Gajalakshmi Paramasivam

27 March 2018                                       

Lawyer v Common Citizen

[Speaking to Ceylon Today, Chairperson of HRCSL, Dr. Deepika Udagama, said that Sri Lanka is mulling the possibility of introducing new laws to control ‘hate speech’ (especially online) and could learn ..from ‘excellent’ freedom of speech and expression related jurisprudence from the United States (US) and India, where the limitations imposed on the exercise of freedoms were extremely restrictive, so much so that in the case of the US, speech that would in Sri Lanka be considered as ‘hate speech’ would be permissible.]  Ceylon Today article - Freedom of expression vs right to dissent

I met Dr. Deepika Udagama when the lady came to Sydney a few years back and the Sri Lanka Reconciliation Forum, Sydney invited Dr. Deepika Udagama to speak to the forum. During question time, I raised the question about the possibility of Sri Lanka considering the parallel of Australia’s Racial Discrimination Act 1975. As per my memory, the lady responded that they already had in place legislation needed to address race related discrimination.

To me, the highlight of that meeting was the two former Attorneys General of Sri Lanka  – Mr Shiva Pasupati of  Tamil origin and his successor Mr Sunil De Silva of Sinhalese origin, sitting next to each other. Mr Sunil De Silva was/is  a regular participant. I felt that Mr Shiva Pasupati came due to commonness with Dr. Deepika Udagama through their legal profession. In other words, they are legal relatives.

As per the above article ‘Recently, Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe, speaking at the 44th Convention of the BASL on 24 March, said that the Government is considering the introduction of a Freedom of Speech Act and/or alternative options akin to Singapore’s Maintenance of Religious Harmony Act, the United Kingdom’s Racial and Religious Hatred Act of 2006, which amended the Public Order Act of 1986, Australia’s the Racial Discrimination Act of 1975 and the Criminal Code of Canada, with the view of controlling social media and thereby ‘hate speech,’ for the purpose of preventing racial and religious unrest such as the recent incidents in Ampara and Kandy, and avoiding situations where data could be used to influence the outcome of an election.’

To my mind, the application  I made back  then to a legal expert has become successful now through the highest public administrator of Sri Lanka – the Prime Minister.  It was my understanding back then that Dr. Deepika Udagama who was then the Head of Department of Law,  University of Peradeniya, was in Sydney at the invitation of the University of NSW. The contents my book ‘Naan Australian’ which records many of my experiences presented through the Racial Discrimination Act of 1975 – are summarised by the National Library of Australia as follows:

‘History of a race discrimination case towards an Australian Tamil citizen of Sri Lankan origin by University of New South Wales.’

The book found its way to the National Library of Australia without any intervention on my part, directly or indirectly.  I concluded that that passage was empowered by true Belief. When one believes the other side of the transaction happens immediately but we may not ‘see’ it until later or never at all. Whenever there is an appropriate medium – s/he/they manifest the other side of the transaction.

Back then, Dr. Deepika Udagama did not feel the need on behalf of Sri Lanka but now Prime Minister the Hon Ranil Wickremesinghe  identifies with that  need through his own experiences.

As per the above article Dr Udagama ‘lamented that in the aftermath of the recent incidents in Kandy, national conversation had solely focused on the banning of social media instead of addressing the content on social media, regarding what should be permitted and not.’

The ban was for a short period. The parallel of that over long terms is for citizens to have the right to complain on the basis of law.

When I read the recent decision of the Civil Appellate High Court of Northern Province, Jaffna in relation to my brother in law’s intestate estate I kept lamenting that the Courts failed to show respect and valuation for the fact that we were demonstrating high respect for the process of law at all times whereas the Petitioners who denied us documents of title in their custody and rushed to the bank to present themselves as the leading heirs – despite demonstrating very little knowledge of the law – were getting what they asked for.  These experiences confirm the huge ‘gap’ between the interpretation of the law by the common law abiding citizen and the legal professionals who are insiders within the judiciary and include those driven by benefits from the matter rather than the principles of justice.

The above observations by Dr Udagama about monitoring the content on social media, confirm this gap.  Even Australia which, relative to Sri Lanka,  has far greater resources to ‘monitor’ has limited success in this regard.

