Gajalakshmi Paramasivam

28 February 2018                                    

Mahendran & Gunaratna

 

[Sri Lanka went wrong mainly because of our short-sighted politicians, who played in politics for their political and personal reasons. They brought the Sinhala Only Act which was absolutely unnecessary when all ethnic groups in Sri Lanka were living peacefully.

By introducing the Sinhala Only Act we got nothing. It has destroyed the security and the stability of our country and we suffered in a 30-year war] - Prof. Rohan Gunaratna of the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies, Nanyang Technology University, Singapore – (Daily FT article)

 

Like Arjuna Mahendran,  Rohan Gunaratna is now a Singaporean of Sri Lankan origin. They both have failed to complete their Sri Lankan life by paying their dues before becoming Singaporeans. They have both profited from the Sri Lankan war – Gunaratna directly and Mahendran indirectly. They have many heirs in the Sri Lankan Diaspora and many more will emerge to rob and  suppress Sri Lankans. Arjuna Mahendran’s weaknesses have already become public knowledge. Not so   Rohan Gunaratna’s in Sri Lanka. I have from time to time highlighted Rohan Gunaratna’s negatives as per my own experience based Truth. Below is how  wider world saw  the negatives– as confirmed by Wikipedia:

 

[Hambali claims

In 2003, Gunaratna claimed that Al-Qaeda commander Riduan Isamuddin alias Hambali regularly visited Australia plot fly planes into the British Houses of Parliament were dismissed by Australian authorities including the ASIO as lacking in evidence.^[2][5] Commenting on one of his books, the Pacific Journalism Reviewsaid in its review that "his writing here on Indonesia reveals a remarkably narrow selection of sources, a profound lack of knowledge, and a flawed understanding of the history of the Indonesian armed forces and of their intelligence operates"  Australian journalist and commentator on intelligence issues Brian Toohey has called him a "self-proclaimed expert". He has also made bogus claims to be a "principal investigator" at the UN’s Terrorism Prevention Branch. IN reality, he had spoken at a seminar organized by the parliamentary library, given evidence to a congressional hearing on terrorism and delivered a research paper at a conference organized by the UN’s Department for Disarmament Affairs.

In 2004, New Zealand journalist Martin Bright, described Gunaratna as “the least reliable of the experts on bin Laden” His claim to the New Zealand Herald that "sympathisers and supporters of various terrorist groups were in New Zealand” and claimed to have seen their fundraising leaflets were also dismissed by New Zealand’s Financial Intelligence Unit.

Others

In 2013, Sri Lankan member of parliament Wijeyadasa Rajapakshe wrote in op-ed in which said that "he (Gunaratna) insisted the importance of combating terrorism, he did not address on the cause for the emergence of terrorism."^[8] In 2017, Inspector General of Bangladesh Police dismissed his claims of ISIS presence in Bangladesh by saying that he had no experience in "real issues.”.

Ontario Superior Court of Justice's verdict against Gunaratna

In a February 2011 article in Lakbima News, Gunaratna claimed that the Canadian Tamil Congress (CTC) was a front for the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam.^[10]The CTC sued Gunaratna, and on 21 January 2014, the Ontario Superior Court of Justice ruled against Gunaratna, ordering home to pay the CTC damages of $37,000, and costs of $16,000. In his ruling judge Stephen E. Firestone stated that Gunaratna's claims were unequivocally and incontrovertibly "false and untrue"]

 

Now Rohan Gunaratna is preaching to the converted by claiming through Daily FT interview - that ‘Sinhala Only Act destroyed peaceful Sri Lanka’

 

The problem with premature migration is the same as the one with Dual Citizenship in National  governance. At family level the parallel is marriage. Those who fail to complete their birth relationship tend to indiscriminately mix systems and fail their marriage. Likewise in immigration they fail their new nations by failing to use the higher common principles. One who completes the first Nation relationship automatically rises to the higher common level by merging the Truth of yesterday to empower the Principles of today.

 

As a Singaporean, Rohan Gunaratna is an outsider to Sri Lanka. He thus has the duty to criticise through common principles and not as a Singaporean. To declare as a Sri Lankan he must make Singapore his past and effectively set aside all benefits from his statements and actions, to himself as a Singaporean. Those who indiscriminately mix the systems at benefits level dilute their values to both nations. They are ineligible to contribute directly to policy.

 

One whose net Sri Lankan value has been pain would have completed the Sri Lankan experience by accepting the deficit as ownership value. In our Dowry system  - the daughter is compensated to complete that relationship without feeling the pain as a negative value.

