Gajalakshmi Paramasivam

21 March 2017

Genocide of Tamils in Sri Lanka – True or False?

[At the moment, Sri Lanka is embattled with allegations of human rights violations and facing a tough time at the 34th session of the UNHRC in Geneva. Pillay was contacted by Ceylon Today after 'years of attempts' to get her views on the progress seen in the island since the war came to an end in 2009.

She also said the goals of reconciliation and nation- building cannot be served without justice and accountability, and reparation for victims.

She further stated: "I would say that the primary purpose of documenting lists of the names of 'missing' persons is to begin and sustain investigations until justice is done." She added it should not be an exercise on its own to shelve, or dust one's hands off the imperative for proper investigation, prosecution and punishment of crimes.

"Where factual or witness accounts are available, and your list of individuals and groups indicate this, that should be grounds for immediate investigations, for purposes of prosecution," Pillay added. She also said this procedure was held in Rwanda after the genocide there. "The Government of Rwanda asked the UNSC to set up the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR).

"The Court relied on factual accounts by witnesses of the killings. Nobody was produced, no forensic evidence of deaths, no way of determining the numbers of persons killed or the numbers of mass graves. The Court respected the Rwandese cultural aversion to exhumations.

"The Court accepted testimony of witnesses that thousands of Tutsi were killed – because the people they knew were not around any longer.

"The Court looked at the context of conflict and war and evidence from eyewitnesses as well as observers and experts. The ICTR and the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) are precedents that fair trials and impartial justice can be rendered even though a full documentation of all missing persons, presumed killed, in the war were not available," Pillay added.] Ceylon Today

As per my knowledge, Ms Pillay was highly critical of the LTTE while the lady held her UN position through which she had the opportunity to participate in the affairs of Sri Lanka. To the extent Tamils as a Community have accepted the LTTE as part of themselves – the criticism is also of the Tamil Community. At least some of the children of the grieving parents would have been part of the LTTE.

LTTE enjoyed admiration from young and free workers the parallel of which admiration was enjoyed by the officers in uniform in the official army. The Political & Administrative leaders in Tamil areas of Sri Lanka lacked the natural mind connection  to access the official forces to manage the uprising of youth forces. The declarations – ‘Sinhala Only’ followed by ‘Tamil only’ – made the top positions  attractive for   those who were more ‘Sinhala Only’ or ‘Tamil only’ than those holding the top positions. Likewise Buddhism foremost opened the pathway of ambition to Buddhist clergy to actively get involved in Politics.

Given our own contribution to the deaths of our people – if the charge against the Sinhalese is Genocide, then the LTTE has aided and abetted in that crime. Tamils as a group must then find themselves guilty of neglecting their duty to keep internal law and order through Common faith – before charging others.

When the current Government came to power – I was one of those who identified with the role of  Natural Forces to manifest the outcome of Equal status to Tamils in National Parliament. It is beyond the seen through majority count and the known through intellectual analyses. The powers of ancestors who invested in Political ‘freedom’ was needed for such manifestation. Democracy is based on this power of faith in the place/land being the root of self-governance. We govern ourselves naturally through our Truth.

As per the above Ceylon Today article:

[Former United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Navi pillay told Ceylon Today, that when she met former Defence Secretary Gotabaya Rajapaksa during her visit to Sri Lanka and urged him to maintain investigations to establish where about of missing persons, he had stated, These people do not want to accept that their families are dead

She added that Rajapaksa then called her to a meeting with a Sinhalese father, who had lost his son who was serving as a soldier. "The weeping father told us of his anguish in not knowing what happened to his only son and wanted the body produced.

Gotabaya told him in no uncertain words, 'your son is dead and you must accept that,'" Pillay said.

She added: "The authorities quite clearly know or presume death, of those missing. It would be absurd not to do so bearing in mind the context of war and the non-return of persons (allowing for a small number who may have fled to shelter or detention outside the country)."]

As per my knowledge of the LTTE leadership – most of the LTTE leaders also would have taken similar attitude. During my Tsunami Reconstruction work in remote parts of Eastern Sri Lanka, mothers came over to cry about their sons who died by joining the LTTE which gave them  deeper pain than loss through Tsunami. As per their accounts – LTTE would keep the children  ‘inside’ until these young ones came under their influence. The more we hear  the same message to the exclusion of all else – the more obedient we become to those who reward us for ‘listening’ to their ‘voice’. Torture depresses our mind so we become obedient to the person using force.  In the case of Sinhalese soldiers – the Government ‘told’ them and in the case of Tamil combatants the LTTE ‘told’ them. As Mr. Mahinda Rajapaksa said – LTTE leader was from the jungles of North and Mr. Rajapaksa was from the jungles of South. The real war problem is given true structure as per these known forces.

Outsiders such as Ms Navi Pillay are entitled to use the manifestations for their own purposes. But their mandate to get involved is defined by the laws of the UN and the processes through which those laws are applied.

As per the above report:

["Where factual or witness accounts are available, and your list of individuals and groups indicate this, that should be grounds for immediate investigations, for purposes of prosecution," Pillay added. She also said this procedure was held in Rwanda after the genocide there. "The Government of Rwanda asked the UNSC to set up the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR).]

The UN is entitled to use the facts surfaced during the war by Sri Lankans for its own purposes. But the same way the rural Sri Lankan is ignorant of the Sri Lankan law, Sri Lankan leaders through majority power are ignorant of UN laws. Mr. Rajapaksa reveals this as follows:

["Tamil people in remote areas cannot even identify (any) President or Prime Minister of our country. How can they point at a military officer and mention their names?"]

