Gajalakshmi Paramasivam – 31 October  2015

Australian Peter Norman contributing to American Liberation

Sri Lankan Tree of Sovereignty

I learnt through Uthayan Newspapers which has its head office in Tamil Heartland of Jaffna – that Councilor Samantha Ratnam has become Mayor of the city where our son lives with his family. It felt good – as if we were part of the Governance in that area. If not for my deep commitment to balancing the ethnic powers in Sri Lanka – I am not likely to have made this discovery. I sent a congratulatory note to Mayor Ratnam and then shared the news with our  children in Melbourne. As if in reward, this morning I received email from a fellow Australian of Sri Lankan origin about Australian Peter Norman who is presented to us as follows: http://www.filmsforaction.org/articles/the-white-man-in-that-photo/#.VhrsM2saF0U.facebook

[ Norman was a white man from Australia, a country that had strict apartheid laws, almost as strict as South Africa. There was tension and protests in the streets of Australia following heavy restrictions on non-white immigration and discriminatory laws against aboriginal people, some of which consisted of forced adoptions of native children to white families.].

Today other Australians are benefiting from the deep sacrifices by good and honorable men like Peter Norman whose simple gesture in wearing the Human Rights Medal along with two Black Americans went a long way towards Australia becoming global. Without such sacrifices Ms Ratnam could not have become Mayor of Victorian City of Moreland.

This leads us to the question as to whether the Australian Government was wrong back then with its White-Australia policy? Did the Separation protect White Australians from becoming as easy-going as Indigenous Australians? Did that Separation contribute strongly to today’s Australia standing tall enough to facilitate a colored female becoming Mayor? My spiritual guru’s example comes to mind. The essence of it is that - when a plant is young we need to fence and protect it – so it would not be attacked by animals. Once that plant grows tall it provides shade to those very same animals. By migrating to Australia, Ms Ratnam’s family has confirmed that they did not suffer due to British rule but that they suffered more under Sinhalese rule which empowered the rough voters. As per published details:

[Aged 6 at the time, Cr Ratnam said she remembered the 1983 riots in Colombo that gave rise to the country’s 30-year internal war, including her family being split as they took refuge when Sinhalese Sri Lankans burnt Tamil Sri Lankans’ homes.

“I remember seeing the streets burning and for the first time seeing adults crying,” she said.

“It was an experience that changes you in many ways, but going through it together with family helped the healing.”

Her family left Sri Lanka in 1987 and Cr Ratnam said it wasn’t until she moved to Brunswick seven years ago that she felt at home.]

I identify with this FEELING of Burnswick the suburb chosen by our son when he migrated from Sydney to Melbourne. This to my mind happens when others of similar spirit have made ‘home-investments’ in that area. The Land attracts you if you are of its type. Ms Pearl Thevanayagam a well known Sri Lankan Journalist – also a victim of 1983 riots - similarly is outstanding in her own field. Neither of them could have succeeded without the maturity to integrate at the higher level or have the courage to declare independence at lower level. I chose the latter pathway and accepted my status as a migrant as per MY generation Australians.

In 1983 – the then Sri Lankan Government headed by President Jayawardene reacted to the LTTE which killed 13 Sri Lankan soldiers. Had Mr. Jayawardene respected the verdict of Truth through the voters which like in 2015 resulted in the Tamil Political Group becoming Leading Opposition in Parliament – he would not have rewritten the Constitution in 1978 to go back in time – towards Monarchical rule – the parallel of foreign rule that Sinhalese are now complaining about in terms of the American sponsored UN resolution. Like Place – Time also could make one ‘foreigner’.  

One who comes to power as per a particular structure has the responsibility to respect and uphold that structure unless changing the structure was the mandate on which s/he comes to power. A good leader needs only her/his Truth to uphold harmony and express it through policies based on existing laws. Sri Lankan Politicians have strongly been influenced by India’s power due to Tamils in both countries. To the extent a Sri Lankan Tamil believes that Sri Lanka is her/his home – s/he protects Sri Lanka from Indian invasion. What matters is that feeling of Sovereignty and not how large the Land that represents it is. Thus a Sri Lankan Tamil who feels Sri Lankan, would protect Sri Lanka’s Sovereignty more than a Sinhalese who actively claims ‘Sovereignty’ without feeling one with the Common Sri Lankan. Until therefore such persons realize Sovereignty they need to be segregated through Powers - so they would not damage the Sri Lankan Tree of Sovereignty.

Colombo where Ms Ratnam’s family lived – is by its very nature the Common Capital of Sri Lanka. Be it Sinhalese or Tamils to whom Colombo is not ‘home’ – they have to learn the Common culture. It could be expressed in any language but the culture must be Colombo.