 

Dr Gunaratna obviously has gained from Sri Lanka and is unable to complete that relationship and hence keeps returning ‘home’ for more and more of the same. Hence he is showing signs of suffering from ‘Dual Citizenship Syndrome’.  Effectively Rohan Gunaratna is guilty of Race based discrimination.

 

Article 1 of the ‘International Convention on the elimination of all forms of racial discrimination’ states:

 

[In this Convention, the term "racial discrimination" shall mean any distinction, exclusion, restriction or preference based on race, colour, descent, or national or ethnic origin which has the purpose or effect of nullifying or impairing the recognition, enjoyment or exercise, on an equal footing, of human rights and fundamental freedoms in the political, economic, social, cultural or any other field of public life  ]

 

The ‘Sinhala Only Act’, to the extent the leaders of that time were driven by their cultural group – was in breach of the rights of non-Sinhalese. A non-Sinhalese therefore becomes a victim of the ‘Sinhala Only Act’. A Singaporean subjectively criticising a Sri Lankan  qualifies as racial discrimination on the basis of nationality.

 

The mind that sees Sinhala Only Act as the root-cause of the ethnic war – would not consider LTTE as Terrorists but only as militants.

 

One is entitled to make declarations of belief within one’s local group. That was the validity of  Tamil political declaration - Vaddukoddai Resolution 1976.  To the extent the LTTE or any individual used it outside the boundaries of belief – that person is guilty of racism – by claiming benefits on the basis calculated superiority. To the extent such exercise included violence – physical and/or mental – they became criminals.

 

Sinhala Only Act was the parallel of Vaddukoddai Resolution 1976. The former was against the British and the latter against the Sinhalese. The British left 70 years ago and Sinhala Only Act continues to be celebrated on 04 February. Tamils became the recipients of that emotional attachment to ‘freedom’ that was indiscriminately displayed by Sinhalese.

 

Those who expressly rejected Sinhala Only Act and continue to respect all governments of Sri Lanka, have the power to protect Sri Lanka’s Independence – even if they do not own one inch of land in Sri Lanka. When they have a need – all those through whom they became independent will come to be with them and protect the common values.

 

Mr. Deepal Sooriyaarachchi’s presentation through ‘Purpose, decisions, behaviour – that is all!’, also published by  Daily FT, may help majority Sri Lankans appreciate this problem as a manifestation of the ‘purpose’ in a free environment:

[A corporation can be viewed from many dimensions. Considering that it is a collective of humans, a corporate can be defined as an entity that has a purpose or a reason for existence, and that continues to take decisions that influence the behaviour of  human beings in that entity.

These three can be arranged on a hierarchical basis with the purpose at the top and the behaviour at the bottom, which is the most visible of the three.]

 

When we are free and unsupervised – the behaviour directly confirms purpose. So long as one’s purpose is as per one’s belief  and is exercised within the boundaries of that belief – it would be the right decision for that group.

 

Non-Sinhalese who ‘left’ it to the majority,  as a good proportion of  Sri Lankans in Australia do in terms of Australian Governance – have resigned themselves to rule by majority race . Dr Rohan Gunaratna being a Sinhalese ought to have expressly rejected any benefits from Sinhala superiority – including LTTE Terrorism – to have the right to criticize as a Sri Lankan and/or Global citizen.

 

As in the case of corporations, a nation also is also viewed  from many dimensions. Only one who brings another as part of her/himself – has the moral right to subjectively administer the other and that too to the extent of ‘inclusiveness’.

All other positives and negatives need to be calculated on the basis of Common Principles. Dr Rohan Gunaratna fails the test of Use of Objective Evaluation that an outsider  has the duty to be committed to – for the same reason why Arjuna Mahendran who acted like a Singaporean is hiding from Sri Lankan authorities.

Gajalakshmi Paramasivam

27 February 2018                                    

British Minority in Sri Lanka

&

Mistress in Lankan Parliament

 

We read a person at  various levels, including through attitudes which are naturally communicated through body language also.  Dr Dayan Jayatilleke wrote in his Colombo Telegraph article ‘Don’t Play It Again, Sam’ about, the Hon Rajavarothiam Sampanthan, the official  Leader of the Opposition in Sri Lanka:

 

“I have always regarded him as the last of the old-school parliamentarians whom I used to watch as a boy, from the press gallery in the old Parliament building near Galle Face, with the blue light atop the flagstaff switched on when the House was in session. His command of the English language, stentorian delivery, his persona of an irascible gentleman all combined to make him a figure of respect and admiration irrespective of one’s opinion of his politics.”