Genocide is a term that the ordinary folks electing their politicians do not get from within. Most of them are driven  by common local customs to mark rights and wrongs. Such customs are born out of Truth within that community in their common homeland. To exercise power on the basis of this faith – one needs majority of that faith to endorse them. To the extent the LTTE killed Tamil politicians elected by the People – they became guilty of murder. The charge of Terrorism needs to be by those people and not by the Sri Lankan Government nor the UN. When the name of ‘Terrorism’ is attributed without following already existing global laws – it amounts to invasion and when acted upon – those memories are caused by unlawful occupation. The Sri Lankan Government that used the soldiers in Tamils areas where armed militants were already present was acting in Defence to the extent it was protecting rights of those in that part of Sri Lanka. Beyond that is unlawful invasion. Likewise UN in Sri Lanka. This is also the risk of ‘foreign judges’.

Sinhalese as well as Tamil politicians who failed to share their powers with those who elected them gave rise to the armed rebellion in South, North and East. Once young ones take power into their hands they would tend to dictate to ‘keep’ the outcomes as theirs. The Tamil Politicians who declared Political independence through Vaddukoddai Resolution 1976 were copying the Sinhala only leaders while finding fault with those very leaders. By hijacking that agenda – the LTTE deteriorated it to lower level so outsiders including Indian Tamils could invade. Had Tamils believed in their ability to self-govern -  Natural Forces would have led them through a less violent pathway.

Most Tamils as well as most Sri Lankans would claim they believe in God. If we ask them to identify the role played by God in a particular manifestation – they would have difficulty. All they would say legitimately is that they prayed and they received. Pleadings in a Court of Law are based on our recognition of the higher power within the common belief. A lawyer driven by particular outcome has lower position in that Court than the Judge driven by delivery that would be used by all concerned including the Public. It is in recognition of this that they are known as pleadings. Such higher internal positions belong to those who sacrificed more than the other to develop and/or maintain that structure. Where this happens to be the lawyer and/or the litigant – the Judge has the duty to become a facilitator. When the judge fails and the person of deeper faith is punished – natural forces of true rebels join such person/s and the one who so invokes those powers knows and makes the connection. That is the way of system of Karma.

Sinhalese and Tamils often used the name of former kings to elevate their status. Those ancient minds would not come to support the person driven by outcomes. They are always there to support their true heirs to derive their own satisfaction. Commitment to Internal relationships is towards harmonious travel along this common pathway of faith which is felt and not necessarily known. Hence confidential voting in Democracy.

We need known laws to mark outsiders right or wrong. Hence the saying ignorance of law is no excuse.

Sinhalese leaders who by-passed Tamil politicians are guilty as charged by the Politicians elected by the people holding power at the time of   attack. Mr. Wigneswaran for example does not have that right in relation to war activities. Likewise Mr. Gotabaya likewise did not have the mandate of the People when he returned from USA to assist his brother Mr. Mahinda Rajapaksa by ‘showing’ military wins against internal groups. His disconnection with global governance is confirmed as follows:

[In June 2007, Rajapaksa was severely critical of the United Nations (UN) and of western governments. He accused the UN of having been infiltrated by terrorists "for 30 years or so", and as a result the UN was fed incorrect information. He also alleged that Britain and the EU were bullying Sri Lanka, and concluded that Sri Lanka "does not need them", and that they don't provide any significant amount of aid to the country.]

One who accepts Aid – even if it were one rupee – has the duty to respect the higher position of the Aid provider. One who has true faith in global powers would naturally feel gratitude and that completes the relationship for the two to become Common. By taking position above the UN, Mr. Rajapaksa acted in breach of the laws of Nature and hence the eligibility to represent Sri Lanka to wider world.

The  above report confirms this lack of connection through faith as follows:

[One cannot believe these claims," Rajapaksa said. He said when the war in the North began, nearly 5,000 troupes died and said, "If a powerful army lost so many, imagine how many from the LTTE side would have perished. They did not have the fire power or a powerful army like ours."]

 LTTE’s power was enhanced by the Natural connections of the People of Tamil areas with India’s Tamil Nadu. Power entitlement through Majority vote is based on faith which recognizes no borders. We humans give it borders to form internal relationships.

Hence in terms of Power – to the extent the Tamils of Sri Lanka were connected to Indians through religion and language – they have the capacity to invoke majority power against Sinhalese Buddhists. Where that connection is stronger than the internal relationships with other cultures Sovereignty is enjoyed through the wider connection. If the two are connected by land – then the connection is ‘seen’ resulting in alienation of other cultures – in this instance Sinhalese-Buddhists. The more Sinhalese-Buddhists show their majority power the more reactive Tamil-Hindu victims would become. The more land-based the faith is – the lesser the threat from India through Natural pathways.

If Tamil voters considered what happened as ‘Genocide’ then they have no claim of having influenced the current government to come to power. Since we claim ( I confirm I do) that we influenced those outcomes through Natural forces – especially by those who are Sri Lankans of Tamil origin, we have no right to give ‘Genocide’ form to what happened. Both cannot be true in the same mind. Tamils who declared Political Independence – have the duty to strengthen their connections with Sri Lankan ancestors of Tamil origin who fought through the political pathway. Such groups should not become the juniors of armed groups. They would not if they invoked the power of Political minds that used words of cleverness instead of swords of physical destruction. Likewise Sinhalese. Then we would travel harmoniously and admire each other’s diversity from a distance and come together to protect the power of the land that is common.