Gajalakshmi Paramasivam

27 March 2017

Foreign Judges have come to stay

[The government’s backtracking on ‘foreign judges’ is not surprising, but pathetic. You only have to read the news reports on the UNHRC resolution and its background in September/October 2015.] The Island article ‘The new ides of March: Foreign judges have not come … but gone! Beware the emblematic cases!’

Who said the Government has backtracked? Read the mind behind these words:

[The Government will introduce a host of laws from this year to modernise the country’s legal system, Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe said yesterday.

Speaking at the 43rd Annual Convocation of the Bar Association of Sri Lanka (BASL) and the induction of the BASL’s new President last evening, the Prime Minister who was the Chief Guest said while Sri Lanka could be proud of having the oldest legal tradition in Asia, the country was far behind others in the region when it came to modern laws. As such, “starting from this year, you’ll find a lot of new laws coming in,” he said.] – Sunday Times article ‘New laws soon to replace old ones, says PM’

Foreign Judges were needed by the UN to measure what happened through laws that were Common to all investors in Sri Lanka – including the UN. The outcomes ‘shown’ by the Sri Lankan Political mind was at best through their own sense of Justice. The laws through which we measure add their own Energies to the manifestations. Old laws/principles would awaken  the angels and ghosts of the past. Laws that are based on Truth discovered by a person/group are angels and once past their natural environment become of heritage value. Laws based on desires of law-makers are demons that would stay on as curse, once past  their  natural environment.

The pressing issue at UN level is the conduct of the soldiers. They say all is fair in Love and War due to Oneness / ‘Ownership’ being the measure. But to be valid – such decisions and their effects must not leave the Love-zone / War-zone. That is the way of the hierarchical subjective system. Hence its essential criterion of ‘Confidentiality’. Once one side breaches this Confidentiality requirement – the other side has the Duty to not only balance the books but also be Transparent about it.

 By celebrating the victory over the LTTE with wider world – instead of mourning the death of Sri Lankans including the LTTE – the Government lost the protection of Natural Forces of Love and Truth. By celebrating at that time, the Government made itself ‘foreigner’ to those it punished. I was in Colombo at that time – in Wellawatte / Colombo 6 with high proportion of Tamils. The celebrations extended to those outside the uniform and their conduct was hurtful to me as a Sri Lankan. When people ‘judge’ beyond their share of contribution – they make foreigners of themselves to the one with real authority to judge. I find that happening with many of Sinhalese origin in terms of Tamils and many of Tamil origin in terms of the Government. Both are hurtful – as they damage my investment in Common Sri Lankan structure. Those relying on majority power would not feel the urge to develop structures. Real structures developed by us are born out of Sacrifice. Hence in Hindu culture mothers who sacrifice and share are recognized as Shakthi / Energy.

The author of the Island article reveals his mind-structure, pedigree (to use the terminology used by the Judge in the Central Bank Bonds matter) in terms of old and new – as follows:

[If accountability is to mean Old Testament justice of an ‘eye for an eye’, we may as well forget reconciliation. As Mahatma Gandhi warned, ‘An eye for an eye will leave the whole world blind’]

Gandhi was Hindu and a believer in Bhagawath Geetha :

[When doubts haunt me and disappointments stare me in the face and I see not one ray of hope on the horizon, I turn to the Bhagavad Gita and find a verse to comfort me; I immediately begin to smile in the midst of overwhelming sorrow.] — Mahatma Gandhi

The author of Bhagawath Geetha - Lord Krishna says ‘I am the killer and I am the one being killed / I am the King and I am the People’. Where the Service Provider and the Beneficiary recognize their positions the Provider is the one who represents the whole to wider world. The beneficiary completes the relationship by being grateful and in terms of structure this is confirmed through the respect shown to the Provider. To truly have and hold this higher status the Provider ought to have forgone earned benefits including ‘free status’. One who inherits leadership status needs to bow to the person from whom such was inherited. If the person immediately above is not respectable as per the mind of the heir, then one keeps going higher and higher to ancestors. The position is thus earned by bowing to the past.

The powers of those who developed that position and the system that it is a part of – say for example Buddhist leadership in Sri Lanka, are inherited by practicing the Laws and Due Processes. To the extent they are shown as ‘outcomes’ – the person/group so showing stagnates at that level of leadership and places a ceiling on the inheritance. Young ones who produce their own outcomes thus disconnect themselves from the heritage. They thus lose the very powers of those who developed the heritage. That was the case with LTTE which killed the political leaders to show its own wins through armed power.

