Gajalakshmi Paramasivam

12 June 2017

Who are the Foreigners?

[ECONOMYNEXT -  A reconciliation process agreed with the United Nations has enhanced the sovereignty of Sri Lanka and its people, compared to 2014 when the international community brought a resolution against the country, State Minister Eran Wickramaratne said.
He said lies were being spread that the attorney general or judges will be replaced by foreigners but even the last administration had accommodated foreigners in their processes dealing with Sri Lanka's civil war.
The UN proposal had four main pillars. One was finding out what happened to the disappeared. Another was compensating and rehabilitating those who suffered losses.
There had to be a reconciliation process. The last was a mechanism for justice involving a judicial process.
The last regime had also initiated several processes, Wickramaratne said. Different regimes had come up with mechanism due to perceived shortcomings with Sri Lanka's judicial system.]

The above would be interpreted differently by different groups  each as per their development in National Governance. To me, of particular interest is the Justice Mechanism involving judicial process.  This is so because  this is common to all investors in Sri Lanka including during Colonial times through which investment we became ‘global’ by respecting the one from whom we learnt those Common global values and earned the opportunities to participate in global activities. This is largely cricket and tourism for Sinhalese and global justice system for Tamils.

Often the ladies within the Tamil Diaspora  said about the Tamil Tigers that they started off well but lost their way later. To my mind, that was because later they started killing the higher minds in the community to show their leadership. Even during my recent court attendance in Jaffna two ladies who were there for their own matters in court – said to themselves that ‘if the boys were there this would not have happened’.  That is a true statement as per the known conduct of the Tamil Tigers. But then rape was never the main problem of Jaffna Tamils who had the protection against such risks built into their family relationships. Whether I liked it or not – I abstained from acting in ways that would earn me punishment / discipline from my parents and other family elders. Later when I used my own intuition in marriage – I accepted the punishment of separation by them. But I never rejected them in other pathways. I separated ‘marriage’ as a project from the program of family – probably due also to my achievements in higher education which rejected the abuse of dowry system to show immediate outcomes.  The success of my chosen pathway and accepting the ‘punishment’ resulted in merger of the two systems after my marriage was seen as a success  - largely through the ‘home/family’ values that I upheld through our branch of the family.  

Given that I had sacrificed my earned status as a  child of good conduct in other areas of family life, and continued to demonstrate respect for family elders – in other areas – our branch naturally became part of the Common family in due course. Eventually it’s one’s conduct that determines true membership and therefore relationship.

The LTTE by killing not only Tamil Politicians but also fellow militants lost its connection with the consolidated value of Tamils’ investment in self-determination after Sinhala only move was made by law-makers. Given that our Judicial system in Common areas was largely based on Roman-Dutch Law and English Law – they became our Common law – applicable to Sri Lankans where there was no customary law. The parallel of this is that unless there is provision in the  Thesawalamai Law inheritance of wealth of a family member is equally distributed after the death of that family member. Applying the Common Law basis when there is provision in Thesawalamai Law, amounts to disowning our Diversity. Hence at Mallakam District Court in Northern Sri Lanka, when the Colombo lawyer representing our opposition in a Testamentary matter asked me why I needed the money – I said very naturally – Thesawalami. But the side to whom Vaddukoddai was ‘home by birth’ and by living majority of their years, claimed that they wanted the  Common Law and the lawyer stated on the basis of our Affidavit (which was set aside) – that I was claiming the money that I had spent on the family – including to help them migrate to Australia and develop a good living here. If  those actions are measured through Common Law, those members owed us the return of our investment in them along the path of Thesawalamai.  The system when broken to enjoy immediate outcomes – becomes unjust. Yet this was upheld by the Northern Courts during  the leadership of a Thesawalamai Expert as Chief Minister – the Hon C.V. Wigneswaran.

Every Tamil who seeks to use Common Law and sets aside Thesawalamai Law – is effectively saying ‘We want a Unitary Structure.’ This includes the judiciary in Northern Sri Lanka at the District Court level.

In terms of Devolution, the real powers of diversity are weakened by those who seek outcomes through Common Law, despite the local systems and/or the Customary Law says otherwise. Laws deliver just outcomes to all investors when applied on the basis of Belief. It is only now that we are able to witness serious actions against Buddhist clergy who act against Buddhist values. Likewise Judges and Ministers who fail to uphold the respective laws of their positions through which they take up authority.  

Given that it was recognized that the existing Judicial system of Sri Lanka had shortcomings it would be unjust to use outsiders to judge Sri Lankan activities that happened under that system through a new measure and use those outcomes directly for internal purposes. The mind that interprets the law has to be Sri Lankan in a Sri Lankan Court. Towards this the matter has to be escalated to the international judicial level for it to qualify to be heard under UN actions. The Australian Court ruled that defamation that happened in Sri Lanka, even though the Causal force was legally Australian, could not be heard in NSW Australia, due to lack of jurisdiction. Likewise when ‘foreign’ minds hear Sri Lankan matters.

All these discussions are regarding  the minds of those in power who were required to have knowledge of international law when accessing global resources. They would not and should not directly apply to the local individual without National level portfolio.

Ms Gagani Weerakoon writes through her Ceylon today article claims on the basis of British Prime Minister’s mind:

[Though, May's stance on taking 'every possible' action against terrorism regardless of human rights once again provides evidence of the hypocrisy of the West, when dealing with matters concerning other countries, her call to not provide breeding ground to Islamic or any other extremist group cannot be ignored.

As a country which fought to end a terrorism militarily eight years ago, Sri Lanka too is facing a challenge of keeping its regained political stability and national security with both Islamic and Buddhist extremists groups taking centre stage from time to time.

While, there were intelligence reports indicating the need of the hour to end extremist groups operating in Sri Lanka, before it was too late, both present and past governments continue to trade charges against each other for being ignorant.

It was in 2014, that State Intelligence Service provided a comprehensive report of Sri Lanka being a haven for extreme militant groups but the defence authorities at the time seemed to have taken it for granted.

Meanwhile, during the latter part of 2016 Indian intelligence services sought stronger cooperation from Sri Lankan security forces and intelligence services through the Sri Lankan Government in tracking down terrorist outfits operating in the country.]

Given that there is acknowledgment that Tamil militants were considered to be Terrorists by the Sri Lankan Government and by majority Sinhalese leaders, the actions of the Sri Lankan Government need to be measured through the same international yardstick and hence war-crimes inquiry b global bodies and minds.  To the extent Indian Governments resourced the militants – they also become Terrorists as per that yardstick.   India got its foothold in Trincomalee while we the Tamil community of Sri Lanka carry the liability of Terrorism status.  

To the extent we Tamils continue to include the militants as part of ourselves and do our best to repair the damages and include their contribution also in seeking respect for our community as a self-governing community and leave the rest to God/Truth – we will continue to invoke global powers that we have invested in and continue to invest in.