[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.

Australian Tamil Management Service

Wednesday, 28 February 2018