Gajalakshmi Paramasivam

30 June 2017                                        

The Northern Woman

 [Ananthy Sasitharan was sworn in as the NPC Minister of Women’s Affairs, Rehabilitation, Social Services, Cooperatives, Food Supply and Distribution, Industry and Enterprise Promotion.] adaderana.lk/news

Mrs Sasitharan who is closely associated with the Militants needs to focus on developing a structure that the current Northern Women would be able to relate to and adopt at the family level. The first lesson needs to be to ‘internalize’ any shortfall in status allocated as per her past but at the same time be grateful for the contribution made by her family – especially her husband to the formation of Provincial Council that she is now part of.

Through  my direct experience with the Female militants, during ceasefire, I learnt that they accepted the male dominated environment they were in but at the same time quietly went about completing their support work. As the wife of Elilan – the LTTE head at Trincomalee, one would expect Ananathi also to have played that role. Now Mrs Sasitharan is occupying  the leadership role in Politics and needs to respect the Political structures and as Minister, Mrs Sasitharan needs to bow to the Administrative structures common to all folks in Northern Province.  The value of Thamilini – the Women Leader within LTTE needs to be remembered and paid tribute to by Mrs. Sasitharan.  The Title of Thamilini’s book – ‘Oru Koor Vaallin Nizhalil’ / ‘ In the shadow of a sharp sword’ confirms the essence of my assessment above – that the women were a support force.

There are women in Jaffna society who are led by their  achievements in Higher Education. Mrs Sasitharan needs to learn from them or if they seem false – then Mrs. Sasitharan needs to renounce any benefits from that pathway that seem available to her. Otherwise, Mrs. Sasitharan is likely to submit to those  who are pleasant and ‘show’ high profits from her position. The moment Mrs. Sasitharan takes for example her husband’s place or worse Velupillai Prabhakaran’s place – she would naturally disconnect from the root of the Provincial Council Act. Without that connection, Mrs. Sasitharan is likely to be influenced by the greater benefits in wider world.

Women leadership in the world based on LTTE structure, is not likely to be strong and high. The parallel has already been shown within the Sinhalese Community  – through Mrs. Sirimavo Bandaranaike, who was promoted by politicians to occupy her husband’s place. A woman leader must command respect – through belief or Intellectual Administration. Belief is Natural measure on Equal platform. Intellectually, it needs to be developed by reducing the higher status that we start with through the side seeming to be our side and hence being entitled to share in our status. An intellectual measure would uphold Justice only when applied at the same level on both sides. Hence Equal Opportunity – on the claim of which we had the war.  But by using arms we showed cleverness to defeat and did not sacrifice to own.

Women’s affairs covers the educated women also. Unless Mrs. Sasitharan becomes humble enough to learn from them – and becomes the passive medium through which they would be seen as leaders Mrs. Sasitharan would fail the Jaffna Tamil Woman. 

Gajalakshmi Paramasivam

29 June 2017                                          

Confidentiality or Transparency?

The recent conflict between the Tamil Politicians in National Parliament and the Tamil Chief Minister of Northern Province who in essence is more an Administrator than a Politician, is a model version of the National problem. It is also a conflict between the requirements of  Confidentiality and Transparency.

As per latest news report  Mr. Wigneswaran contributed to the debate as follows:

[Instead of giving the Tamils adequate power devolution and uniting the Northern and Eastern Provinces to constitute a single Tamil province, the Sri Lankan government is trying to foist a half baked political solution, he charged.

Top government ministers have said that devolution will not go beyond the 13 th.Amendment of the present constitution, he noted.] - Wigneswaran says Tamil leaders involved in Colombo’s anti-Tamil conspiracy – at  newsin.asia

The 13^th Amendment to the Sri Lankan Constitution provided as follows through article 154A:

 (3) Notwithstanding anything in the preceding provisions of this Article, Parliament may by, or under, any law provide for two or three adjoining Provinces to form one administrative unit with one elected Provincial Council, one Governor, one Chief Minister and one Board of Ministers and for the manner of determining whether such Provinces should continue to be administered as one administrative unit or whether each such Province should constitute a separate administrative unit with its own Provincial Council, and a separate Governor, Chief Minister and Board of Ministers.

As per my interpretation of the above, Northern  & Eastern provinces could be united through Parliament. The challenge is whether Tamils have strong enough Administration to effectively manage and produce outcomes to confirm self-governance of a Unit that is more valuable than the sum of the individuals making up the body of that Unit. If Mr. Wigneswaran seeks to be the first Premier of such merged unit as indicated through ther formation of Tamil People’s Council – he ought to have confidentially resolved internal conflicts in Northern Province – as we do in family. It’s often difficult to achieve the height needed, due to our temptations to be pampered at the political level – a weakness in Southern Sri Lankan Politicians also.

As per the above report:

[Recently, 15 members of the Ilankai Tamil Arasu Katchi (ITAK), along with some opposition members, had wanted to move a No Confidence Motion against Chief Minister Wigneswaran for the partisan way in which he handled the inquiry into corruption charges against four Ministers. The appointment of the inquiry committee had also been illegal, they said. The inquiry committee ought to have been a Select Committee of the NPC  and not a set of outsiders.

After the dispute was “settled” because of the intervention of some religious leaders and foreign diplomats, Jaffna District MP, M.A. Sumanthiran, demanded  that the terms of reference of the fresh inquiry into the conduct of the ministers should include charges against all the five members of the Board of Ministers, including the Chief Minister.]

Given that the Provincial Council came into birth due to the militancy of  Tamils, its laws and principles need to flow from that issue of Devolution of Power. By submitting the ‘No Confidence Motion’ to the Governor – those Councillors were effectively avoiding that mandate. Bu taking their side – Mr. Sampanthan and Mr. Sumanthiran were also confirming lack of commitment to the above provision in the  13^th Amendment.