In countries driven by faith – one relies on Natural Justice / Karma. With Buddhism foremost as part of its constitution, the government has the DUTY to uphold  the system of karma where there is no specific law that states otherwise. Laws such as the Australian Racial Discrimination Act of 1975, empower the citizen committed to law and order to share her/his experience with others – especially other victims. I was ‘failed’ by the Judiciary but that book which is also structured social medium confirmed the true value of such laws. If I had been truly believed to be socially wrong – someone would have sued me for defamation.  The lawyers were interested in legal wins and the judges accommodated them. We the People need social media.

The wider world heard the minorities – not through International Criminal Courts – but through UN which has stipulated the criterion  that officers and men assigned for overseas deployment under UN command should be cleared by the HRCSL – Human Rights Commission, Sri Lanka - says Island article ‘100-man contingent delayed pending HRCSL clearance SLA deployment in Lebanon under UN command’. Karma delivered yet again where legal profession failed the law abiding citizen who has been made an ‘outsider’ by hired lawyers.

Gajalakshmi Paramasivam

23 March 2018

                                                              

We French Tamils or We Sri Lankan Tamils?

 

Published 21 March 2018

From:

UK Mission to the United Nations Geneva

[This joint statement was delivered at the 37th Session of the Human Rights Council on behalf of Macedonia, Montenegro, the United States & the United Kingdom the during the UN High Commissioner's report on Sri Lanka, held on 21 March 2018. This statement is on behalf of Macedonia, Montenegro, the United States and the United Kingdom as main sponsors of HRC resolutions 30 / 1 and 34/1…………………………………………………..

While welcoming these steps, we are disappointed that the pace of progress has been slow. Much still remains to be done to implement Sri Lanka’s commitments. We remain concerned about reports of abuse of authority by some security officials. And multiple incidents of intercommunal violence, attacks, and hate speech against minorities are alarming and demonstrate the need for reconciliation efforts.

As Sri Lanka acknowledged with its co-sponsorship of resolution 30/1, devolution of political authority through constitutional reform is integral to lasting reconciliation and non-recurrence of violations and abuses. Families of disappeared persons from all communities have waited too long for answers. We urge that the Office of Missing Persons be fully operational without delay, and for meaningful steps to establish the other transitional justice mechanisms outlined in resolution 30/1. Effective security sector reforms, repeal of the Prevention of Terrorism Act, and release of more military-occupied land to civilian ownership, will all help build trust and confidence.

With determined leadership and a clear timeline for action, this Government can deliver the reform and justice agenda, and take the actions needed to support long-term reconciliation, with the support of all Sri Lankans.

Sri Lanka still has an historic opportunity to avoid returning to divisions of the past. We firmly believe that implementing the reforms in resolutions 34/1 and 30/1 will help give all Sri Lankans assurance of the safe, peaceful, and prosperous future they deserve.]

As an Independent Tamil, I identified with the essence of the above. I listened to many of the speakers including our Australian Government’s representative, at the General Debate  - 51st Meeting, 37th Regular Session Human Rights Council. I was very disappointed to learn whom  two speakers – one from Vaddukoddai – Mr Sugash Kanagaratham and the other – the grandson of the Hon G G Ponnambalam  from Jaffna – Mr Gajendrakumar Ponnambalam, represented.

Mr Ponnambalam was representing ‘Association des étudiants tamouls de France’/ Tamil Youth Association of France.  The Vaddukoddai representative spoke under the banner ‘Association pour les Victimes Du Monde’ / Association of the victims of the world. To add insult to injury, the Vaddukoddai representative  said words to the effect:

‘We Tamils of North and East of Sri lanka lost 147 Tamils in brutal genocidal war’  

To my mind that was not a slip of the tongue. It was certainly a fault of the brain. THAT confirmed to me that the speech was empowered by negative forces. Once when we were discussing the testamentary case in relation to my brother in law’s intestate estate,  close relative who said in words that we were entitled to Thesawalamai distribution, said in haste that it was equal share. The ruling of Thesawalamai is that brothers inherit from brothers and sisters from sisters. Later when I pointed out to the relative that his words contradicted the Thesawalamai ruling, he said he did not know how that happened! I said it was simple – that he did not have the ‘experience’ and hence would become the medium of the person he liked.

Mr Sugash Kanagaratham completed his UN speech with the saying ‘Justice delayed is Justice denied’.  My brother in law died in April 2010. Mr Sugash Kanagaratham’s relatives had custody of documents and refused to share them with us. The matter went to Court in 2011 and is still going. Is that not Justice delayed in the courts that Mr Sugash Kanagaratham is part of?

When Tamils come before the UN to share in its authority – they have to be clean of the LTTE’s breaches of the law, on equal footing. I know of no such remorse by these two gentlemen.