 Mr. Jayawardene who lived in Colombo demonstrated desire for fame by moving  the Parliament in 1982 - to Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte  (also known as Kotte) - a suburb of Colombo, described as follows in Wikipedia : [ In 1391, following the conquest of the Jaffna Kingdom by Prince Sapumal (Sembahap Perumal), Kotte was given the epithet 'Sri Jayawardhanapura' ('resplendent city of growing victory'). It became the capital of the ancient Kingdom of Kotte, which it remained until the end of the 16th century. ]

The above confirms that there was a Jaffna Kingdom and that Southern leaders felt threatened by this Kingdom. Jaffna does have Power of its own and whenever ‘foreign’ influences are brought in – by Southern leaders going back in time – Jaffna would naturally manifest its Ruling Power. Natural Justice would support this if the system of Democracy is used for benefits while Administration is conducted as per a ‘foreign’ system – a system of the past. Hence fear of Indian invasion by those voters who do not practice Democracy in current Sri Lanka. When Benefits are earned through current system – we need to pay our respects to that current system. When this is done – we eventually become that system and enjoy eternal joy through the higher mind. If therefore one goes back in time – one becomes a foreigner to the current system. When one enjoys the benefits of the current system – one becomes indebted to the current system and passes on a burden her/his heirs.

As an individual – Mr. Jayawardene who was born a Christian and got educated through Christian colleges – converted to become Buddhist. The move from Colombo to Kotte – was its later parallel – confirming an unsteady mind.  In 2009 when I went to Sri Lanka to help our nephew whose father was displaced from Vanni – and eventually died in the camp – I went often to Swami Sri Sathya Sai Baba Center at Barnes Place Colombo (around the same area as Mr. Jayawardene’s home) to pray. While others were singing I was thinking about the battle area and the question came into my mind ‘Who started this?’ Then the answer came ‘the killing of the 13 Soldiers’ and right then a flower from Swami’s picture fell. This kind of Guidance was not new to me – after my Australian experiences when also Swami kept showing me the way to follow. Those who start off with particular outcomes would not recognize  such Guidance. Given that I was Sri Lankan – praying in Colombo – I got this answer. The soldiers represented Colombo so long as they were in Uniform and hence the response said that  a Sri Lankan was killed by a Tamil.

Since then I have  learnt that LTTE itself was funded by India and hence the fear in the minds of Sri Lankan Politicians wearing the Sinhala Buddhist clothing superficially – would have led to denying Tamils in Colombo their earned right to be protected from Sinhalese extremists with homes far away from Colombo. I feel that it’s fear of India that influenced President Jayawardene to move his capital to Kotte.  Had he been true to his Christian beginnings – he would have not felt the need to move anywhere but remained close to his home in Colombo. Leadership through Politics requires us to remain close to ‘home’ in our minds. When we move away – we need conscious Administration to be fair and just to all concerned. Hence the need for Objectively verifiable outcomes to establish credibility.

Associate Editor of Straight Times of Singapore – Mr. Ravi Velloor  recently summarized the Indian karma  as follows:

[To pressure Colombo, Indira Gandhi covertly began to fund and arm Tamil groups.

The rest is history. The Tigers would not only turn on their own state, but on India as well , and even Tamils themselves - wiping out rival groups and key political leaders. They would assassinate Indira's son, Rajiv Gandhi, as he campaigned to return to power in 1991. The civil war would rage for more than a quarter-century until it was finally put down in 2009 with jaw-dropping brutality, this time with India's covert assistance for Colombo.]

Sri Lanka, in a political sense was / is insignificant to India and this has been confirmed by the way they keep changing sides. But even if one LTTE member believed that s/he was fighting for Independence AND was directly hurt by the Indian Peacekeeping Force – that believer had the power to return the karma to the source. The signing of the Indo-Sri Lankan award in 1987  by President Jayewardene and Indian Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi, leading to the 13th Amendment of the Constitution was/is strongly resisted by Sinhalese extremists and resulted in threats to Mr. Jayawardene’s life:

[The LTTE rejected the accord, as it fell short of even an autonomous state. The provincial councils suggested by India were the once that didn't even had powers to control over revenue, police, government sponsored Sinhala settlements in Tamil provinces . Sinhala nationalists were outraged by both the devolution and the presence of foreign troops on Sri Lankan soil. An attempt was made on Jayewardene's life in 1987 as a result of his signing of the accord. Young, deprived Sinhalese soon rose in revolt, organized by the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna(JVP) which was eventually put down by the government.]

Any Government of Sri Lanka needs the support of true Sri Lankans to successfully govern Sri Lanka which has now become a Lesson for the International Community to learn from. Sinhala and Tamil Nationalists will contribute to upholding this Sovereignty  only once they realize their Sovereignty through their own local pathways. When they interfere with the process of Sri Lankan Governance – often due to their own desires and fears – they become the animals that attack young and growing plants which when they mature would provide shade to these very animals.