Gajalakshmi Paramasivam

28 January  2020

THE HOROSCOPE AND THE PARLIAMENT

Most Sri Lankans believe in the system of Karma. A good proportion believe also in the system of horoscopes. This includes the current Prime Minister of Sri Lanka Mr Mahinda Rajapaksa. To my mind, the horoscope is the Opening Balance Sheet of our current life. The net value of our operations in this lifetime would then be added to the brought forward values and the new values would be carried forward into the next period/life.

The Constitution and the laws are the horoscope / balance sheet of the Parliament. They are not necessarily the horoscope of the Nation. In 2015, when the UNP led government came into power they set out to include their life in the Bible of Sri Lankan Parliament through its secular section. This included reduction of the Executive Power through the 19^th Amendment to the Sri Lankan Constitution.

In 2015 – through the Presidential Elections the People gave the mandate to have a President who did not have supreme power that Mr Mahinda Rajapaksa had. The pain that Tamils & Muslims experienced, was experienced by the Sinhalese also when there was mental separation of communities after the war. It took more than five years for Tamils to get the courage to even express what they thought was due to them at the political level. Even of Tamil victims and Sinhala victims did not know each other – pain due to similar weakness in the leader – brings them together. Through the  Parliamentary Elections in 2015 Tamils became the leading Opposition due to their continued belief in a political solution. This happened due to the Natural Commonness between the two communities.

During the 2018 Constitutional crisis – Tamils further supported the side that was more committed to Rule of Law. The 19^th Amendment empowered Tamils who were more free than before to follow the Rule of Common Law. Repealing the 19^th Amendment would put the clock back in terms of the Partnership at Political level – which even the Tamil supporters of armed rebellion do not recognize. According to the Independent report headed ‘Sri Lanka president admits for first time that 20,000 missing from civil war are dead’ :

 

[Gotabaya Rajapaksa said death certificates would soon be issued, according to a statement from his office on Monday.

Sri Lanka's civil war, which lasted for 26 years, killed an estimated 100,000 people and left about 20,000 people, mostly Tamils, missing. 

“Most of them had been taken by the LTTE (Tamil Tiger rebels) or forcefully conscripted. The families of the missing attest to it,” the statement said.

“However they do not know what has become of them and so claim them to be missing.”

Mr Rajapaksa made his decision during a meeting with the United Nations’ resident coordinator in Colombo last week, the statement added.]

Relative to the above the Amritsar figures and the psychology of the British Armed Forces in India was presented - by the Irish Times’ article headed ‘The Amritsar massacre: a cold, callous display of colonial evil’ -  as follows:

[When the troops had finished firing, they had used 1,650 rounds, killed at least 379 people (the number the British were prepared to admit to; the Indian figures are considerably higher) and wounded 1,137. Barely a bullet was wasted, Dyer noted with satisfaction.

…..In the horrified realisation of this truth by Indians of all walks of life lay the true importance of the Jallianwala Bagh massacre. It represented the worst that colonialism could become, and, by letting it occur, the British crossed that point of no return that exists only in the minds of men – that point which, in any unequal relationship, both master and subject must instinctively respect if their relationship is to survive. ]

It was this massacre that became the turning point in the Independence Movement led by Gandhi who sacrificed much to share in the pain of the less powerful Indian. It is reported that :

[On his deathbed, Dyer reportedly said:

So many people who knew the condition of Amritsar say I did right...but so many others say I did wrong. I only want to die and know from my Maker whether I did right or wrong]

Likewise the Armed leaders of Sri Lanka who ordered the killings in the Sri Lankan war. As per my direct experience of the victims’ pain – the loss was greater due to the Armed Forces than the LTTE. In the Amritsar massacre also – Rebels were thought to be the reason:

[Michael O'Dwyer, then the Lieutenant Governor of Punjab, was one of the strongest proponents of the act, in no small part due to the Ghadarite threat in the province]

[Ghadar Mutiny was a plan to initiate a pan-Indian mutiny in the British Indian Army in February 1915 to end the British Raj in India] Wikipedia

Had the then British Raj and now the Sri Lankan Raj been in touch with the law abiding civil society – they  would have not crossed that Border of Sovereignty   within which the relationship between citizen and governor is recognized. Once they cross that Border – they are become foreigners. One needs Truth to see oneself. Senior  who cares about the junior  would become that mirror of truth to that extent. That is the Law of Truth. The next best alternative is Common Experience through which we know each other. The law that flows from that Common Experience – is the measure where such a Mirror is not available.

As per the above author :

[The Amritsar Massacre represented the worst that colonialism could become, and, by letting it occur, the British crossed that point of no return that exists only in the minds of men – that point which, in any unequal relationship, both master and subject must instinctively respect if their relationship is to survive]

The Rajapaksa government was not any more guilty than their predecessors who considered themselves to be the heirs to the throne of Lanka. But they were also excited about ‘winning’ by weakening LTTE  during the 2005 Presidential elections. Money was LTTE’s weakness. They became mercenaries  once they accepted money from the very side they claimed to Oppose. The stated purpose thus was proven false.

The current Government is a foreign government to those who were abandoned by them as LTTE subjects.  The statement [Most of them had been taken by the LTTE (Tamil Tiger rebels) or forcefully conscripted. The families of the missing attest to it,”]

Even if we accept that as true – what about the few of us whose relatives were killed by the Strategy of the Rajapaksa government that failed to protect civilians and also failed to facilitate the Service Groups that the civilians trusted?

Those driven by benefits – are incapable of forming strategy. Mr Mahinda Rajapaksa confirmed this through the 2018 crisis. THIS is the reason why they seek to repeal the 19th Amendment to the Constitution – so they could go back to de facto basis. A true law needs Truth as its root. Articles such as ‘President assigns Immigration and Emigration Dept. to State Defence Minister’ and ‘President’s power to perform duties of a cabinet minister questioned.’ confirm this De Facto basis which is driven by most current outcomes. The arrange ‘facts’ laterally and are the parallels of ‘First Past the Post’ system of counting majority vote power. When majority follow ‘de facto’ system – laws based on True experiences are suppressed.

Understanding 19^th Amendment requires deep learning of Law. UNP may not be in government any more. But their ‘Strategy’ will continue to maintain the lawful relationship between Government and Citizen within the Sovereign borders of a higher order.