sri Lankans who are clearly the majority, to aid their efforts online and on the ground. For more information you can visit their website: www.srilankaunites.org and gain access to their social media platform from there.]- Island article ‘Sri Lanka Unites Prepares Leaders for Tomorrow –Jayantha Dhanapala’

I did as suggested above and visited www.srilankaunites.org.  I discovered that their certifiers  were:

- "Ambassador Jayantha Dhanapala" - Fmr. UN Under- Secretary General for Disarmament

- "Susil Premajayantha" - Fmr. Education Minister

"Theja Tanchangya"  - Volunteer

Ritu Sharma", (Intern at Sri Lanka Unites-Universitat Erfut)

"Eran Wickremaratne" - Fmr. Sri Lanka Unites Board of Trustees Member

"David Cameron" - Fmr. British Prime Minister

I noted also the following message flashing:

“BE THE CHANGE YOU WANT TO SEE - MAHATHMA GHANDI”

4 out of the 6 leaders above are ‘formers’ / Ex’s. As a believer in Ghandi,  I could not identify with  the picture projected by the Ex’s with the picture projected in my mind, when I read Gandhi’s message.  Recently when a close relative said something – I asked him whether he was the brother of ‘X’ or the husband of ‘Y’ speaking at that moment at that place? My question to the above leaders with colourful certificates is ‘are you ‘X’ past or ‘Y’ present?’

Let us take for example the expressions of "Ambassador Jayantha Dhanapala" - Fmr. UN Under- Secretary General for Disarmament

Is he talking as the representative of the past Administration through whom he was promoted to the above position or is he talking as the Ambassador of the victims of that Administration that he was a part of?  The roles have to be reversed for one to be able to ‘see’ and know how the other side felt and thinks now because of those feelings. Otherwise it is mere preaching to the choir  (Government) and the converted (victims who have the wisdom of experience).

At Emotional level - Desire enjoyed by one is Fear for the other at that time.  

At intellectual level – the brain recognises that Fear as being deserved by the other only when the Common yardstick is used on a lateral plane – i.e. – with zero advantage or disadvantage in the mind of the user of the yardstick. The brain must not have eustress due to advantage nor distress due to disadvantage.

At Feelings level – the other side’s pain and pleasure are ours as if we are One.

Gandhi lived as part of the victims and Felt one with them.

Politics is emotional and hence needs Equal Opposition with the right to express the ‘other side’. If one side politician has eustress the other side must present distress at the same time within that structure. One needs Equal Opportunity and therefore status to do this.

Administration is reliable only when the mind is able to use the Common ruler without favour or bias. Instead of two sides with opposite emotions, the one party’s brain divides into two equal halves in the present.

Governance happens when the Believer of the whole is at the top.

In Hindu philosophy – the above picture  is presented as  Brammah, Vishnu and Shiva respectively.

In terms of his past, at UN level,  Dr Dhanapala ought to have played the role of Shiva – the destroyer of Body Consciousness. His role as global authority on Disarmament, if successful would have prevented excessive armament by the Sri Lankan government on civilians. Since it did not – he needs to take rebirth as an ordinary citizen on the other side of the politicians who were seen and known to represent him. These victims are the Tamils & Muslims.

The fact that Tamils had earned that Equal other side of Government was upheld twice – once in 1977 and more recently in 2015. How did this happen? It happened because the mind of ordinary Sinhalese without portfolio merging with the mind of ordinary Tamil without portfolio. One who renounces earned portfolios would naturally identify with this Common Sri Lankan.

As per my Common Sri Lankan mind  – the 1972 Constitution in which ‘Buddhism foremost’ article was included – became the enemy of Articles 10 and 14(1)(e) within the same Constitution – causing internal imbalance:

10. Every person is entitled to freedom of thought, conscience and religion, including the freedom to have or to adopt a religion or belief of his choice.

14. (1) Every citizen is entitled to –

(e ) the freedom, either by himself or in association with others, and either in public or in private, to manifest his religion or belief in worship, observance, practice and teaching;

The Constitution divided the whole into two distinct entities – one with the responsibility to apply ‘ Buddhism foremost’ and the other to be ‘free’ to act as per their belief in terms of religion. The outcome was Vaddukoddai Resolution 1976  which was the other side of Buddhism foremost – i.e. – Hinduism foremost for non-Buddhists. Most of the militants were Hindus by birth. True Buddhists demoted their leaders in 1977 to confirm that equality they felt with their true other half – the coalition of religious  minorities. It happens when more and more Believe in  their home religion/area. They are the ones that do not leave home.