That fits the Sampanthan I know and identify with through my independent work. But the way Dr Jayatilleke sees Mr Sampanthan now is different to the Sampanthan I identify with through  our commonness. The side through which Dr Jayatilleke recognises and presents seems more like that of the person who forwarded Mr Sampanthan’s recent speech in Parliament under the subject heading ‘Sampanthan lambasting MR in Parliament’ and with the question ‘WHY IS SAMPANTHAN NOT TALKING IN TAMIL ???’

My response was ‘Mr Sampanthan is Sri Lankan and carries British heritage. Hence he speaks in English’

The Hon G G Ponnambalam an Intellectual Tamil Political elder proposed 50:50 representation in Parliament so as to protect minority rights in a nation that was strongly attached to diverse local cultures. A person who thinks of another as an Equal, until known otherwise on merit basis, would identify with this as protecting the Sovereignty of a diverse group. As per my understanding of ‘Soul-connections’ through  Love / Truth – when we value our own independence we would value the independence of others. Towards this we need to keep our distance from the other or become their ‘other side’ when the side that is not immediately visible to us – as small minorities are to big majority.

The Hon G G Ponnambalam’s proposal was rejected by the then policy makers. But an Intellectual would know intuitively and/or consciously that one needs Equal footing to carry knowledge and therefore knowledge-based governance. One cannot conduct business successfully in free market environment without this knowledge of Equality.

The reason for the difficulties we face – as seen by an intellectual of  Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy at the National University of Singapore;  Sri Lankan Finance Ministry Senior Advisor;  and the state-run Institute of Policy Studies Chairman - Professor Razeen Sally is presented through  Daily Mirror report headed ‘Top economist sheds light on political realities in Sri Lanka’:

‘The Sinhala Buddhist community has a cultural need to depend on a larger than life figure to continuously save them and cleanse the country, which is why the people voted for the Mahinda Rajapaksa faction instead of the coalition partners of the current government’

When we observe the above connection at family level, we would naturally extend it to National level when we feel National.  When we  observe,  we are leaving the past behind – taking only the value of independence with us in various forms – vertically to a higher position and/or laterally to become regional and global. When we are able to ‘observe’ – ourselves with a still mind, we confirm our independence. As an Australian-American academic said in a university environment ‘we need to come out of the circle’ to observe. Those who are attached to benefits have difficulty coming out of the circle. Benefits / pleasures are downward pulling forces which prevent independence.

Pampered children are dependent children.

Minorities have to do more work than majority to get into equal position as the latter, in an environment where law and order is weak. But minorities who accept it by bringing back home – the monetary earnings from outside (as did Jaffna Tamils) – would enjoy greater independence than majority who infiltrate other cultural areas to dominate by numbers. Often intellectual weakness is covered up by physical majority or worse weapon power.

Professor Razeen Sally is of British-Sri Lankan parentage. Hence Professor Razeen Sally could be taken as being supported by minority power which in Sri Lanka has made strong investment in Higher Education. After the British left Ceylon their investments remained to support their side in a ‘rule by majority’ environment. Emotions at the bottom and Feelings at the top, when exercised independently show reliable outcomes on their own. All else needs intellectual discrimination on Equal base – with zero advantage at the start – i.e. emotional level and/or majority vote level. Hence the Equal position to opposition in parliament.

Mr Sampanthan confirmed the inclusion of British on minority side – when he disciplined former President by numbers – Mr Mahinda Rajapaksa. When Sri Lankans invest more and more in their British ancestors – they would  naturally overpower Sinhala Nationalists and Tamil Nationalists in Sri Lankan Parliament where both side Nationalists are foreigners – as foreign as Lord Naseby about whose report on civilian deaths is summarized as follows by Dr Jayatilleke’s wife Mrs Sanja De Silva Jayatilleke who carries her maiden name as her middle name – the way many of us carry our British heritage:

[This is especially so since Lord Naseby has appealed to the UK Government that it “must now get the UN and the UNHCR in Geneva to accept a civilian casualty level of 7,000 to 8,000, not 40,000.”

While the national process is the more important, it is the Foreign Ministry’s responsibility to present Sri Lanka’s case credibly to the international community. It may lead to more than just a few individuals feeling good about it.] Colombo Telegraph Article ‘Lord Naseby, The Mythical 40,000 & The Feel-Good Factor

Dr Jayatilleke revealed his inner attitudes to Soul-connection through Daily News interview as follows:

[Now I am married for the third and last time to somebody I had known on and off many years ago, Sanja de Silva, who is a UK-based Accountant. I really believe what a gypsy fortune-teller in Washington DC told us when we just walked into a market in Eleventh Street on Capitol Hill.

