Gajalakshmi Paramasivam

15 September   2016

Tamils were never Drs. Do Nothing

The checkout lady at Arpico here in Colombo asked me whether I had Rs.2/- change? I said ‘yes’ and made the effort to find two one rupee coins. She handed over the balance in notes together with  the docket. I just folded them and placed them in my little wallet. Usually I count when the cashier is counting the balance. But this time because I was distracted with finding the Rs. 2/- change, I failed to count. But the money I am so very careful with – kept an account of itself at the back of my mind. The value is not the paper but the mind that the paper represents at that time at that place. I registered that the total was Rs.2,600 plus. I registered that I handed out Rs. 3,000. I registered that the cashier had handed over two, one-hundred-rupee notes . At that time my conscious mind did not do the reconciliation to know that I was one hundred rupees short.

But my subconscious mind developed over years of care, did the automatic calculation that I ought to have received Rs. 300/- plus. While I was busy packing the purchases – my deeper mind informed my conscious mind – that there was a shortage of Rs.100/-.  I said to the cashier that she had short-paid me Rs.100/- and I pulled out the rolled up notes and showed her. She handed over the one-hundred. There was no apology nor protest that I was wrong. I then put it down to her being guilty of willful cheating.

This could have happened in Jaffna also. But the difference is that in Jaffna, I could put my foot down and discipline such an officer  – because of that officer’s knowledge that I am Tamil. That consciousness gives us knowledge of relativity.  To my mind, the officer in Colombo was an ‘outsider’ because she cheated me even though I tried to facilitate her with the change. I did not discipline her but just dismissed her from my mind. The next time I go to Arpico – I would not go to this officer. If I am able to discipline an officer effectively to remove a particular weakness and then relate to the person – that person is an insider. An officer to whom also – Jaffna is ‘home’ would be treated as a relative. The above lady would be a foreigner. Hence I keep my distance. Each time I am cheated consciously or otherwise – despite me being and orderly customer – the group that is home-group to the side that cheats me – gets dismissed from my system. Each time I am valued by the other side – we merge to form or maintain  Common group.

Nations such as Australia and Denmark have revealed that they have accepted that Tamils were not accepted as  Equal citizens as Sinhalese in Sri Lanka. Unless overridden consciously they would write the messages by migrants who are common through the laws and cultures of those nations. Hence both Nations accepted that, to majority Tamils who emigrated from Sri Lanka during the war – Sri Lanka was ‘foreign’ and the only homeland known was the area that they fled – which was given the name Tamil Eelam. Belief based expressions must be facilitated if one is to enjoy natural harmony.

In his Daily Mirror article ‘Presidential elections: Contest between Kids of ‘15 and Veterans of ‘56’, Mr. Gomin Dayasri states:

[Gruesome deeds of the LTTE were discounted by the Northerners; provided it did not hurt their homeland people if the incidents occurred in the despised alien South. To the Northerners, Southerners are as aliens as Afghans, Kurds or Syrians, during the war.]

To many Northerners – the Tamil LTTE would have been ‘foreigners’ as the Sinhalese JVP would have been to many senior Southerners who were comfortable during British rule and more importantly who had invested in the higher pathways to ownership through Common principles and laws.

In Democracy – governance at primary level is through the land. Hence – Prabhakaran of Valvettithurai would not  connect to the deeper mind of Gajalakshmi of Jaffna Town unless they had invested in common through another higher pathway – such as education. Like Biological relations, Land based relativity  is as per Experience at a common place. The mind of Mr. Gomin Dayasiri is revealed to be particular to his biological / geographic area.  Given that I am not aware of any Tamil to whom any Sinhalese is ‘dispicable’ – my mind concludes that Mr. Gomin Dayasiri is using LTTE to take up ‘authority’ through negative status to Northerners. The blessing that Tamils and other minority communities have in this regard is this natural cut off in assuming authority. The mind that accepts minority status would naturally cease assuming artificial authority through higher positions. That mind would seek to show in action and not continue to dwell in desire for authority. Business Unit approach in Public Service helps limit this kind of desire-play. Until the war experience, Sinhalese were foreigners to majority Tamils in Northern Sri Lanka. Likewise – Westerners  were foreigners to younger generation Sinhalese as well as Tamils who had little knowledge of Western laws, cultures and scientific discoveries led by the Western world. They cannot be positioned as foreigners and negative relatives at the same time. To the extent they are thought to be negative – the source is the author of such expressions and originator of such actions.