Recently, during a discussion between the pathway through which my generation had our  education compared to current generation have their education in Jaffna – I said - during my generation we were less distracted by the easier ways than the current generation and even my children’s generation in Jaffna. We knew we had to study to get jobs in Colombo. When my children were in last year of high school – we cut down on socializing so the whole family had nothing else to think about. That was my true inheritance from my parents – and the Jaffna Community. That heritage blooms within me as current knowledge whenever I need to guide a young one at that level.

Militants who hijacked the Independence Agenda, demoted the value of this heritage. There is no evidence that Dr Dhanapala engaged with the ‘other side’ nor advised the Sri Lankan government about the ‘other’ side of the benefits -  returning to them if two different measures were used. Wikipedia presents Dr Dhanapala’s credentials in this regard as follows:

[Dhanapala was hand picked by UN Secretary-General, Kofi Annan to take on the challenging job of Under Secretary General to re-establish the Department of Disarmament after the UN reforms of 1997 (1998–2003). During his tenure he piloted the UN role in arresting the proliferation of small arms and light weapons, anti-personnel landmines, conventional weapons, and weapons of mass destruction while reinforcing existing norms and norm-building in other areas such as missiles. He also broke new ground both in-house in taking managerial initiatives in gender mainstreaming and in work-life issues, as well as in the disarmament field by innovating the exchange of weapons for a development programme in Albania and other areas, and also in the cross-sectoral linking of disarmament with development, the environment and peace education programmes.

Dhanapala was appointed Secretary-General of the Secretariat for Coordinating the Peace Process (SCOPP) in Sri Lanka from 2004 - 2005. He was also Senior Special Advisor to both Presidents Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga and Mahinda Rajapakse during the period 2005-2007. Senior Special Advisor on Foreign Relations to President Maithripala Sirisena 12 January 2015

Candidate for the post of UN Secretary-General

Sri Lanka's civil war hobbled Dhanapala's candidacy for United Nations Secretary-General. The opposition parties in Sri Lanka joined hands with the government on the day that his candidacy was announced. ]

There is no record that Dr Dhanapala engaged with Tamil Political leaders as leading part of the ‘other half’ to identify with their feelings and form the knowledge needed by Sri Lanka that was divided on the basis of ethnicity at political level. The opportunity was available in 2002 during Ceasefire between the Government and the LTTE. I got the invitation through a UNDP project to discover the feelings of the LTTE cadre largely at middle management level.  That helped me identify with their need for ‘jobs’ – especially for the physically driven. My contributions to prevention of war within Sri Lanka, continue to include that need – intuitively felt through Common life. THAT to me is the core message that Gandhi delivered – to become the change that I want to see. If one keeps seeing the past – when one was part of the Administrators and Politicians who went wrong – one becomes blind to the ‘other’ side that became victims of the leaders.

I met Dr Dhanapala as the leader of the Friday Forum. I did note the partnership of Tamils like Dr Devanesan Nesiah but I have no knowledge of partnership with Tamil Political Adviser by position.

By 2015, Sinhalese also became common victims and scientific analysis would confirm that the Presidential elections and the Parliamentary elections were strongly influenced by Tamil votes due to Tamil National Alliance (TNA) – supporting the side against the Rajapaksa regime. Everyone who becomes a victim of Separation – be it the Rajapaksa Regime or the LTTE – caused the current structure to surface – with TNA  as the Administrative other side as per the rules of Democracy.

Those who try to fool apparent victims would influence the dismantling of the current structure. Those who renounce their high position comforts to identify with the victims will become part of the root solution. THAT heritage will sustain the next generation.

One who believes no proof and one who seeks proof except to teach others is not a believer.

As per the article – Dr Dhanapala states:

[With an annual flagship National Conference they have now assembled a national movement powered by a National Office and five Reconciliation Centres in Mullaitivu, Matara, Monaragala, Kalmunai and Nuwara Eliya (and more planned) These centres provide leadership and reconciliation training and experiential opportunities]

Reconciliation is needed only where the two sides produce Independent outcomes. This ought to have happened between Jaffna-Vaddukoddai and Colombo-Hambantota coalitions. The above places are driven by belief in the local and hearsay about the outside. Belief does not need reconciliation and hearsay does not deserve any reconciliation investment.