She said we are soul mates; we come from the same part of God. And the lady in Borella, Sri Lanka, who predicted the tsunami, said that Sanja and I had been married in a previous birth.]

When Dr Jayatilleke also steps outside Sinhala Nationalism he would make the Soul connection with the Tamil Leader’s feelings.

Mr Sampanthan’s figures may or may not add up. But Mr Sampanthan had the first authority to discipline Mr Mahinda Rajapaksa who acted in breach of the fundamental rules of Parliament to form his own Joint Opposition. In effect he demoted himself to the position of mistress in Sri Lankan Parliament where Mr Samapanthan holds the structured wife’s position as Leader of the Opposition.  The value of Mr Sampanthan’s feelings is confirmed by his independence from militants and yet inclusiveness of all Tamils. Feelings are Soul-Powers that travel beyond local time and place – independent of the feeler also. That to me is Nirvana / Liberation.

Gajalakshmi Paramasivam

26 February 2018                                    

Dual Citizenship & Order of the mind

We Australians learnt through the Hon Barnaby Joyce, MP,  the problems with Dual Policy Structures. Not only in terms of Citizenship but also in terms of marriage – those who seek to enjoy benefits from two diverse systems become ineligible for policy level positions. Mr Joyce confirmed through dual marriage systems that he was invoking negatives from both systems, which eventually  demoted him from the structured higher position in both systems. Those driven by Truth will be common to both systems. But those driven by benefits at primary level will demote themselves to primary level thinking structure even if they are officially at Policy level.

Policy   based on one’s experience – will divide into equal halves at cost-benefit level.  The measure through which we recognize this principle is as per the pathway through which we had that experience.

Integrating from bottom to top – cost-benefit at equal level is the base on which we develop knowledge based structures. Benefits when sacrificed, become Structures and Structures when completed to serve both sides of an independent group become Energy. It is this Energy that is given form as Policy.  

A dual citizen who actively participates in both country politics is like a person who actively practices two religious systems. Unless the base level member of a religion knows which religious part is active at that time, s/he would not be able to connect to the leader.

We were presented with the parallel dilemma in Sri Lanka – where the Minister responsible for the National Carrier – Sri Lankan Airlines has been relieved of his responsibility for dual systems – Commercial and Public Service. The Hon Kabir Hashim demonstrated clearly that he could not deliver from a business angle and now  the transfer confirms that he could not deliver from a political angle either.

The country needs separation on religious basis due to ‘Buddhism foremost’  being part of the Constitutional formula. Lord Buddha set the example of renunciation. I see Lord Murga as the presiding deity of  Airlanka / Sri Lankan Airlines. Lord Muruga actively promotes the system of global democracy. Both cannot be presiding deities in the altar of Sri Lankan Airlines.

The National carrier needs separation on the basis of whether a section/department is political or commercial. Politicians are responsible for upholding Government Policy in the Airline but Business leaders are responsible for  Business policy.

Mr Rajeeva Jayaweera – who has invested in Sri Lankan Airlines beyond his employment benefits – has recently highlighted as follows:

‘Minister Hashim has been the subject minister of both SriLankan Airlines and Mihin Lanka till its amalgamation with the national carrier since August 2015. He failed to direct the Chairman of the airline to conduct internal inquiries based on the findings by Weliamuna and his associates. The report highlighted issues related to Manpower (HR) including recruitments carried out before Presidential elections, Tenders associated with Duty-Free Services besides alcohol for on-board service and General Sales Agent appointments abroad’

Duty-Free Services on-board and appointment of General Sales Agents are commercial areas into which politicians have no right to enter. Human Resources have to be separated as per the hierarchical structure and the line of Separation needs to be drawn on the basis of grades. Senior Management being part of the ownership would need to be recruited by a combined group where the People’s group is one more than the commercial group. But there can be no direct participation by the People’s group in the operational activities of the Airline.

The new Minister for Sri Lankan Airlines has already had experience in University system and therefore in the separation of powers in the Governing Council as per Section 44 (1) of the Universities Act 1978   which requires more owners representing the People than Administrators representing Intellectual order. Section 45 (2) (xii) provides as follows:

(2) Without prejudice to the generality of the powers conferred upon it by subsection (1), the Council shall exercise, perform and discharge the following powers, duties and functions:-

            ………………………………………………………………….

(xii) to appoint persons to, and to suspend, dismiss or otherwise punish persons in the employment of, the University:

Provided that, except in the case of Officers and teachers, these powers may be delegated to the Vice-Chancellor;

The parallel of the Vice Chancellor is the CEO and the parallels of Officers are heads of various parts of Administration and the parallels of teachers are pilots and other senior staff who as a prerequisite have to have special training to hold those positions.