The highest Court of all is the Court of Natural Justice. Mr Ponnambalam stressed that we needed to hold ‘Sri Lanka accountable for the grave human rights and international humanitarian law violations that had taken place during the war’

One who does not know these gentlemen would think they were French Tamils or African-French Tamils. Why is it that they have not represented themselves as Jaffna/Vaddukoddai Tamils ? Are they promoting emigration of  Tamils? Are they not capable of developing their own institutions?

Recently, I was approached by a group from Vaddukoddai area where Mr Sugash Kanagaratham has a thriving law practice, for further sponsorship of their sports activities. I said we, Australian Tamil Management Service  would consider it only if they were ready to provide an undertaking that they would not come illegally to Australia. Most present had said that they were not likely to emigrate. I needed that undertaking to respect the value of Australia. In the case of my brother in law’s testamentary case,  Mr Kanagaratnam said he could not represent us because the other side was his relatives!!!

This morning I commented as follows on an Uthayan report at (http://newuthayan.com/story/77831.html) regarding his honour Justice Elancheleyan’s message to parents to discipline their children:

[The same judge failed to rule against two Tamil Diaspora youngsters who abused the positions of their mothers to effectively override Thesawalamai law / practice which ended up with  the ruling that no Administrative system was needed but only the certificates of heirship were to be issued - as claimed by the sisters. His honor justice Manickavasakar Elancheleyan ruled that my husband, the brother of the deceased Subramaniam Yoganathan, was not entitled to Administrative rights. This was claimed by the sister who neglected her brother when he was alive and needed help and who was known to have been 'told' by the deceased not to interfere in Family Administration. These were all presented to the Court through Affidavit evidence. But the Mallakam Court became the medium of  the sisters' lawyer who is paid by the sons of the sisters and ruled that the Affidavit was invalid due to technical fault (as per their mind) in the jurat clause. To my mind, there is no fault there. But even if there was we ought to have been facilitated to correct the technical error to suit that court. Had Justice Elancheleyan read the Affidavit - he would have awarded the most educated person the Administrative authority - especially considering that majority of the wealth was in London's Barclay's Bank. Deductions from the Estate have been claimed by the sisters and that was NOT disallowed by this Judge. Lawyers and judges of the junior courts are the children of senior judges. Justice Elancheleyan missed the opportunity of the Appeal process to discipline them. Parents of accused are outside the judge's jurisdiction. Just because it is easily visible does not mean that the Judge has the authority. In fact to criticize or advise the parents - the Judge stepped out of his position - meaning he was distracted from his duty.  I have heard Mr Elancheleyan  talk about his guru as Beeshmar and Thronar of Mahabharatham. Lord Krishna said to Arjunan  to challenge his own family elder and guru respectively as per Arjunan's DUTY.  But Justice Elancheleyan did not discipline the parents of the young sons whose education we facilitated in Australia, by disrespectfully denying us information that was in their physical custody.  All this was available to the educated judge. Yet he failed. Those poor parents who also cannot control their sons - lack the confidence of high position. The opportunity to discipline them must be earned by living as part of them - and expressed as a member of the public and not as a senior in court relationships. There  - the parents are Equal to the Judge and hence unless there was evidence before the court that they have contributed expressly to the crime - they cannot be 'told'.]

  Disorder in Sri Lanka has to be addressed by the People starting with family. Punishing the government is not going to bring back order that we already lack. As per my experience Jaffna courts system and University of Jaffna are seriously lacking in Administrative order of global standards and sometimes of Colombo standards. It’s not about winning. It’s about being heard on equal footing.

Once the people have knowledge of that kind of system  – they may feel  more encouraged to settle conflicts internally. We could not and hence we escalated the matter. These are issues that we have to address at our own levels. At our family level – we are escalating family conflicts as much as we can – despite often feeling that the thinking of the Courts is different to ours. Every law abiding citizen has the right to express her/his interpretation of the law. This needs to happen before we earn the right to be tried under international law.

Going by my Australian experience, International Courts are not likely to deliver in a way that the ordinary Sri Lankan would understand and integrate. I do not know of one Vaddukoddai or Jaffna citizen who has the mind structure to receive such judgments towards improving their own thinking towards relating to the world.

Ultimately we experience peace of mind only when we are right as per our conscience. I know of many Tamils who were hurt by both sides of this war. We need to internally improve ourselves to qualify to go global. .

