Gajalakshmi Paramasivam – 08 February  2015

Indonesia’s Lack of Authority  to Kill Australians

 Does any country have the right to kill the subject of another country? This is the question, we as a nation need to ask when foreign governments kill our own. I have been asking this question ever since I felt as my own, the pain of Myuran Sukumaran’s mother. Every genuine mother who thus shares in the feelings of Myuran’s family would add strength to the family. Death in the hands of ‘foreigners’ is not new to the Tamil Community of Sri Lankan origin. To the extent we are genuine in our protests against occupation of  Northern Sri Lanka by Sinhalese Armed Forces we would reject the Death Sentence by the Indonesian Government -  against Myuran – who is also of Sri Lankan Tamil origin. Both are immoral due to lack of Common Faith. Playing god without the basic requirements would bring about serious negative karma for the individual.  Where  the act  is  covered by law, the returns are for the whole group covered by such law – with greater degree of impact on the law makers – the government.  

Death at surface level is the opposite of Birth. It is why we die that makes it negative or positive. We remember and celebrate  the dead in diverse ways on the basis of value added or taken away due to the life of the person. Tamils who celebrate on Heroes Day, the lives of those who died in the ethnic war in Sri Lanka,  have the duty to do all they can to protect Mayuran Sukumaran from dying in the hands of ‘foreigners’. 

Every Government that would die for its People earns the right to kill as a last resort to protect the life of its People. The confirmation of having earned this right to kill  is tested through :

1.      Whether the individual being killed is believed by the killer to be part of her/himself through common faith or

2.      Whether the individual being killed had the intention or her/his actions had the effect of killing the killer and/or the people who were bound to the killer by common faith.

The former is internal punishment from which the community learns and the latter is to protect one’s ‘home’ from  external dangers. The Indonesian Government killing Australians would fall within the latter category. Unless majority Indonesians are global minded and/or consider Australia to be part of their ‘home’,  the Indonesian Government has the responsibility  to prove to itself and satisfy itself  that the actions of the Australians were intended to kill Indonesians and/or would have been the sole reason for the death of Indonesians. Unless such criteria are satisfied – the killing of foreigners would amount to murder by abuse of  political power.

This issue was discussed recently in relation to allegations of War Crimes against the Sri Lankan Government during the ethnic war. One member of the  Sri Lankan Diaspora wrote about his assessment of the LTTE (Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam) as foreigners and the government as being ‘internal’:

‘With regards to the ‘war’, I recall receiving reports of all the assassinations being committed (mostly by the LTTE – the most notable being my close friend Neelan Thiruchelvan).  On the other hand President Premadasa I was told was responsible for the death of two of my other friends (Denzil Kobbekaduwa and Richard de Soyza).  For those who I hear singing the praises of Premadasa:  apparently he was also responsible for Lalith Athulathmudali’s death.

   

Meanwhile Prabhakaran had apparently morphed from liberation fighter into a monster (as history will show happens to all such leaders).  He apparently had cordoned off the North and NE of the country and in fact had achieved his Eelam (complete with his own  laws).  The innocent people in those areas had little choice but to go along with this arrangement – with their sons and daughters also being forcefully conscripted into the LTTE I was told.’

To the  Sri Lankan Government elected by majority Sinhalese,  Tamils – including the LTTE - were ‘outsiders’ as per natural laws based on common faith. It is to protect against injustices that devolution is provided for when either side is conscious of being outside the circle of faith of the other. LTTE was not elected by Tamils to represent them. LTTE nominated itself the leader – through the power of the gun.  To kill  Neelan Thiruchelvan through the system of Natural Justice  – LTTE needed to be elected to a position above Neelan, with the authority of greater common faith than Neelan in the community common to both. As per my assessment – Neelan was an outsider to LTTE. Unless Neelan acted to kill LTTE in the territory that the latter believed to be its territory – LTTE did not have the right to kill Neelan. By killing outsiders – to ‘show’ power  - the LTTE earned the karma of being killed by the group that was Neelan’s home group – the Government of Sri Lanka where Neelan belonged naturally  through his higher investment.

Indonesians could likewise bring upon the death penalty on themselves by the groups that these Australians are natural parts of.  Myuran for example is part of a Hindu family.  Hence on the basis of faith – Hindu Bali is ‘home’ ground for Myran’s family and they are entitled to be judged by Hindus in terms of  offenses that attract the death penalty. If Myuran is killed by a ‘foreigner’ despite his natural rights to repent and live a better life – the killer’s home group – in this instance the Muslim Indonesian government – would be infected by the ‘excess’ over just punishment as per common faith.

Indonesia is naturally divided  through  various religions. Where there is no common law to kill to punish – for example global laws that Indonesian Government  has bound itself by – the killing of foreigners by Indonesians amounts to murder. The return karma would manifest  to affect the children of those who caused such excessive punishments. LTTE that killed Neelan was thus killed by the Sri Lankan Government. The Sri Lankan Government that killed non-LTTE Tamils, in turn  fell due to global powers working through the United Nations.

Indonesian Government would be wise to limit its punishment to repatriation of foreigners to their  home nations – after short periods of imprisonment to cleanse the Indonesian soil of any infections during the time of stay. Given that the Bali Nine were transiting – this infection would have been pretty weak.  We  got back David Hicks from American prison despite Terrorism charges.  The Australian Government needs to work through its Muslim Community to have the Bali Nine repatriated to Australia or take measures through the United Nations to punish the Indonesian Government.

Prince Arjuna who is a hero in Bali faith – killed his own family elder’s body to uphold Justice – as per the path Arjuna learnt from Lord Krishna. But Prince Thuriyothanan killed Arjuna’s son Abhimanyu by cheating during the war. This is an opportunity for the Indonesian Government to strengthen its contribution to Natural Justice which works independent of human laws. That would protect Indonesia from suffering due to Natural Disasters. Towards this one needs to believe in the purpose for which one is killing. If it is to uphold Global Dharma – then the Indonesian government is acting like Arjuna. If it is for any lesser purpose – then the Indonesian government is contributing to Global Adharma (Injustice) as did Thuriyothanan.