Mr. Sampanthan and Mr. Sumanthiran may lack the sensitivity to appreciate the position that Mr. Wigneswaran is in. To me, my parallel is marrying into a Vaddukoddai family driven by ‘habits’ local to their area – which often fails to show a logical connection between cause and effect.  One even said ‘Thottil Palakkam Sudukaadu Mattum’ / Habits learnt within family come with us to the cemetery. This means they do not want to change. That’s their right but to exercise that they need to remain within their ‘local area’. That the basis of electing government based on majority vote. If those votes were based on Belief – we would be self-governing. Those who seek the higher intellectual pathway need Administration to live at the higher level. This to my mind is the essence of the conflict between the NPC councillors above and Mr. Wigneswaran who is naturally used to the higher pathway – even though he may not always be marked right as per that pathway. I am reminded of the ‘justification’ by one of my supervisors – after I resigned from the University of NSW  - ‘ We both have the same goal but our pathways are different’. His was political like Mr. Sumanthiran’s and mine was Administrative like Mr. Wigneswaran’s.

My Vaddukoddai sister in law who migrated to Australia due to my efforts – tried to takeover Administration of her brother’s intestate estate and towards this she went into the mode when she was homemaker in their family after her mother passed away. That is an effects based calculation driven by desire for control. To be valid within family – the lady needed express certification by all those she claims to have groomed. That is when the relationship gets completed at that time at that place for reasons of harmony. Many of the members have since passed away and hence there is no mandate for her to use that ‘outcome-based’ claim. As per the Law of Thesawalamai which the folks of Vaddukoddai are also bound by – the most eligible brother had the right to ‘internal family administration’. Amongst them, one who provided more and benefited less ranks first. Between Mr. Sumanthiran and Mr. Wigneswaran – Mr. Wigneswaran who became Judge ranks above Mr. Sumanthiran who is only a practicing lawyer.

A judge is comfortable with higher structures through which processes need to flow – for the judgment to earn its dignity. National level politicians getting openly involved in Northern Province Administration, is in Breach of the Doctrine of Separation of Powers between belief based Politics and Administration based on Discriminative thinking through Common Theory / Law. All our claims – through Vaddukoddai Resolution as well as Militancy – are based on Belief – sometimes only claims and not real belief. Mere claims amount to hearsay.

Once we remove hearsay from politics – True Belief becomes the Natural Base of our Administration. As per that base, total  outcomes would equal total costs. When a political party with second highest number of votes is in Parliament – the ‘gap’ is expected to be filled by greater contribution through Administration – to provide a level playing field for merit. Hence Zero start in Democratic financial management. The Judiciary often fails the test of Democracy – due to carrying forward ‘history’. Both sides to the Jaffna conflict failed to have a zero start. But Mr. Wigneswaran’s pathway appealed more to the educated Tamil than those of the Councillors who had the Political support Colombo Tamils – that Mr. Sampanthan and Mr. Sumanthiran have become as Leaders of Opposition in National Parliament.

To uphold that position, they need to be much stronger in Administration than the average Politician from South who is complacent often due to being pampered by their leaders who play the number game.

The best way through which Colombo Politicians representing North and East could continue to defeat the Opposition also by majority race is by growing tall through Administration, using global principles. This requires foregoing equal level political benefits and ploughing back into Reliable Structures. No outcome must be taken or shown without going through Due Administrative process as per the law and internally as per one’s Truth. Without this Devolution becomes welfare handout of status which the Colombo Tamil politicians seem to have resigned themselves to. 

Sri Lanka’s Northern Provincial Council, to my mind, is the ‘Project’ through which we Sri Lankans could become more Democratic in Administration. By being Transparent during process we have confirmed the need for our Politicians to get educated about Confidentiality needed at process stage if we seek to ‘show’ independent outcomes. The guide is within the Doctrine of Separation of Powers. Those who seek external credits need to keep their ‘special’ processes confidential from outsiders – as both sides to the war did when they were winning. Those who seek internal strength must ‘see’ no external credit especially through practice of processes.

In Democracy, folks at grassroots level need to have knowledge of completed outcomes that have gone through highest structure in their environment – so their home administration would be strengthened. The rest would distract them from Peace & Harmony – especially if they seek to Administer through majority vote before exhausting the Administrative facilities available to them. That is what happened in Northern Sri Lankan Politics. 

Gajalakshmi Paramasivam

28 June 2017                                          

Let the Buddhist Clergy Confirm Non-Violence

["The Western world including US, UK and Germany as well as other European countries had immense wealth. But many of their people have faced problems regarding worldly life such as what end result could be gained by powerful nations by war, unlimited worldly pleasure and luxury and so on. They were searching for a feasible alternative for all these," the Premier said................ The Prime Minister expressed there sentiments addressing the gathering at the Upasampada (High ordination) ceremony of the Sri Lanka Amarapura Maha Nikaya held at the Kalutara Bodhi complex on June 25.] Daily News report - Buddhism not an extremist religion: PM

Replace the ‘Western World’ with Sri Lankan politicians or Australian politicians and we would find the ‘internal pathway’ through which we would find our own solutions. In my mind, Kalutara Bodhi complex – where the above words were spoken, is the Spiritual Home of Sir Cyril de Soyza – the chairman of Associated Motorways Ltd. Presented as follows by Wikipedia:

[De Zoysa was a successful businessman having a diverse array of ventures. During law school he earned money by tutoring, and used his first earnings to buy a buggy cart. He later reminisced that "I gifted this to my father, who blessed me for this act of love and generosity. I perceived that this gift I gave my father brought him immense joy. Likewise this brought me too unforgettable joy.” He was the founder of the AMW group, one of the largest conglomerates of Ceylon.]

That genuine expression of buying the buggy cart to say thank you to his parent – confirmed Sir Cyril’s depth of commitment to his own origins indicating Spirituality. Sir Cyril was in Hospital when I saw him last. I was still a junior executive at AMW but Sir Cyril spoke to me from time to time in relation to my work. Even though he was known to be a strict disciplinarian, I did not feel overawed by him. Now I feel that that was due to our Spiritual Commonness. At the hospital I was the only visitor at that time and Sir Cyril asked me to ‘look after’ AMW.  I believe I have upheld the Spiritual values of AMW – the business side of Sir Cyril – including through my current contributions to institutions like Sri Lankan Airlines due to losing touch with its roots.

This week which reminds us of  the death anniversary (26 June)  of  Mr. Anandarajah, the principal of St. John’s college of Jaffna  who was killed by the  Tamil Tigers, I stated that the LTTE killed a representative of the root power of Jaffna – Mother Saraswathi – the Goddess of Education. Jaffna is the Education Capital of Tamils. Jaffna folks may protect the militants against ‘outside’ armed personnel but when it comes to choosing between armed power and educational power – the true Jaffna person will always choose Education. This is why the LTTE could not set up their headquarters in Jaffna but in Vanni.