The latest example in terms of disconnection with heritage is learnt through the proposal for Indian Tamil Superstar Rajinikanth to handover ‘homes’ to the displaced in Sri Lanka’s North:

[Tamil megastar Rajinikanth, who was expected to visit Sri Lanka next month to inaugurate a housing scheme, on Saturday announced that he has cancelled the trip following protests from the Tamil outfits. The primary agenda of the visit was to hand over keys of 150 houses built for displaced Lankan Tamils at Vavunya.
The actor was invited to be the chief guest at a programme in the Northern Province's Vavuniya town on April 9. A foundation, part of Lyca Productions that is funding the actor's sci-fi entertainer "2.0", had built the houses for the displaced Lankan Tamils. Around 4 lakh people were expected to participate in the programme, according to Rajinikanth's statement.
In a three page statement, the actor referred to the struggle by Lankan Tamils in Sri Lanka and said he wanted "to breathe air on the land where lakhs had fought for their rights and died".
Rajinikanth also had sought an appointment with Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena to discuss the problems faced by Indian fishermen in the hands of Lankan navy.]

The indiscriminate mixing of Cinema and Politics has brought much disorder in Tamil Nadu. Rajnikanth’s predecessor MG Ramachandran was respected as Anna (Big Brother) by LTTE Leader Velupillai Prabhakaran. In terms of humanitarian services during the deepest suffering of Tamils,  Rajnikanth was nowhere to be seen, on behalf of himself and/or his predecessor who funded the LTTE. Any donations from such folks would come with ‘acting’ maya / delusion. Tamils of Sri Lanka are suffering due to such waste flowing through Palk Strait into Northern Sri Lanka. One person so infected is the Lycamobile owner as per published reports:

[Subaskaran Allirajah, the Lycamobile owner, is one of the Conservative party’s most generous benefactors.] - 16 Things You Need To Know About Lycamobile's Links To The Tories by BuzzFeed news.

Thedn there is this by Wikipedia:

[Allirajah Subaskaran; March 2, 1972 (age 45); Mulliyawalai, Mullaitivu, Sri Lanka

Allirajah Subaskaran (born 2 March 1972), is a British Tamil Sri Lankan entrepreneur, film producer, and the founder and chairman of Lycamobile, which launched in 2006 and now operates in 21 countries worldwide with a subscriber base over 14 million customers.

His Lyca Productions is based in Chennai, India and began with its first film Kaththi (2014). It is currently producing the science fiction thriller 2.0, touted to be India's costliest film.]

If indeed, Mr. Rajnikanth wanted ‘to breathe air on the land where lakhs had fought for their rights and died’  then he ought to come there with a mind structure  of the People who fought for that purpose. The sacrifice of the person who foregoes what s/he  believes is hers/his is of sacred value. One who comes on behalf of Business interests needs to be transparent about that purpose. Through his popular roles as the person of the People following the pathway of Natural Justice – Rajnikanth would have identified with those characters in real life. Mr. Allirajah Subaskaran as per my measure is NOT one of them.

[ Allirajah Subaskaran and his mother Gnanambikai Allirajah founded a charity, The Gnanam Foundation, in 2010 in order to provide help for marginalised communities and those who have been abandoned without care. It exists to extend funds to promote means of livelihood for those in need for specific projects on an individual, family or community basis. The Gnanam Foundation is based on the ethos of "teach a person to fish", providing opportunities for people to develop skills to support themselves. Since 2012, The Gnanam Foundation have partnered up with many other organisations including the British Asian Trust, Children's Hunger Relief and Muslim Aid to donate to a number of worthy causes. In 2015, The Gnanam Foundation set to construct 150 homes in the Vavuniya District of Sri Lanka.]

To teach one has to first learn. In democracy – the provider and the beneficiary are of Equal status. Hence one  who ‘donates’ is a Provider and is not a sharer. War victims in Sri Lanka and their communities face the big challenge of not losing their hard-earned ‘right’ to Democratic systems by accepting ‘donations’. This kind of conversion resulted in the Central Bank Bonds issue and now in North too. Those who bring into Sri Lanka, monies earned as British from the British and/or Indian cinema are foreigners. To that extent they bring foreign rules with their businesses. One who carries Common values to both nations and/or globally – is not foreign but Common – however white s/he may seem. To participate at policy level in Sri Lankan affairs – they ought to have had the demonstrated experience of respecting the original elders who developed the right to claim equality through higher mind order to fill the gap of lower body numbers. What right has Rajnikanth earned to ‘Donate’ that which is  already ours?

The distinction  between a foreigner and internal person is that the foreigner does not participate in the ‘making’ of an outcome. When raised to the higher common level – the two merge to become Common. The UN participated by failing in its duty to protect civilians during the war. Hence the next best known to them – are high ranking foreigners. Within Sri Lanka, the Weliamuna group was a foreign judge inquiring into Sri Lankan Airlines operational matters on behalf of the new Government. The current plight of the National carrier is also to be expected of the country it represents. The lasting solutions would flow through those who practice global standards in Sri Lanka – even if they come there for a day or two as visitors. To the extent Sri Lankan minds merge with them including through Commercial services – naturally on one to one service  that majority Lankans are capable of – those foreign looking higher minds bring us the root solutions.

The Government needs to facilitate this as a priority and protect such opportunities from being taken over by the greedy who are different and separate occupying the high positions which block the development of Common space.