The Weliamuna report failed to make this fundamental distinction between intellectual outcomes and belief based outcomes. It was a report that did not lead to solutions because the group lacked ownership investment in this kind of operation.

Managing two wives – one de facto and the other structured would be not difficult for one who believes in Lord Muruga whose 1^st wife Theivanai confirms the structured pathway and consort Valli confirms the natural pathway. If all else fails – the new minister has the option of forgetting about Article 9 and therefore ‘Buddhism foremost’ but switching to Articles 10 & 14 (1) (e ) to become a de facto Hindu.

Gajalakshmi Paramasivam

25 February 2018                                    

Lotus Buds or mud centipedes?   

[Leader of the Opposition and Tamil National Alliance Leader R. Sampanthan, has unmasked former President Rajapaksa's hidden political agenda during the debate last Monday (19) in Parliament. The thoroughly analytical speech made by Sampanthan has clearly pointed out where former President Mahinda Rakjapaksa stands in the present political scenario holding up his party Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP)'s symbol Lotus Bud.] Ceylon Today article Whither ‘Lotus Bud’?

The Lotus bud analogy confirms the higher structure of Mr Sampanthan’s mind due also to humility as minority power, as opposed to arrogance of majority power.

Journalist Manekshaw presents the logic of this picture as follows:

[Speaking at Veerasingam Hall, Jaffna, holding up his party symbol Lotus Bud in his hands the former President also stated that it was during his period the post-war development activities were carried out extensively in the Northern and Eastern Provinces.

However, his speeches and statements made during the LG polls campaign trail in the South were very much in contrast to what he had said in the North and the East.

Leader of the Opposition R. Sampanthan who has been highly appreciated by the right thinking people throughout the country for making sensible comments since he became the Leader of the Opposition in 2015, responding to Mahinda Rajapaksa in Parliament has pointed out that the former President carried out his campaign very virulently in all the temples, in all the villages in the Sinhala South.]

Who are the ‘right thinking people’ in this instance? To my mind it is those who have invested in higher thought structures, based on their experience and/or those who are committed to global principles and values of democracy. The Hon Rajavarothiam Sampanthan inherited the position of leader of the opposition from all Tamil Politicians who had developed higher mind structures than their respective political opponents in Sri Lankan Parliament. It was this heritage that  saw the Hon Appapillai Amirthalingam become the leader of the Opposition in 1977 which happened again through the Hon Rajavarothiam Sampanthan in 2015 and will happen again and again in Sri Lanka, whenever the consolidated Tamil force is stronger than the consolidated Sinhalese force.  Those who seek weapon based separation on either side dilute this force for their side – as was demonstrated in London through the deportation of Brigadier Priyanka Fernando – an heir of the Rajapaksa heritage.

Mr Mahinda Rajapaksa tried to cheat the logic of this Equal Opposition by forming Joint Opposition after the 2015 Parliamentary elections, revealing a mind structure that is similar to armed militants. In mind structure he has to divide and rule to be sugar-daddy to both sides of the ethnic conflict which paved the way for him to become president. Given that he bribed the LTTE during the 2005 elections, Mr Rajapaksa would never know as to whether he would have become president in his own rights. His mind therefore returns to that structure and hence the ‘bribe’ through promises in Tamil areas. In South, Mr Rajapaksa promises Nationalism in the language of Sinhalese who fear the LTTE. Mr Rajapaksa identified with and pointed to his own Truth when he thought he was in a ‘free’ environment:

[The undiplomatic nature of some of the comments made by the former Norwegian minister,whether they were true or not, must be the result of his somewhat bitter last encounters with the former president. To mention a case in point, during an interview former “The Hindu” Editor N. Ram had with Mahinda Rajapaksa in July 2009 the latter’s secretary Lalith Weeratunge had intervened to say: “It was about March 2006 when Mr. Solheim came to see H.E. after he became president and had also said, in the midst of other things: ‘Prabhakaran is a military genius. I have seen him in action etc., etc. to which the President had responded: ‘He is from the jungles of the North. I am from the jungles of the South. Let’s see who will win!’ It was very prophetic. Later the President met Minister Solheim in New York and reminded him of their conversation on the ‘military geniuses,’ of the jungles of the North and South, and who would win. The East had by that time, in 2007, been cleared and the President had said: ‘Now see what’s going to happen in the North,[ it will be ]the same.”] Daily Mirror article dated 06 November 2015‘The Solheim claim: Mahinda ‘ planned to offer the North to Prabhakaran’

The gullibility of the Jaffna Tamil housewife with neither the experience nor the higher knowledge in Government was manifested, by the State Minister of Child Affairs, Vijayakala Maheswaran who entered Parliament as Jaffna’s representative as follows, about a year after the above report:

[ If LTTE leader Prabhakaran had been living today he could have become the Prime Minister of the country, said the State Minister of Child Affairs, Vijayakala Maheswaran.