Each block of Land that represents Sovereignty will naturally empower those to whom that block is ‘home. Last year, when the Toddy Tapper folks of Thunaivi played loud music on the Holy day of Thai Pongal,  and stated to me that they the youth group would make Pongal (sweet rice) at that time for which they said they did not need my approval, I felt really upset and cancelled all the ceremonies. With a kitchen knife in hand, I  walked up and down and I felt that Mother Kali Herself was in me as Energy to manifest the warning in the language they understood. I was still feeling sad when I heard within me – the voice saying ‘go to Jaffna’. I went to Jaffna – to the church near our rented homes in Jaffna. There some people had treated the festival as Common and Pongal /Sweet rice was waiting for me. To me that denoted  integration that the educated Tamil is capable of. This was further confirmed during the recent conflict within the Political Leadership of  Northern Tamils.

As per my knowledge, in 1985, when Principal Anandarajah was assassinated – all Jaffna schools shut down despite the threat from the LTTE who were traitors to the Jaffna Tamil who genuinely mourns the damage to the Jaffna Public Library in 1981. Jaffna’s spiritual root is education and so long as we are empowered by this root power – we would be self-governing in any environment that includes Jaffna as part of itself. This Common factor – confirms our strong contribution to multi-religious society. Each one who looks within would identify with their root power.

If we take for example immigration issues in Australia, those Australians who do not have common belief with Aborigines local to that area – including Coogee which is home to our family – would not recruit the right persons to whom Australia would be ‘home’. In terms of time based seniority – Aborigines have lost count of time and hence are most Natural. Now that we attribute respect to those to whom the Land has been sacred – we are showing more and more respect to Home Power at root level. Majority power of one generation needs to be greater than this seniority power for authority through majority power alone. The more Nature worshippers we recruit at grassroots level – the stronger our root-powers in immigration.

In Sri Lanka, if we take the Chief Minister of Northern Province – the Hon. C.V. Wigneswaran for example, is he a politician or judge? The politician’s force is through grassroots belief local to that place – developed on the basis of common experience. The Judge’s root force is intellectual through investment in Common Laws which often include European laws in Sri Lanka. As a Tamil the root power as a citizen was developed by Mr. Wigneswaran – in Colombo and not in Jaffna. His political  solution to the ethnic problem would therefore be based on the Colombo experience and not experience of Northern Sri Lankans. But in terms of Education and its tools of Administration – Mr. Wigneswaran’s root force would naturally merge with that of true Jaffna Tamil.

This in turn would be in natural conflict with the likes of Mrs. Ananthi Sasitharan, the roots of whose pathway has been in militancy through gun power.

The root power of any true Buddhist would be Non-Violence – physical and/or mental. The Buddhism foremost clause in the  Constitution confirms mental violence to elevate the power of Buddhists which then at the causal level makes Sri Lanka a country of autocracy which is Anti-Buddha – because Lord Buddha became Wise by renouncing the throne.

The way Buddhism came to Sri Lanka is presented as follows by Wikipedia:

[Emperor Ashoka took a keen interest in the propagation of Buddhism across the known world, and it was decided that his son, Mahinda, would travel to Sri Lanka and attempt to convert the people there. The events surrounding Mahinda's arrival and meeting with the king form one of the most important legends of Sri Lankan history.

According to the Mahavamsa king Devanampiyatissa was out enjoying a hunt with some 40,000 of his soldiers near a mountain called Mihintale. The date for this is traditionally associated with the full moon day of the month of Poson.

Having come to the foot of Missaka, Devanampiyatissa chased a stag into the thicket, and came across Mahinda (referred to with the honorific title Thera); the Mahavamsa has the great king 'terrified' and convinced that the Thera was in fact a 'yakka', or demon. However, Thera Mahinda declared that 'Recluses we are, O great King, disciples of the King of Dhamma (Buddha) Out of compassion for you alone have we come here from Jambudipa'. Devanampiyatissa recalled the news from his friend Ashoka and realised that these are missionaries sent from India. Thera Mahinda went on to preach to the king's company and preside over the king's conversion to Buddhism.]

Going into that period in virtual reality mode, one could conclude that Buddhism  is ‘foreign’ to Sri Lanka. Likewise Hinduism, Christianity and Islam.  Like the Nature worshippers here in Australia – Veddahs of Sri Lanka are the root powers that make us Sri Lankan through Land ownership.

When we therefore celebrate Buddhist Leadership in Sri Lanka – to override the fighting nature of Veddhas who were hunters, we are actually claiming to be part of India. Our success along Buddhist pathway therefore depends on Buddhist India which is minority power relative to Hindu India. The ethnic war taught us this lesson – with India now having its stakes in Trincomalee. So long as Education is honoured, Jaffna will continue to resist Indian invasion, leave alone Sinhalese invasion.

If the Buddhist Clergy look within and are honest with themselves – they would not make the claim that they were true disciplines of Buddha. Sri Lankan Politicians have no right to overtake that right to declaration – except when they seek to confirm that they are above the Buddhist clergy in Sri Lanka. 

Gajalakshmi Paramasivam

27 June 2017                     

Christians Foremost?

My eyes were drawn to the Sri Lankan news by the Australian, under the heading  ‘Sri Lankan boatpeople sent home’.  While reading that report, my eyes were drawn to the more interesting heading by Sydney Journalist Sam Buckingham-Jones – ‘Christians granted 60pc of humanitarian visas’.

I was satisfied that I was able to identify with the connection that  the system of Natural Justice was  showing. Sri Lanka’s majority race,  through the  Constitution has instructed that  ‘Buddhism would be foremost’. A Constitution is Democratic only when it is written to apply equally to all who are bound by it. That Constitution as it is currently worded – reflects the Truth that Sri Lanka is not a democracy but autocracy.

Here in Australia, we do not have any more – the White Australia Policy expressly stated in our Constitution. But those who continue to ‘enforce’ their habits on others tend to ‘invoke’ such ‘protection’ from time to time and rightly so – especially for migrants who rely heavily on financial returns for their investments in fellow Australians.

The recent conflict in Sri Lanka’s Northern Province Governance highlighted the need for connection with wider world if we are to ‘prevent’ internal conflicts between Natives and Migrants. This is also the conflict between Belief based Natural Governance and Intellectually driven Harmonious Government. The two are often enjoyed through different pathways.