Mr. Gomin Dayasri asks about Tamil Political leadership:

[When Colombo Tamils saw carnage exercised against innocent civilians or babes sleeping soundly on mats or kid monks on pilgrimage, by the LTTE, during the war never uttered a word either way. Mindful that ruthless forces were in the field and life was not safe for talkative Tamils -- like Lakshman Kadirgamar or Dr. Neelan Thiruchlvam. Understandable as life was cheap and law and order was not in proper place. Hark back to the past, to forget lapses, if we are to go forward. Will the TNA now condemn or condone or compliment acts of the LTTE? Are we living among ‘Dr. Do Nothings’]  

The greatest achievement of the TNA was to remain balanced during the Parliamentary elections in 2015 – so they would become the instrument through whom the voters would use their votes to express their belief in National Parliament. The LTTE did not have this confidence in themselves and hence they did not participate directly in the voting system. THAT is Truth  through which  many Sinhalese leaders fail to give credit to Tamil people and their Political leaders. This confirms that these Sinhalese leaders desire to play the LTTE game. They mentally join forces with the like minded who are in government positions. The higher the mind order the greater the immunity from infections by the mind that abuses majority power.

Lord Krishna said to Prince Arjuna that only the arrow / vote was his. Where it ended and how it traveled was NOT Prince Arjuna’s. The reason is that the arrow/vote – then picks up on the way powers of others of similar standards and the net outcome is the consolidated value of all those powers. Along the pathway, the arrow/vote picks up true ancestral powers shared as heritage with the current generation. A Tamil vote would thus merge with a Sinhalese vote to defeat the excessive powers of a Sinhalese ruler. This happened in 1977 and was repeated in 2015. In both instances – Tamils could not have won power by being ‘Drs. Do Nothing’. Like Arjuna they were also part of minority group at election time. Like Pandavar of 5 defeating Gowravar of 100 – Tamil leaders  became the carriers of positive global Energies of current investors in Sri Lanka and also the invokers of heritage power of ancestors of Northern Sri Lanka who invested deeply in Global culture through Colonial rulers. Without this power – the Rajapaksa Government would have continued to be in power.

Without Tamils, Sri Lankans who enjoy global benefits on the claim of Sovereignty while enforcing majority power – would be living a lie. The obligations of the position taken to derive benefits must be fulfilled if one is not to be indebted to the global government. A debt unsettled within the due period and within the boundaries of the relationship that created it – becomes a sin. Sri Lankan Government became such a sinner by listing LTTE as Terrorists by using its global  status power - but at the same time using their own local thinking to kill them in the name of that power. Tamils like myself were bound by the Common Law of Sri Lanka due to deriving  benefits of money and status through intellectual pursuits. Not so Tamils who lived locally in remote North and were not protected by Central Government busy with its own local problems.

Mr. Gomin Dayasri says :

‘The South without a political divide -- condemned the last regime openly for withholding evidence that surfaced in bringing the likes of Duminda Silva to justice.  
No Tamil from Colombo would go to the extreme Wickramabahu (brilliant first class from Peradeniya in Engineering and a product of Ananda College (1956), bedrock of Sinhala Buddhist ‘Madrasa’) or sensible moderates such as Rohan Edirisinghe, rational at most times (eminent University Senior Lecturer in Law) or practical Chandra Jayaratne (last working worthy of the partly defunct Friday Forum) or the un-calibrated words of giddy wisdom emanating from the lips of Chandrika Kumaratunga. Sinhalese at various times speak passionately in favour of diverse Tamil subjects.’