She said so during a ceremony at the Kilinochchi District Secretariat to grant compensation to the Kilinochchi General Market stall holders whose stalls were gutted in September.

“The Vadamarachchi area was renowned for Education. LTTE leader Prabhakaran, was from Valvettithurai. Compared to all of our presidents none could hold a candle to Prabhakaran’s leadership,” she said.] Daily Mirror article dated 29 December 2016- "Prabhakaran could have been PM if he was alive": Minister

Education has to be certified by one who has invested in education as the foremost pathway to Independence. LTTE leader was a ‘failure’ in the Education system of Northern Sri Lanka and he murdered parts of that structure when he murdered educated persons of Jaffna – including Mr Chelliah Anandarajah, principal of one of the prestigious colleges in Jaffna – St John’s College which supported the education of many members of my family. Elected members like Mrs Maheswaran dilute the Government’s share of investment in intellectual pathways to Independence.

The Jaffna Tamil’s investment in education is the lotus flower that blooms in the muddy, stagnant waters of the local ponds. The benefits we forego become the structures through which we invest and enjoy returns beyond current times. Those who damage those structures become the muddy waters and not the lotus flower fit for worship. In the system of education, both side jungle leaders are muddy waters who need to stay stagnant in their local areas to have the opportunity to produce the flower fit to be part of spiritual ceremonies. We call them the ‘mattais in kuttais’ / centipedes in muddy pools.

Education leads to intellectual independence. Once we feel gratitude to those who facilitated our  education, we carry the completed experience as Energy. In place of natural gratitude, if we pay our respects to our Educational elders – we carry the structures through which we learnt. The latter is the slower pathway but would support us beyond one generation while Energy is of Universal value. Without this structural heritage or natural gratitude – we become stagnant at cost-benefit level and this eventually muddies the waters through restlessness of those who have the skills but lack the opportunities due to disrespect to their parents, teachers and ancestors. A true Jaffna Tamil will demonstrate this respect for elders in Education and therefore carry their structures with care even in a war environment – as many Jaffna Tamils did. They are the true Tamil heroes of the current generation.  

Gajalakshmi Paramasivam

24 February 2018                                    

Australian Tamil Power deporting Sri Lankan Army

Truth confirmed Its Universal power yet again. A significant  proportion of Australian Tamils expressed concern over the deportation of  Mr Santharuban who was part of the LTTE. The British effectively deported Brigadier Priyanka Fernando around the same time. To my mind, it was no coincidence. That is the way of Truth. Had the Sri Lankan Government been more committed to delivering to the Global Community, as per the UN’s investment in Sri Lanka, it would have prevented both deportations through natural goodwill.

The Annual report of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights and of the Office of the High Commissioner and the Secretary-General, on Sri Lanka, released this week concludes as follows:

[Conclusions and recommendations

48. The High Commissioner reiterates his appreciation for the constructive engagement of the Government of Sri Lanka with OHCHR and United Nations human rights mechanisms since January 2015. However, as he noted in March 2017, this constructive collaboration must be accompanied by the implementation of key commitments. The fulfilment of the transitional justice commitments made under Human Rights Council resolution 30/1 has been virtually stalled for more than a year. Progress with some confidence-building measures has often been insufficient and inconclusive, and the structures set up to coordinate implementation have not consolidated enough or did not receive sufficient political support to move things forward. 

49. In statements and reports issued since 2015, the High Commissioner, while expressing concern over the lack of progress on accountability and reforms, was encouraged by the positive improvement of the general human rights situation. However, 2017 was marked by intermittent inter-ethnic tensions and attacks on minorities which are unlikely to dissipate completely. 

50. While the Government has managed to steer many of these worrying events in a positive direction, this type of violence in a country that has experienced cycles of extreme violence roughly every 10 years is deeply troubling, particularly when accompanied by hate speech, misinformation and agitation through social media and political manipulation. 