The Indigenous Australians who continue to stay within their Beliefs would not have developed the Australia that migrants are attracted to. Within the Tamil community – majority militants are/were the parallels of Indigenous Australians. If any of their descendants / followers are included in the above group that has been ‘sent’ home, it is the DUTY of the Sri Lankan Government to itself to ensure their comfortable settlement in their home-areas.  Otherwise Sri Lanka would be importing the disappointments that these folks carry in their minds which is likely to manifest with compounded interest if there is another war in Sri Lanka which involves their community.

The Conflict here in Australian mind is whether we qualify to call ourselves self-governing when we continue to ‘show’ Christian values above Common values when dealing with secular issues. During my participation in a Court hearing on the basis of Racial Discrimination Act 1975, Justice Gyles asked me towards the end of the hearing whether according to me the alleged racial discrimination was Conscious or Subconscious? I said ‘subconscious’. Then Dr. John Griffiths (not sure if he is the one who later became the judge of the Federal Court) who represented the other side jumped up and stated words to the effect that his client was young and her career would be adversely affected by a ruling against her. When judgment was delivered to ‘dismiss’ me – I went to St Mary’s Cathedral nearby and cried.  The more I got to know the Australian Judiciary – the more disappointed I became. I was also able to better appreciate the challenges faced by Indigenous Australians in a White man’s world even when they express themselves through the White man’s rules.

Strictly speaking, one who follows the White Man’s rules must reach the destination of being ‘Right’ to that White Man. I intellectually followed the White Man’s rules to present my experience and was marked Wrong. But what did surface was the Truth that the White man is ‘foreigner’ to Global Law. That was the real value for the costs I paid through my legal actions. This helped me ‘demote’ the status of those pretenders to the level of the litigants they wrongly judged – in this instance – myself – as allocated by them and mentally I take their position to identify with the validity of the structure that we are both part of – to experience  harmony in my mind. For their part those judges and the lawyers who influence them – would ‘hoard’ their ‘rights’ once they get to the highest position available in their own special environment. Mr. Jerome Doraisamy whose surname indicates some commonness with my ethnicity states:

[86 per cent of professionals would rather suffer in silence than disclose a mental health condition out of fear of being fired or passed over for promotion.]

The need for the above disclosure is confirmed from within the Legal profession:

[In a testimonial, barrister, human rights and refugee advocate, Julian Burnside, says depression has been his own constant (but unwelcome) companion in life.

His only regret in seeing this book is that he did not see it earlier. Burnside highlights the dissonance between the idealism that attracts many to law school and the reality of big law firms. "Many, including the brightest and the best, see their earlier ideals looking more naïve, more unachievable."] - Young lawyer outs depression that is endemic in legal profession – published by Financial Review

When we feel depressed in a particular environment – after getting high grades in that environment – we know that we are in the wrong environment for us. If we continued to endure the suffering due to our belief based expectations, to that extent all those who marked us ‘right’ would be infected by our suffering. Hence the need for Equal Opposition where we are ‘free’ to express ourselves.

When we Believe, that confirms to us that we have completed our experience at that level. To the extent – this is upheld by those who hold positions above us – they are our elders in the hierarchical system or our equal partners in the lateral system of  Democracy.  From then onwards we are self-governing. Often it becomes necessary to have some degree of separation to appreciate this about ourselves.

The place where we completed the experience becomes our home. Those who marked us wrong – are juniors in this home-structure and those who dismiss us – become ‘foreigners’ / ‘outsiders’ to that home that we developed with Truth as the presiding Power.

Christian driven decisions to offset Islamic extremism makes those leaders ‘outsiders’ to Common Australia. They are not entitled to give speeches about Australian Values. The way I take my place as Australian Tamil, now that I use more Tamil Values based structures – they have to take their place as Australian Christians.

As per the above report by Mr. Sam Buckingham-Jones :

[At St Mark’s Coptic Church in Arncliffe yesterday, the Sydney diocese’s Bishop Daniel yesterday reminded Mr Turnbull the Copts in Egypt had “been victim to some of the most horrific form of persecution” and the target of attacks by Islamic State-aligned terrorists. Dozens were killed in bombings on Palm Sunday.]

The Christian influence was shared in that free environment. On that same basis – no non-Buddhist applicant from Sri Lanka should be repatriated until the Sri Lankan Government delivers Common Governance as measured by the UN.

Gajalakshmi Paramasivam

26 June 2017                                          

Private or Public/Local or Global?

Our  youngest daughter who is in a senior management position in Legal Aid, said recently  that she was constrained trying to balance her  post-renovation budget which was to her more challenging than would be for her siblings working in private sector. I listened without judging or relating one directly with the other. Seen from the outside - they are all in large institutions and in senior management positions.   But when taken individually they are diverse in their makeup at that level. As a parent, I need to be receptive to all three of them and to the extent of their diversity on one to one basis – helping them feel that they are right. That is the approach I take with victims of war in Sri Lanka. If I use the common measure – without bringing all three of them individually into me – one or the other would feel let down and rightly so. Hence to the extent they are diverse – we need to listen to them separately – as if they are the only ones needing our services. Within me, I am satisfied that they are all enjoying the returns of their own contributions to their positions in those institutions. The Commonness contribution is their membership with those large institutions – the largest of them being Public Service.  To my mind, our above mentioned Legal Aid senior manager enjoys higher status than the other two and hence it is understandable that she gets relatively less money than her siblings.

With this ‘value’ as the base, I read this morning, the response headed ‘Brighter or Darker skies over SriLankan Airlines?’ by Mr. Rajeewa Jayaweera – also a staff investor in the National Carrier. Of particular importance to me is the following passage:

[2016/17 Performance

Traffic Revenue has reportedly dropped by 6.1% to USD 790 million in 2016/17 from USD 842 million in 2015/16. Passenger Revenue is down by 6.5% to USD 685 million from USD 725 million and Cargo Revenue down by 7% to USD 80 from USD 87 million.

Key contributory factors have been a 2% reduction in revenue passenger kilometers (RPKs) in 2016/17 from previous year (RPK is calculated by multiplying the number of revenue-paying passengers on board a flight by the distance traveled), a 3% reduction in Passenger Yields and 11% reduction in Cargo Yields from previous year. It has negated a 3% increase in number of passengers carried from previous year.