None of the above – as per my knowledge criticized their own JVP as I find fault with the LTTE as per their known actions. But then to the likes of Mr. Gomin Dayasri – I do not count. Only leaders like Mr. Sampanthan, Mr. Lakshman Kadirgamar and  Dr. Neelan Thiruchlvam are recognized as the cows with bells. I regularly invoke the powers of Dr. Neelan Thiruchelvam when I write on Constitutional issues. I am able to because I raised the work of Dr. Neelan Thiruchelvam to heritage level within my own circles of influence and this includes former Governor of Australia Rev. Dr. Peter Hollingworth who engaged positively with me in this regard. Such minds are consolidated with ours and I become the common mind of myself, Dr. Thiruchelvam and Dr. Hollingworth to the extent of our Common contribution to the issue.

Hindus chant Sivapuranam as part of Death ceremonies to raise common experiences to the higher level so our mind remembers the dead as having completed their relationships with us. A completed relationship confirms Sovereignty of those involved. Sovereign powers are absolute provided they are exercised at that place and/or at that time. Sovereign powers particular to a place lose value when extended beyond that place. Likewise Sovereign powers particular to a time period. Only powers that used Truth common beyond time and place are  Universal  powers. Such powers add themselves to those who contributed to complete such experiences at the level of their Truth . That is the promise of the Lord.

In his article ‘BASL’s attempt to undermine the Supreme Court and Parliament’, author C.A.Chandraperuma states:

[It has been reported in the press that the Bar Association of Sri Lanka (BASL) will be filing papers in the Supreme Court, seeking a revision of the apex court’s judgment in the landmark 2006 case Nallaratnam Singarasa v. The Attorney General, popularly known as the Singarasa case. The Secretary of the Bar Association Amal Randeniya confirmed this when contacted by this writer. The BASL’s proposed action will have far reaching implications for Sri Lanka and the public should be made aware of what exactly the Bar Association intends to do. The importance of the Singarasa case is that it was a landmark judgment which defined the limits of executive power.

Singarasa was convicted by the High Court on five charges that he, between 1 May 1990 and 31 December 1991 together with LTTE leaders like Sornam and Pottu Amman, conspired to overthrow the lawfully elected government and attacked Army camps in Jaffna Fort, Palaly and Kankesanthurai. The charges against him had been brought under the Emergency Regulations and the Prevention of Terrorism Act. He was sentenced to 50 years RI. Singarasa appealed against his conviction to the Court of Appeal, which dismissed his case on 6 July 1999, but they reduced his sentence to 35 years RI. Singarasa then sought special leave to appeal from the judgment of the Court of Appeal and a Bench of the Supreme Court comprising of Justices Mark Fernando, Wadugodapitiya, and Wijetunga refused special leave to appeal on 28 January 2000. On 19 June 2001 Singarasa  petitioned the Human Rights Committee in Geneva. The Human Rights Committee should not be confused with the Human Rights Council which is a body made up of states representatives. The Human Rights Committee on the other hand is an international tribunal set up under the provisions of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) to hear petitions from citizens of member states about the violations of rights guaranteed under the ICCPR. Sri Lanka had acceded to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights on 11 June 1980 and to the Optional Protocol of the ICCPR on 3 October 1997. It is under the provisions of the Optional Protocol that states recognize the competence of the Human Rights Committee in Geneva to receive petitions from individuals in member states……On 30 July 2004 the Human Rights Committee in Geneva held in favour of the petitioner and recommended that the Sri Lankan state should provide Singarasa with ‘an effective and appropriate remedy, including release or retrial and compensation’. Armed with this ruling, Singarasa’s lawyers filed an application in the Supreme Court on 16 August 2005 for revision of the SC judgment of 28 January 2000 which refused Singarasa leave to appeal, and to set aside the conviction and sentence imposed on him. This case was heard before a five-member bench with Chief Justice Sarath N Silva and Justices Nihal Jayasinghe, N.K. Udalagama, N.E. Dissanayake and Gamini Amaratuga……The foregoing would show that what the Supreme Court said in the Singarasa case was very simple. There are certain limits on the power of the executive arm of the state headed by the President. The executive arm can enter into treaties and international conventions that are not inconsistent with the constitution of Sri Lanka. If the executive arm enters into treaties or accedes to conventions that are inconsistent with the constitution, such acts are ultra vires]

