Gajalakshmi Paramasivam

14 October  2019

BEWARE OF THE ANNIVERSARIES MR RAJAPAKSA!

In the Northern Sri Lankan town of Vaddukoddai, where the first Tamil Political Declaration of Independence was made in 1976, there is hardly any criticism of militants or the armed forces. From time to time one hears words of praise for the militants and often when one is willing to listen – one hears about the pain and loss during war. That is more or less the political face of Tamil militancy. Jaffna is of similar make up right now. There are areas in North where people are openly agitating and demanding answers from the government.  Then there is active condemnation of the Sri Lankan Government within the Tamil Diaspora which includes a good proportion of former militants. The way each nation positions them would vary and one would be able to work out the respective government’s intent from their action or inaction.

Last year, here in Australia, we learnt about the arrest of UNSW student Mr Kamer Nizamdeen from Sri Lanka,  on terrorism charges. I was not surprised because of my own experience at the University of NSW where weak Administrators naturally  infected the NSW Police. By allowing myself to go through that experience as per the position allocated to me by the above partners – I learnt the true position of Sri Lanka in the minds of the Australian who identifies her/himself with the government elected by majority. That is our reality. As per the migrants who left Sri Lanka to make a life here in Australia – on the basis of the war in Sri Lanka, Sri Lanka is a country that carries high risk of war. In an open environment, unsettled conflicts get carried as positive or negative genes as per our truth.

The arrest of alleged supporters of LTTE  recently in Malaysia was reported by Strait Times of Singapore also as follows:

[Malaysia nabs 5 more Tamil Tigers 'followers'; says don't confuse with plight of Sri Lanka Tamils

Malaysian counter-terrorism chief Datuk Ayob Khan said there was nothing wrong in sympathising with the Tamils in Sri Lanka, but it is an offence to support the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam as they are a terror group

He said this on Sunday (Oct 13) as Malaysian police came under criticism after it detained five more Malaysians in a swoop against what it said were followers and symphathisers of the defunct LTTE, bringing the total arrested to 12.

Two of the seven men arrested in the first swoop last week were ethnic-Indian assemblymen from the Democratic Action Party (DAP), part of the ruling Pakatan Harapan (PH) coalition]

That distinction is necessary for an officer responsible to uphold order as per the law. If Dharma were to prevail, the same law must apply to the other side – which is the government of Sri Lanka – especially in the case of politicians who are promising ‘freedom’ from law to their side in the war.

Star Online reported as follows about how Tamil leaders in Malaysia interpreted the Police action:

[The seven people arrested for their alleged links to the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) militant group should be charged under the Penal Code, says Penang Deputy Chief Minister II Dr P. Ramasamy .

He said they should not be detained under the Security Offences (Special Measures) Act (Sosma) 2012 for 28 days.

“The police should show evidence and bring them to court.

“Use the Penal Code on them, where they would have a chance to defend themselves.

“Sosma and the Sedition Act are draconian laws which have yet to be repealed by the Pakatan Harapan government, ” Ramasamy said when met at his office at Komtar.]

When it comes to Political arrests – the parallel action at government level ought to be to expressly disassociate with the political group  that   promises to release those who have been found guilty of   parallel offence by the Judiciary. The following Sunday Observer cartoon says it all – on behalf of Sri Lankans who are committed to upholding the law:

One of the reasons for the arrest  was interpreted to be for attending the war-memorial service

[Ramasamy said he was not aware of the activities of Saminathan and Gunasegaran prior to their arrests.

“All I know is they attended a war memorial for war victims in Melaka last year, which is not tantamount to a crime.

“Is it a crime to attend a war memorial for war victims or be sympathetic to the Rohingya, Tamilians and Hamas?” he said.] Star Online

Memorials when they are for the purpose of ‘showing’ – activate  the past. The Rajapaksas are activating  the past after claiming that they eliminated the LTTE. To the extent LTTE were part of the Tamil community – every civilian Tamil has the right to mourn and inherit their courage and motivational Energy. Genuine Memorials are healthy because they help us to raise the good of the dead to the higher level and/or clean the bad in the dead by our good and thus inherit their good. That which is healthy for the civilian is healthy for the nation.  Time Anniversaries and Place activate or settle such past. University of NSW and NSW Police carries that unsettled karma that caused pain and loss to me – an Australian committed to the lawful path – followed by Truth that the law led me to. In the case of Rajapaksa group – one can observe the pattern through Time anniversaries.

To my mind the Rajapaksas are activating the past for current advantage. Their opposition would also then react to it and invoke their (opposition’s) side. The sixth amendment to the Sri Lankan Constitution came about due to the Vaddukoddai Resolution and the July ‘83 massacre of Tamils. It restricted minorities as follows:

[No political party or other association or organization shall have one of its objectives or aims in the establishment of a separate state within the territories of Sri Lanka]

The 13^th Amendment to the constitution provided for devolution of power to the Provinces in addition to recognizing Tamil also as the  official language and English as the link language. This happened in 1987 due to India’s influence – which effectively nullified the sixth amendment.

The interesting Déjà vu happened around the anniversary of the 6^th Amendment. The 6^th Amendment became effective in August 1983. As per Wikipedia:

[On 11 August 2019, Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna led by former president Mahinda Rajapaksa announced that Gotabaya Rajapaksa will be their candidate for the 2019 Presidential election]

The 13^th Amendment became effective on 14 November 1987. The 2015 elections were called in November 2014. The current President proclaimed the dissolution of the Parliament, followed by Mr Mahinda Rajapaksa leaving SLFP the ancestral party to join SLPP  followed by the staying of the Presidential proclamation – all happened in November 2013. During this – Tamil Politicians were active as Equals and the victory of the UNP was the victory of Tamils also.

As per my feelings – the outcome of the 2015 elections as well as the above Constitutional crisis  are the parallels of  the 1977 elections preceded by the Vaddukoddai Resolution 1976, have had a net positive effect for the Tamil community including through the appointment of a Tamil Governor – Dr Ragavan, by the current President. This gives Tamil civilians the hope to continue along the political pathway to confirm our Equal status as a Sovereign community.

Unless therefore members of the Tamil community also ‘activate’ the LTTE towards current benefits – instead of genuinely mourning the death of the civilians including within the LTTE – we would become entitled to further confirmation of our Equality through the November 2019 Presidential elections.

Time and Place carry the Truth of ancestral powers. When we respect them they become positive spirits that protect us. When we make them current benefits – they become ghosts. This is the way the ordinary folks of Tamil culture would project their own future – provided they are not distracted by false promises.