One of the reasons attributed to the "weakening of the balance sheet" in the media release was the non- recovery of "drop in ticket prices" as a result of "fuel price reduction in 2015". Nevertheless, a reliable source stated "average fuel price paid by the airline in US cents per gallon in 2016/17 was 3% less than average price paid in 2015/16".

Drop in ticket prices need be addressed with innovative and dynamic sales, pricing and marketing strategies, by the commercial division, besides stringent controlling of costs by all concerned, top down.

Drop in ticket prices is a universal phenomenon and not limited to the Sri Lankan market and SriLankan Airlines. Qatar Airways CEO announced last week, a 20% growth in profits of USD 541 million and a 22% growth in passengers carried on year on year basis.]

There are many reasons for my special focus on this passage. The main one is the Revenue Passenger Kilometers. My mind sought and found the parallel structure in my work at the University of NSW – where as the consultant for the small but active Commercial Unit – Sports Medicine – I learnt to use the parallel of EFTSU – Effective Full Time Student Units presented  as follows by the University of Sydney:

[Fee paying

If you’re a domestic student on a full-fee-paying place, it means your place receives no financial contribution from the government and you are required to pay the full cost of the course.

If you’re an international student, you are required to pay the full international fee for your course.

While some postgraduate courses offer Commonwealth supported places for domestic students, most are offered as full fee paying.

Tuition fees for full-fee-paying places are based on an annual course fee that is reviewed each year.

Annual fees are based on an equivalent full-time student load (EFTSL) of 24 credit points per semester or 48 credit points (1.0 EFTSL) per year. If your study load in any calendar year is more or less than 1.0 EFTSL your tuition fee will differ.]

I used the EFTSU calculations in determining the viability of a particular Course within the Sports Medicine structure. That was like the project within the larger programme of Medicine.

Sri Lankan Airlines needs to be the leader in taking Sri Lankan Public Service towards Democratic Management – starting with its Financial Management.

Qatar Airways - the example chosen by Mr. Rajeewa Jayaweera is down in Home Relationships. As per recent reports:

[EMIRATES and Etihad Airlines have suspended all flights to and from Qatar as Arab nations sever diplomatic ties to the country, accusing it of supporting terrorist groups and backing Iran.] News.com.au

The Accountability factor of Qatar Airways has been shrunk to local levels and hence its reporting does not qualify to be used in ‘global context’/ as an indicator of Universal Phenomenon.

Qatar Airways – to the extent it is fully owned by the Government and therefore is controlled by the Emir of Qatar would have a hierarchical reporting structure. Sri Lankan Airlines was controlled by the Rajapaksa Monarchy and hence those reports did not qualify in the global context. The current government continued in that pathway to exploit Sri Lankan Airlines through the Weliamuna Report for which money was paid for someone lacking wisdom in Airline operations in general and particular to Sri Lankan Airlines’ structure. The only way this would have helped is through Energy developed through his then workplace – which I understand was Transparency International Sri Lanka. One would expect the key aspect of this institution to be Transparency. Yet, the ‘fee’ paid to Mr. Weliamuna was ‘hidden’.

While my intuitive objection was through the way he reported on the areas covered by me- most of which were established and developed by me under the supervision of Singapore International Airlines, on Commercial basis – others who did not have that inner wisdom – attributed negative value to the Weliamuna report once they found out that Mr. Weliamuna accepted money as fees and was not transparent about it.

Had Mr. Weliamuna been transparent – he would have shown efficiency as a Commercial investigator and his recommendations would have profitable in a financial sense. Given that he was not – he had the duty to decline any money and do it as part of his Service Program and that would have helped improve relationships within the whole structure including but not limited to the Government and the then current Staff. The weaknesses identified would continue to show – as per the root purpose of that Weliamuna report which was to rubbish the previous regime which report has had the effect of bringing in Public Service Monitors into  an organisation which is expected to produce a profit:

-        Line minister had no knowledge on national carrier’s decision to terminate deal with Airbus

-        CID probe underway on the purchase of four Airbus A -350 900 aircraft

-       AG questions legality of Airbus agreement and the need to sign numerous agreements with other parties  - Sunday Times Article ‘ More details emerge on SriLankan’s state of affairs’

The way effectiveness of an organization is measured could be through Revenue or Expenditure. Taking the traditional family as an example, the way a homemaker spent the money earned by the breadwinner would complete the picture at that level and elevate the ‘Opportunity level’ of the whole family  to the next higher level. It is for this reason that in Hindu culture – women are known as Shakthi / Energy. The homemaker foregoes personal enjoyment to share in Common. Since they do not get credit for earning money – their contribution turns into Energy which supports all money earners who are family to that homemaker.

In terms of Sri Lankan Airlines structure – where Public Service Support is provided to Commercial Operations – that is Homemaker’s contribution. But when Public Officers use the Airlines to show their own credits – they become Equal  breadwinners and they also need to be as Accountable as the Commercial Operators. Neither is expected to contribute to strengthen ‘relationships’ and one must expect divisions and separations followed by De Facto structures due to ‘freedom’ enjoyed at the lower level.

As we sow, so shall we reap. All genuine investors in the Airline will carry with them the ability to develop self-managing structures –including within the Tourism industry.  I for example am using Airbnb support services which facilitate both sides to review each other. THAT is the Universal measure of Democracy based on Equal Opportunity. This is the Energy I share with all those who respect my structures and take their positions within those structures. To me my AirLanka is a Commercial Operation structured under the leadership of Singapore International Airlines.

On that basis – yesterday when I listened to the Prime Minister of Singapore the Hon Lee Hsien Loong,  about the family conflict which was naturally affecting his Public life, I experienced the enjoyment of Transparency through my own parallel with close relatives in Vaddukoddai. Through myself I identified with the Singapore Prime Minister to be a Democratic leader. Likewise,  with the Australian Tamil Diaspora Leader who shared the speech with me.

I believe that this is what Being Global is all about. 

Gajalakshmi Paramasivam

25 June 2017                                          

You are not my Elder!

[Ahilan Kadirgamar and Mahendran Thiruvarangan are researchers from Jaffna and members of the Collective for Economic Democratisation in Sri Lanka.] - ‘Beyond accountability: the struggle for co-existence in Sri Lanka’ published by Open Democracy – free thinking for the world

[Ahilan Kadirgamar is a political economist based in Jaffna] – ‘Limits of exclusivism’ Published by the Hindu.

