Gajalakshmi Paramasivam

26 October  2017

Child Soldier

I was returning to Jaffna, after facilitating my husband’s eldest brother at the Yoga Swami Home for the Aged in Vannerikulam, within Kilinochchi District which was then under the rule of LTTE (Tamil Tigers). Inside the tuk-tuk was a poster with two young boys – aged around 10. One was carrying the plough and the other the gun. I asked the tuk-tuk driver as to what that poster meant to him? He said that the gun was needed to protect the plough. I said that I disagreed with him because to me the gun represented violence. Now, when I think about it – I realise that   the common person in that area needed both – the gun and the plough, to break-even in terms of income and expenditure/ enjoyment and security. In terms of modern day language of psychology, as I understand it as a lay person  – this is the balance between mindfulness and cognitive memory.

The above structure surfaced when I read the news article, with the following report:

[Jaffna High Court Judge Illanchelian, issuing the Order, strictly prohibited the sacrifice of animals at Hindu temples, stating that it was a crime against the animals as well as the Hindu religious values.

Prohibiting any form of animal sacrifice at Hindu temples, the Jaffna High Court Judge directed the Deputy Inspector General of Police for Jaffna to implement the Order effectively in the Police Divisions under his purview in the North.

Meanwhile, several Hindu institutions also earlier took the initiatives to prohibit animal sacrifices at the Hindu temples.

The incumbent Northern Chief Minister C. V. Wigneswaran, when he was District Judge of Mallakam, had also ordered that animal sacrifices at Hindu temples be stopped.] – Ceylone Today article ‘Jaffna HC prohibits animal sacrifices at Hindu temples’

The parallels  of the above are:

          Sinhalese -  killing  minorities in battle

Tamils – using the physically weaker amongst them – including children

               to fight against the more powerful enemy / opposition.

Both of these happened due to both side leadership stealing the work of their ancestors – without paying their dues to those ancestors. The Natural result was that they went back to the times when animal slaughter was of positive value. Hence the Lion and Tiger both hunting the cow and the goat respectively to satisfy their physical needs.

To a mind that genuinely considers animal slaughter to be wrong – weapon based militancy during the time of Democracy would also be wrong. One who lives in Democracy would know what to do to release her/himself from the clutches of autocracy which system includes slaughter of tame animals.

Mr. Wigneswaran who as a judge ordered that animal sacrifices be stopped, has as a political leader, promoted those groomed by leaders who sent our children to fight against physically stronger enemy.

Like the Tiger, the LTTE fought, captured and ruled as if they were in the period of Kings who defended and expanded their territories through physical-weapon power alone. As per their demonstrated mind structure, under their rule,  animal slaughter would have been acceptable.

Another recent example of this ‘going backwards’ attitude was reported about the National Carrier Sri Lankan Airlines, according to which the Chairman Mr. Dias is saying Commercial whilst the President and the Prime Minister are ‘telling’ Mr. Dias:

[Both the President and the Prime Minister were livid when Dias tried to canvass support to bypass government procurement procedures and secure more financial autonomy for SriLankan, a fully state-owned company.

The committee flatly rejected Dias and cabinet seniors reminded Wickremesinghe of his promise to sack the SriLankan board in June when several ministers alleged that Dias was acting as a "government within a government." ]

The above reminded me of one of Mr. Wigneswaran’s successors in the position of  Judge in Mallakam District Court – about which I have recorded as follows:

[On Australia Day 2012, his Honor Justice Ariyanayagam stated in Mallakam District Court, in Northern Sri Lanka, that he would not have lawyers conducting their own Courts outside the official Court system.

That showed insight into lawyers taking over power from the Judges. The Opposition in that case stated that the Affidavit submitted by my husband was not valid due to my husband signing the Affidavit that states that he was in Jaffna, when he was in Australia ! My husband’s presence in Sri Lanka, could have been easily proven by asking for certified copies of relevant pages of his passport. But the Judge did not need such ‘evidence’. The judge asked me as to when my husband had arrived in Sri Lanka and as to when he left. I stated the dates. The judge asked me a second time – a little bit later and I gave the dates again. That was when the accusations by the other side got returned against them through strong words of discipline by the Judge. On Australia Day, we celebrate the arrival of British – and the British are common to both Australia and Sri Lanka – especially through Administration and the Judiciary where English law is the base of legal structure. I focused on that before leaving to participate in the Court Proceedings in Northern Sri Lanka and the return that day was uplifting.] - Churning  Jaffna Water – at www. http://austms.blogspot.com.au/

Like the British being the Common elder of Australian and Lankan judiciary – Sri Lankan Airlines is the Common senior of the  citizen staying at ‘home’ and investing in the airline through the Government on the one hand and on the other - the Commercial / Business-minded emigrant like myself working, through our Energy -  the Airline and therefore the Sri Lankan  Government towards better status in wider world that is now our home.

By demanding that Mr. Dias follow Government procurement procedures  these two leaders are demoting the income that that expense would produce, to the level that would be derived by that kind of expense and that kind of mind-structure – accountable to local voters and not that is accountable to the International traveller. One of the lessons I learnt at Air Lanka under the leadership of Singapore International Airlines was to ‘think big’. My immediate supervisor – Mr. Noor Shirazee – had a ‘think big’ icon on his desk. If the immediate past Governor of Cetral Bank - Mr. Mahendran did not think big – Mr. Wickremesinghe would not attract  International business funding. Without Mr. Wickeremesinghe – we would be ruled as per jungle laws with Mr. Sirisena withdrawing to find his real call.

The above mentioned report includes also the following:

[There had been several complaints made to the Prime Minister against Dias, the sources said.
High on the list is a request by the President himself to ensure justice to a senior pilot Sujith Jayasekera who had been suspended following a flawed investigation. Dias had ignored the president's wishes and insisted he be sent a written request from the president. The President was visibly upset when it was conveyed back to him and said he would take it up with the Prime Minister.]

If the above report is a true and fair reflection of what happened, the President is the one who needs to be disciplined by the Parliament for interfering within the management of an autonomous entity described to the Public as follows in its Annual Report:

[1. CORPORATE INFORMATION

1.1 General Company SriLankan Airlines Limited (“the Company”) is a Limited Liability Company incorporated and domiciled in Sri Lanka. The registered office of the Company and the principal place of business is located at Airline Center, Bandaranaike International Airport, Katunayake, Sri Lanka.]

The Government is not a limited liability Company but one whose existence is based on Belief and Belief is unlimited.

 Hence the direct interference of a member of the Government amounts to acting in breach of the fundamentals of Commercial structures  as well as the structure of the elected Government itself.

Continuing with this kind of mismanagement would lead to Sri Lankan Airlines becoming more and more like Air Ceylon – under which structure,  staff were slaughtered by heir seniors to appease politicians.