51. The continuing allegations of torture and surveillance and the lack of sufficient progress in implementing critical confidence-building measures, such as the release of land, the repeal of the Prevention of Terrorism Act and the solution to the pending cases under the Act, have antagonized key constituencies that could be instrumental to the Government’s reform efforts.  52. The High Commissioner urges the Human Rights Council to continue to play a critical role in encouraging progress in accountability and reconciliation in Sri Lanka. It also calls on Member States to explore other avenues, including the application of universal jurisdiction, that could foster accountability. ]

The above confirms that in the eyes of the UN,  the Government of Sri Lanka does not have control over law and order beyond certain level. In the case of Sri Lankan Armed forces that control is weaker than with civilians. Whenever the Rajapaksa regime takes natural leadership – it will invoke this superiority of armed power amongst the preferential   beneficiaries of that power – the Sri Lankan Armed Forces who exceeded their lawful and moral powers to damage the investments Sri Lankans have made in upholding Human Rights. In terms of numbers, the Sri Lankan armed forces far outweighed the  LTTE.  The true support from families and communities becomes the driving force. The closer it is to Truth,  the more exponential the value of that power. So long as the Sri Lankan Government continues to ignore the past damages to its pooled power to be Independent, the greater the risk of ethnicity based war.

I believe that all of us influence one side or the other as per our own allegiances. Those of us who are truly independent, influence our side’s independence exponentially. Whatever our ethnicity or nationality – this power of independence would lead us to sharing independence not only as one nation but as one world. All investors in the UN values beyond their returns – have the power to successfully lead Sri Lanka to become independent of its violent past.

In a court of law, we give evidence as per our own god or conscience. Our actions may seem ‘right’ to us but may seem ‘wrong’ to the judiciary – using particular laws and principles to measure us as happened to Mr Santharuban and others to whom LTTE was ‘right’ as per their local system. Likewise in the case of LTTE’s  parallel JVP, in Southern Sri Lanka. The Armed forces that failed to follow the lawful processes are effectively militants within Government itself.

The more Tamils invest genuinely in Self Governance at their respective levels, the greater their power to work the system of Natural Justice. We witnessed that system’s outcomes this week through Brigadier Priyanka Fernando and through Mr Santharuban. One lost power on behalf of Lankan Government and the other went back to the ‘home’ he fought for – now protected by the global community which Tamils are very much part of through their contribution of their own freewill towards higher global standards.

Sri Lanka needs self-developed militants to save the government from becoming subservient to the Armed Forces which naturally become militant forces unless they pass their thoughts of powers through higher structures through which discipline and order are instilled. Mr Santharuban’s LTTE karma will go towards protecting  the government from military takeover which risk has increased through the return of  Brigadier Priyanka Fernando to a world where he is ‘free’ to exercise militant power.

Gajalakshmi Paramasivam

23February 2018                                     

Respecting the Mother Language

“For each of us, the mother tongue is the key symbol of our individual identity” – former President of Sri Lanka, Madam Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga

Madam Kumaratunga confirms what most of us know about the Tamil Tigers who demonstrated cleverness at the expense of Respectability. The closer we are to our roots / traditions – the greater the show of respectability needed. One of my students asked me recently whether one had to touch the feet of an elder to demonstrate respect.  The respect was there but in modern world driven by economic prosperity respect seems a myth. Hence this student did not have the Energy to surface that respect felt within.

A person who foregoes earned benefits automatically becomes a respectable person. A teacher/mother  becomes respectable when s/he shares the benefit which s/he believes is hers/his. Whether the beneficiary of such sharing pays her/his respects or not – one who shares becomes respectable. This is carried as one’s self-respect/self-confidence/dignity. One who carries such dignity naturally shares with others who have the need to be respected. Need for self-respect is the flower that blooms to make a seat for respect.

In Sri Lanka, Sinhalese leaders as well as Tamil militants have from time to time, demonstrated serious disrespect for others’ earned status. How does this happen? Is attachment to the benefits the prime reason/cause,  of such disrespect? If yes, how does one transcend attachment? If no, does respect have no value in such groups?

Our Australian Prime Minister, the Hon Malcolm Turnbull, has stressed towards addressing domestic violence, on the need to respect the woman. When the woman with apparently weaker body is respected – man becomes more human by replacing the animal in him with the higher common person.  That is the subjective pathway.

When one trades benefits at lateral level – and there is no pathway through which to share laterally – the excess produced is returned to the producer. Hence those who seek to remain close to their mother cultures – need to demonstrate that respect and take the benefit to the higher level. Listed in the Appendix are excerpts from Chapter 17 of ‘Naan Australian’ – about the Hindu Mango Legend which confirms that one has to forgo benefits from Traditional ways to develop global structures.  

In the case of Sri Lankan Buddhists to whom Sinhalese is the mother language and Sri Lankan Hindus to whom Tamil is the mother language, has this ‘attachment’ to local benefits including status been a block to their Independence?