Which description of Mr. Kadirgamar is the true one? Likewise which description of Northern Province is true? – Mr. Wigneswaran’s or Mr. Sampanthan’s or Neither?

My spiritual guru says as per my recollection  - that there are three ‘I’s. The ‘Gaja’ that others say I am; the ‘Gaja’ that I think  I am,  and the Gaja being I am. The last one is Truth / Soul – the ultimate goal of seekers of Sovereignty.

On that basis – Jaffna to me is the Jaffna I can work naturally. Towards this I have to, from time to time come down to the start to take my the place as who others say I am. That gives me zero advantage or disadvantage relative to others in the environment – known through majority expressions. For example, I – a Chartered Accountant in Sri Lankan environment – became a bookkeeper in Sydney – after I failed to win jobs at the higher level of the Accounting profession. – That was stage (1)

Then I regulated myself as per the needs of my supervisors and became supervisor in those units / institutions – ensuring that I acted within the law at all times. That was stage (2)

When those above me failed to uphold my earned position – and I left that institution I relied on who I thought I was in Australian workplace – as per Australian rules, when I applied for new jobs. But once I won those jobs and completed my responsibilities as per the stated selection criteria – my mind became still and I started showing who I really was. This declaration happened at shorter and shorter intervals when the new institution was more disorderly than the ones I had worked previously. The University of NSW topped the list and hence  the manifestation when the new Vice Chancellor came from America. The American return Vice Chancellor did not study the local structure to negate his American advantage and hence his misfit was worse than that of the previous Vice Chancellor – who like Mr. Trump was Australian trained expecting to go global as is. I was arrested by the American return and when I invoked the true Energies of the University I was able to reverse the punishment on him.  This is why Peaceful Assembly / Sathya Graham should not only be made unlawful nor be disrespected.

In the recent Northern Provincial Council issue in Sri Lanka, Mr. Wigneswaran is the parallel of American return Vice Chancellor and Mr. Sampanthan the parallel of the old Vice Chancellor who sought to remain status quo. Since Mr. Wigneswaran was new to Politics – he used his natural Administration pathway when in Judiciary. Hence one could state that the conflict was similar to the one between former Chief Justice Dr. Shirani Bandaranayake and then President Mr. Mahinda Rajapaksa.

In his Hindu article – Limits of Exclusivism, Mr. Kadirgamar states in this regard:

[The controversy was essentially a manifestation of a simmering political conflict within the Tamil polity. Tension had been brewing within the NPC since the regime change in January 2015. The Tamil nationalists’ preferred discourse of victimhood and the need for international intervention during the authoritarian Rajapaksa regime suddenly confronted the geopolitical agenda of the West and India, which moved close to the new government in Colombo. The TNA leadership in Parliament shifted its approach towards engaging Colombo. However, Mr. Wigneswaran, along with politicians within and outside the NPC, firmly held his exclusivist, if not separatist, line.]

I do identify with this picture. It was interesting to note that the Tamil Diaspora’s Energy moved close to Mr. Wigneswaran who represents the more Educated Tamil within the Sri Lankan community in addition to officially representing the Nationalist agenda of Activists. As I say these days within local circles – let’s identify with the Energy that each participant activates.

There is Matter at the lowest end and there is Energy at the highest end. To my mind the two combined become the Force that manifests as outcome at that time, at that place. Matter, Force and Energy are my parallels of Body, Mind and Soul. Once our contribution reaches Energy state – it operates on its own and one who stays within her/his Truth will identify with the outcome manifested by her/his contribution. This is the power of One that Gandhi had and it was this Energy that brought out the 2015 election outcome to make Tamils the leading opposition in National Parliament despite being minority in terms of numbers. To my mind, that is our parallel of Mr. Obama becoming the American President. Each outcome would confirm the Energies that manifested that outcome at that place, at that time. One who seeks the Truth through her/his Truth and without ‘judging’ on the way – will identify with the Truth.

The conflict happened due to lack of Consolidating Energy within Tamil Political Leadership – the same way Sinhalese Political Leadership is also suffering. As per the history of Tamil Politics the two leading parties kept dividing and uniting during ‘normal’ times and ‘emergencies’ respectively. During normal times we naturally promote debate and our contribution is stored as Energy at that place. During emergencies – those Energies raise themselves to support us.

Mr. Wigneswaran was Recruited before he was  Elected by the People of Jaffna. The People of Jaffna here is all those to whom Jaffna is ‘home’. Even one person to whom Jaffna is ‘home’ today and wanting to identify with that Energy at the current leadership level, would add to the Recruitment of themselves  in that position. Current bodies in Jaffna when they are open to such influence – would become the media through which this Energy would manifest Itself. Out of all Tamil politicians available at the time of Provincial Council Elections, those like Mr. Sumanthiran who had knowledge of global politics – did not offer to take represent Tamils to the world at Provincial level. They wanted to play the big game at National level and beyond. Given Mr. Wigneswaran’s demonstrated interest in Tamil Politics and his status through the judicial pathway – he seemed to be the best person available for the job as defined by the Tamil Political Leadership. Without Mr. Wigneswaran, the Home Energy of Tamils who invested strongly in Administration despite the discriminatory practices by majority race, would not have been invoked to give shape to Northern Province as a leading Province in Sri Lanka – especially after the Terrorism label pinned through militants.

But having accepted the position, Mr. Wigneswaran was lost between the dynamics of  various groups who had influence over current bodies / matter in Jaffna. They are strongly influenced by ‘pro-boys’ whose pathway they can relate to better than the Colombo pathway. Often I hear in Jaffna that some problem or the other would not have happened if the ‘Boys’ were in control. In my mind, I say ‘the Army also would not have come if not for the Boys’. This I believe, diffuses the Energy of military spreading through such bodies. They are like tyre mechanics placing nails on the road – for business. Given that Jaffna has suffered due to the war – I merely listen to them without expressly administering them. I use administration actively in our Temple activities and through our Training Centre at Vaddukoddai junction. In terms of others, unless I have a medium through whom to communicate my investment in Law and Order of global standards, I mentally vote against their expressions / manifestations to kill the negative Energy that induced that manifestation. Theirs is current political right. Mine is Cumulative Administrative Right. Likewise Mr. Sampanthan and Mr. Wigneswaran respectively.