The question that arises in my mind is whether the listing of the LTTE as Terrorists with the help of the UN was questioned by the above author or any Sinhalese leader? Was it in line with the fundamental rights of  Tamils of Sri Lanka’s North & East – for  a government that did not share common belief and indeed used the law to elevate the status of the Government through Buddhism, to seek the Secular powers of the UN – and its member nations as if they were above Buddhism?

To my mind every non-Buddhist practicing her/his own religion is an Equal to the Government of Sri Lanka so long as s/he is in her/his own territory – the territory where s/he is part of  majority religion respecting minority religions as Equals. The Democratic Constitution by Article 9 empowers them as Equals, who are untouchable by a secular law so long as they express their belief through their own religious laws.

As per the above report, the places attacked were Jaffna Fort, Palaly and Kankesanthurai.  Where the investment of the then Government in Common Law is weaker than the Belief of the person in that attacked area – that it is her/his homeland – the Government of Sri Lanka has no jurisdiction in that area.  Their power is like that of legal titleholder of Land whilst the power of the local person who makes declaration of belief renders her/him the protective right where his belief is stronger than the investment made  by the legal titleholder – largely to ‘show and tell’. The UN – to the extent it shared its status with the Sri Lankan government has the obligation to ensure that these belief based rights are protected by its member governments. If the Government erred in terms of the Human Rights Committee – it erred even more in terms of Democracy when it made Buddhism the foremost  religion but used the secular pathway to enforce its will on non-Buddhists through Emergency laws. Every time it did so –through policy and/or in action – it dismissed Buddhism as the higher power. Likewise Muslims in countries using the name of Islam – are dismissing Islam when they punish a non-Muslim. On the other hand, non-Buddhists/non-Muslims practicing their own religions with belief and staying within their local cultural boundaries – would be better able to invoke the powers of Nature to protect their investments and raise them to Absolute value,  when their journey is completed. Every time someone interferes in their pathway – the interferer loses the protection of Nature. That is Natural punishment.

Belief is needed for us to punish another. The real authority to discipline comes from making the other a part of ourselves. My criticism of the LTTE is this disciplinary action and is not damaging to the Sovereignty of Sri Lanka. But if I were to criticize JVP beyond my own pain and loss caused due to their actions – I damage my own Sovereignty and to the extent I claim  I am Sri Lankan – it would damage the Sovereign powers of Sri Lanka too where I am considered Sri Lankan by other Sri Lankans.

The Sri Lankan Judiciary which stood silent when emergency laws were passed – lost its Sovereignty. Eventually it lost its Chief Justice to  the powers of the Executive Government. The Judiciary needs to first restore its own powers to operate as self-sufficient  National Leader and an alternative to the Political Leadership, before it has the authority to reverse global orders that were needed by minorities to protect, nurture and maintain their Sovereign Powers which are healthy for Sri Lanka or any for Land that includes them as part of their own.

Mr. Gomin Dayasri concludes his article by trying to reduce the status of  our Australian mind:

‘They are no humbugs to bring R2P and import Gareth Evans through the back door. Yet, how many will articulate a point accepted in private in public. Understandable, in the times of the terrorists, for the fear of repercussion, but no longer a valid excuse, when a lasting peace prevails.   A friendly handshake of value needs the tight grip of two distinct palms.’

I am also Australian but one who challenged the Australian Government to Protect and not to shake hands with Mr. Howard. Those without position need to use the pathway of Truth to criticize others. Otherwise they are practicing a lower level of alternate governance incapable of protecting itself. This happens when one ridicules a foreigner without actually losing her/his earned benefits or opportunities. One who has the authority would have foregone such earned benefits and thus earned the true authority of Truth – enough to stay away from abusers and not shake hands with them.