There are times when a mother/senior/Tradition  may not be deserving of respect. But  when we have the need to express ourselves, a structured system would facilitate it through the position of that mother/senior. That position is empowered by the architects of that structure and by those who have maintained that structure since then. The net values of past contributors and distant contributors reside as Energy. When one to whom that area is ‘home’ has a true need, the positive Energy automatically rises to bring that structure to the mind of the believer / family – who would bow and facilitate a seat for that structure in her/his mind.

Different cultures practise this in different ways. In most religions, such humility by the one in need of the service of the respected senior is built into practices such as prostrating, kneeling and bowing. Recently an academic said about a Chinese Buddhist student that the student would not turn his back  to the academic when walking out of the class; but would wait until the academic had left or walk backwards without turning around – a common practice at Sri Sathya Sai Baba temples. When those structures come into our mind, we feel empowered as if that leader is performing with us.

Recent discussions on the basis of outcomes of the Local Government elections in Sri Lanka, included the analyses by leaders  about ‘blooming of the Tamil Eelam and blooming of lotus bud’ .

The mother flower of Tamils is Karthigai flower/flame lily/ Gloriosa.  It is also the flower of Lord Muruga. I learnt this not from a Sri Lankan Tamil. Once when buying flowers for the weekly poojah, I noticed  this attractive flower at the Flemington markets in Sydney. I took them to  the Sathya Sai Baba  temple at Carlingford where a Sri Lankan Tamil said it was the flower of the LTTE and an Indian Tamil  Brahmin lady said it was Lord Muruga’s flower and that it had six petals. That was the first time I learnt about both. But neither of the above devotees found it in Flemington markets around which a good proportion of Tamils live. I felt I found it due to my need for the higher status showing the common value.

To the extent Sri Lankan Tamils respect India’s Tamil Nadu as an elder they would respect Buddhists as a diverse group. They would defend but not attack.

Likewise, Sinhalese, majority of whom are Buddhists who use the Lotus flower common to Buddhism and Hinduism would naturally accept Hindus as their global brothers. The Lotus flower would come to them if they are true Buddhists in nations where Buddhists are in the  minority. 

LTTE was strongly supported by Indian resources but they demonstrated lack of respect for India’s leadership by killing India’s Prime Minister the Hon Rajiv Gandhi.   This confirms excessive attachment to ‘freedom fighting’ and its current benefits.

Sri Lankan Buddhists who are active in Politics carry the karma of a Buddhist monk murdering the Sri Lankan Prime Minister – the Hon Bandaranaike - Madam Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga’s father – who rose to pay his respects. That is like murdering Lord Buddha in the position of Prime Minister. Both happened due to desire for current benefits – more and more desire for immediate benefits due to lack of discipline to become respectable by sharing current benefits with juniors who are needed to confirm maintenance of Tradition. Benefits  have to be escalated as structures to become common and further as Energy to be an Eternal power.

Appendix - excerpts from Chapter 17 of Naan Australian

As pre Hindu Legend Muruga renounced the prize mango – to establish His own kingdom.  Elephant faced Ganesh and Muruga are the two children of Shiva-Shakthi.  Saint Naradhar is  usually known to highlight an issue by promoting/escalating  a conflict which ultimately ends well. This time Saint Naradhar took a mango to Shiva-Shakthi and said that whoever ate that mango would attain eternity.  Given that Shiva-Shakthi did not need it (they were already immortal) they decided to share it equally between their two children. Saint Naradhar says that to attain the value of eternity, the mango should not be shared but should be eaten in full by one person.  This means that anything physical should be fully experienced  by one person to raise it to the higher value.  For example,  our workplace credits need to be fully owned by us before we could raise it to ownership level. Towards this we need to feel grateful to those who contributed to our development and the opportunities through which we obtain those credits. If we are not able to do this, we need to share benefits purely on merit basis. Hence Equal Opportunity principles in countries/cities  that have high migrant population.

The two sons – Ganesh and Muruga are invited to participate in the race to go around the world to get the prize mango. Muruga the active  junior, immediately takes His vehicle the Peacock and starts on His around-the-world trip.

Ganesh, who is the thinker – and who would have been at a disadvantage compared to Muruga due to the latter’s ability to fly – compared to Ganesh’s mouse - asked Saint Naradhar whether it was correct thinking that His parents – Shiva-Shakthi stood for the whole world. Saint Naradhar said ‘yes’.  Then Ganesh asked whether it was therefore correct that if He went around  Shiva-Shakthi He was actually going around the world.  Saint Naradhar said ‘yes’.  So Ganesh went around His parents – believing them to be the whole world and Ganesh won the prize mango. To me this is the academic way. But then that works only if their academic gurus are their whole world.