In terms of hierarchy Mr. Wigneswaran at Provincial level is of lesser status than the Colombo Tamil politicians. When this is expressed laterally – Colombo Tamil leader has majority power over Jaffna Tamil leader. Mr. Sampanthan erred by demonstrating that power to satisfy his voters. The effect is that Tamil politicians USED Mr. Wigneswaran’s status to suit their own purposes and failed to pay him the respects of an Administrative elder within the Tamil Community. That brings to mind the expression of an Aboriginal boy to a White Administrator in a local film. When the White man says that he ought to be respected as an elder – the young indigenous boy states words to the effect ‘you are not MY elder’!.  Jaffna Tamils who have become more and more Indigenous due to emigration especially of the more educated Tamils – would soon not recognize Mr. Wigneswaran as their elder. This was demonstrated by the elected representatives who would not be ‘told’ by Mr. Wigneswaran but would seek the association of ‘foreigner’ to Tamils – Governor, Mr. Reginald Cooray – who was not their elder. That happened in 2005 when LTTE traded money for voting rights of Tamils during Presidential Elections, to prevent Tamils from voting. Their message to Mr. Wigneswaran was that he was not their elder!

But so long as Mr. Wigneswaran continues to contribute to Tamils as a whole, Jaffna Tamils of his class will add their Energy to chase away the forces working against intellectual Administration.  Whether they know it or not – Colombo Politicians need him to stay in Jaffna to confirm our investment in reliable Administration which the armed militants also contributed to when they followed orders of their respective leaders – despite those leaders not carrying status at wider level. They also would say to the politician without Administrative Energy – ‘you are not my elder’. 

Gajalakshmi Paramasivam

24 June 2017                                          

The Right to Self-Determination – when and where?

“Before my death sentence is carried out, please remove my eyes and transplant them to a Tamil without eyesight. I will not be able to see the free Tamil Eelam but, at least, let my eyes see it.” Tamil Militant Kuttimani

[At the present time, when Sri Lanka is engaged in formulating a new Constitution, the concept of self-determination of Tamil people has become the subject of much discussion in political circles, civil society organizations and generally among the people.] Lakshman I. Keerthisinghe in Ceylon Today  article ‘A Sri Lankan perspective Right to self determination’

There is a saying in Tamil – that even the pillars of Poet Kamban would recite poems. I believe and often say it to immediate family that every corner of our home would speak ‘Due Process’.  In Governance – every pillar in the home area of the Governor must throb with the Energy of Sovereignty. Where there is equal share of responsibility taken by members – individually and/or collectively – self-governance is  confirmed through outcomes. Where there is a fair gap between one and the other/s Due Process is the pathway through which the Energy of the deeper investor in the ‘whole’ is preserved. Every part of the  home of such a leader would sing the praise of that leader’s specialty.

Every person has the right to self-determination. When a group of people of similar culture are led by such person/s within that culture – they would be a self-governing group. The right to self-determination by Sri Lankan Tamils as such a group, was formerly expressed through Vaddukoddai Resolution 1976. Majority folks in Vaddukoddai therefore need to be self-governing or need to show a self-governing person/group as their leader. The pathway through which this happened was Political. Yet, militants took-over the agenda and demoted Vaddukoddai’s status as follows:

[On 1 August 1982 T. Thirunavukarasu, the Tamil United Liberation Front (TULF) MP for Vaddukoddai, died and on 14 October 1982 the TULF nominated Kuttimani (Selvarajah Yogachandran), a leading member of the militant Tamil Eelam Liberation Organization (TELO), to be his replacement.  Kuttimani was at that time in prison awaiting trial on charges related to the Neervely bank robbery. There was dispute as to whether Kuttimani was eligible to be an MP and on 24 January 1983 Kuttimani "resigned" from Parliament, never having taken oath. The TULF subsequently nominated Tiruchelvam to be Thirunavukarasu's replacement.] - Wikipedia

By considering Kuttimani the TULF leaders weakened their claim to self-determination through the Political pathway. Kuttimani being a militant was not entitled to membership benefits within TULF. Wikipedia reports as follows in relation to Kuttimani’s tragic death:

[Kuttimani was arrested by the Sri Lankan Navy on April 5, 1981 and was charged with an array of "criminal acts". The Sri Lankan court sentenced him to death.

The presiding judge said that when he sat down he would pronounce his verdict as required by law. However, before that, he wanted to state that he did not view Kuttimani as a common criminal. He further said that if one day the president was to grant a reprieve to Kuttimani he would be happy to hear of it. Kuttimani's reply showed the world his yearning for a free country (Tamil Eelam) for his people. This was his reply:

Before my death sentence is carried out, please remove my eyes and transplant them to a Tamil without eyesight. I will not be able to see the free Tamil Eelam but, at least, let my eyes see it.

Upon his death sentence, Kuttimani was sent to the Welikada (Welikade) maximum-security prison to wait for his execution. There were both Sinhala and Tamil prisoners. The Sinhala prisoners were convicted of criminal offences such as murder, rape, robbery, etc. The Tamil prisoners were all freedom fighters. The Sinhala and Tamil prisoners were kept apart all the time to avoid racial clashes between them.

Murder

Kuttimani was brutally murdered during the 1983 Anti-Tamil pogrom in the island. Sinhalese mobs as well as personnel belonging to the Sri Lankan forces went on a rampage in Tamil areas, torturing and murdering Tamil men and children, raping, torturing and murdering Tamil women and girls, and looting and burning Tamil residences and businesses. Police and army (which were almost exclusively Sinhalese) either participated in this orgy of violence against the Tamils or kept a blind eye.

On 25 July, the second day of the pogrom, the Tamil inmates of the Welikada prison, who almost all of them had been detained without any trial, under the draconian Prevention of Terrorism Act, were brutally murdered by the Sinhalese convicts with the assistance of the prison guards. According to Amnesty International, some of the Sinhala prisoners were given alcohol and then were encouraged to attack the Tamil prisoners. A large number of the Sinhala prisoners, with knives and other sharp weapons, stormed into the building where some 35-37 Tamil prisoners were lodged. They stabbed, beat and tortured the Tamil prisoners. Genitals of a few prisoners were mutilated.

 Both the eyes of Kuttimani as well as Jeganathan were mutilated and gouged out with iron bars, since he had dreamed of seeing with them, through another person after his execution, an independent Tamil state. One version has it that Kutimani’s tongue was cut out by an attacker who drank the blood and cried: “I have drunk the blood of a Tiger.”  He was then murdered and his body was disposed in front of a statue of the Buddha in the prison yard.]

Was Kuttimani entitled to Politically represent Vaddukoddai once he became a guerrilla fighter? To my mind if the answer says ‘yes’ as per majority Vaddukoddai folks, then we were deviating from the Political pathway towards the military pathway. This automatically writes off our investment in Higher Education. The higher the structure of our education system – the stronger the validity of process needs to be. Self-Governance in higher education is confirmed at PhD level – where we contribute to Theory/Policy. If we seek self-governance at lower level – the area covered needs to be small. Outcomes driven pathways would lead to self governance only when the areas is small. Hence the use of project basis in Democracy where commitment to Due Process has been weakened in large organisations – especially those within Public Service where majority are of one culture. LTTE was strong in military leadership by rejecting power-sharing with other groups.    

The more we depended on ‘showing’ outcomes to others – the smaller our area of governance became. Kuttimani’s world was limited to the Guerrilla groups amongst Tamils. Until they were in the majority his country was much smaller than the Tamil Nation covered by the Vaddukoddai Resolution. If not, then Vaddukoddai Resolution was killed by militants. If militants did not inherit Vaddukoddai Resolution – then they needed to start from zero base and stay away from the investments made by others through traditional pathway of Politics.

Mr. Keerthisinghe states in this regard:

[It is to be noted that although the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) has been an ardent advocate of Tamils being a separate 'people' and that leads them to the right for self-determination, there is not yet a recognized legal definition of 'peoples' in international law.]

The parallel of the above vagueness is ‘Australian Values’ that our politicians often refer to when they feel challenged by minorities. Legally, Australian Law would be taken as Common principle and practice of it would be Australian Value. Any politician before expressing an expectation at National level – has the duty to first make it LAW before pronouncing such expectations outside Parliament House. Otherwise like Kuttimani’s Thamil Eelam – covering a section of Sri Lankan Tamil community, White Australians are referring to English Values when they say Australian values.

The Tamil Traditional pathway of Intellectual Discrimination has been damaged and neglected by Tamils looking for quick outcomes including through militants who fight at the risk of their lives. The recent conflict in Northern Province Politics became public due to lack of Common Due Process, under the leadership of an educated Tamil person and/or group. In 2014, a Sri Lankan doctor residing in Australia killed her abusive husband because her belief that he would one day change did not come true. The problem with those who accept their minority status is that however educated they are they tend to rely on belief and not seek a way out including through the Law. This young lady doctor shares her experience as follows:

"I think emotional abuse was the most difficult part to deal with. That constant manipulation, that constant control which I felt — I was so much trapped, and I could not leave. And constant threats to myself and my family and loved ones made me very helpless."

This happened also because in Sri Lanka, education is more for a living than for higher life. In terms of Natural Justice, the lady is now ‘free’ even though she was sent to prison for manslaughter.

"I thought one day he would change, so I could not believe what happened on that day."

Tamil leaders often said this about why they did not resist militants from killing Politicians. Majority Tamils opposed the killing of Rajiv Gandhi. But to the LTTE which deviated from the root cause – there would have been little room for ‘logic’.

Now that the disorder within the Sinhalese Armed Forces has been made public – society has the duty to think along the lines the Judge in the case against of Kuttimani demonstrated by stating that he did not consider Kuttimani to be a Common Criminal and that he would be happy to learn about a Presidential reprieve.

So long as our internal law and order system is weak we need separation of powers as per our respective cultures so that we could find and live within our own Sovereign paths. We are all born Sovereign and so long as we stay close to our ‘home’ make up,  we would tend to preserve and act within that Sovereignty. Once we seek to rule others or be ruled by others we would need to broaden our thinking to cover the whole as our home-group or devolve power to the extent we are not able to so consider. Sinhala only legislation would have made foreigners of all Sri Lankans to whom Sinhalese was not the mother-tongue. Likewise if English only were to become the law in Multicultural Australia. Sinhalese who considered Tamils as part of their group – in secular institutions – would have been naturally protected from fear of Terrorism – especially when those Tamils do what they can to educate and include militants,  rather than find fault at lower levels to entertain their desire for authority.

The more we rely on outcome based Administration including through military wins, the greater the need to shrink our home base – so that we do not exercise authority over foreigners – even though they carry the Sri Lankan label by law. Every person/group is entitled to pursue the discovery of the Sovereignty in their own pathway – so long as it is NOT unlawful and/or is NOT damaging another’s pathway.

So long as Buddhism foremost is part of the Common Law – it would be difficult for Non-Buddhists to be committed to Common Law. The People in that instance is Buddhists if the makers are to claim Belief as the basis of that law. Hence they do not have jurisdiction over non-Buddhists – be they individuals or groups.

Those driven by majority rule need strong opposition to form the belief based foundation on which Administration is developed. One who Believes is Sovereign and v.v. Given that a non-Buddhist cannot believe that Buddhism is foremost – all Non-Buddhist have the natural entitlement to self-devolution through the highest common pathway in their environment. One who acts to punish a member of minority religion for doing so – is actually earning the debit to be punished in due course of time – as happened in the case of the Sri Lankan lady doctor who was strongly supported by Australians who have embraced the de facto system of marriage where we are entitled to act in our own way – as per our conscience. When we act as per our conscience – we would never wrong the other person nor society that we are both part of.

I believe that if Buddhism foremost clause had been removed from the Common Constitution – not only the war but also the devolution to Provincial Councils would not have been needed. Any good law will uphold the Truth which is carried as Common Belief by a group of People. A law that fails to uphold that Truth / Common Belief – is for political advantage and hence carries the high risk of separating – first with ‘foreigners’ over whom the spirit of such law is enforced and when they resist – the habit damages the internal makeup of those who are used to majority force. This has happened at least twice in Sri Lanka – with the minority becoming leading opposition when the ‘Energy’ invested by majority to uphold Sovereignty of the whole was weaker than the Energy by minorities who often tend to use intellectual discrimination where they are challenged by majority rule. That was how Tamils became leading Opposition in Sri Lankan Parliament – due also to genuine Buddhists who practiced Buddhism with respect for Lord Buddha.