Today for example, I received an invitation from the Institute of Personnel Management Sri Lanka,  to showcase my  Human Resource Management related research/studies, in the Sri Lankan context. But there has been no such valuation from Vaddukoddai or Jaffna Politicians, despite my service there.  Politicians want us to support their personal agendas. Where they have the clout they must share with others to earn the deservedness to share with others’ savings in wider world.  Otherwise they become our opposition.

We the people hurt or support each other. The government and the judiciary are merely intermediaries in the process. 

Gajalakshmi Paramasivam

21 March 2018

                                                              

International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination

 

It is festival time for Mother Kali including in Trincomalee in Eastern Sri Lanka and Vaddukoddai in Northern Sri Lanka. I am a believer in both homes of Mother Kali.

 

Yesterday, on the first day of the 10 day festival, I shared with family, the photos from Uthayan at http://newuthayan.com/story/77458.html

 

This morning for some reason, I was directed to respond to the Q & A published by the Chief Minister of Northern Province through  Uthayan, on 29 Nov 2017  

http://newuthayan.com/story/51277.html

I did not notice the date at first but responded as per ‘directions’ that I felt were needed. Now I think it was because of  my common faith with Mother Kali at Trincomalee – the home of  the current Political Hero of Tamils, the Hon Rajavarothiam Sampanthan,  and Mother Kali at Vaddukoddai - the home of the Hon Rajavarothiam Sampanthan’s  immediate predecessor – as Tamil Leader of the Opposition in National Parliament - the Hon Appapillai Amirthalingam.

 

Through  the Uthayan Q&A Mr Wigneswaran reveals his ignorance of the difference between Emotions and Feelings:

 

 

[Q: What is your opinion about  People’s Uprising activities relating to great-heroes day?

 

A: I am of the opinion  that people are beginning to realise themselves. They are realising their power. They are realising what their rights are.

If the thinking of People was to demote great heroes they would not have demonstrated this uprising.  

Relative to previous years, this year the waves of feelings have been on the rise. Our People have thus far suppressed their inner emotions.

Now that they know due to the change of government,  that there is no need to so suppress, People have demonstrated their emotions openly for the Community and the world to know. ]

 

 

There is often confusion between Emotions and Feelings. Emotions (Unarchchi)  are physically driven and hold true only when they are unpolluted by external knowledge which is a high risk amongst the physically driven. Feelings (Unarvu) on the other hand  are  realised / experienced values that are natural  part of ourselves.

 

Emotions need to be shown expressly for it to be effective at the physical level – as in voting. The stronger the emotions the wider the coverage.  Feelings however need not be expressed for them to work. They spread themselves exponentially – as in heritage.  Feelings to be valid do not need shows of uprising. They work quietly like mothers’ Energy / Shakthi. They are valid when  expressed through emotions within our immediate circles. In this instance they are valid within the respective militant groups.

 

My response to the above is as follows:

 

“Tamil community is culturally diverse: (1) Emotionally driven Tamils (2) Intellectually driven Tamils (3) Truth driven Tamils. Category 3 are the smallest minority. But they are the most reliable and they have the power to naturally attract other independent forces when there is a common need. Group (1) would relate through emotions; group (2) through calculated merit and group (3) don't relate - they are absolute power of ownership. Each of the first two groups have Truth amongst them. But if that is not dominant - then the rules of operation are different. Truth is the natural binding force that does not die with time and / or displacement. Any person who died due to her/his True belief - is a great hero. 

“Tamil community is culturally diverse: (1) Emotionally driven Tamils (2) Intellectually driven Tamils (3) Truth driven Tamils. Category 3 are the smallest minority. But they are the most reliable and they have the power to naturally attract other independent forces when there is a common need. Group (1) would relate through emotions; group (2) through calculated merit and group (3) don't relate - they are absolute power of ownership. Each of the first two groups have Truth amongst them. But if that is not dominant - then the rules of operation are different. Truth is the natural binding force that does not die with time and / or displacement. Any person who died due to her/his True belief - is a great hero.

Armed militants confirm that they are driven by emotions. That is the only way they can raise themselves to be equal to another armed person - for example - the Sri Lankan armed soldier. Category 1 - i.e. - Emotionally driven Tamils who act on their own would have benefited from armed militancy and they have the responsibility to honor those who died in combat - as we do with our relatives. The return of the bodies of the 13 soldiers by the LTTE confirmed that emotions were not based on Truth but on falsely elevated grandiose. A true soldier will value and honor another true soldier. If all those who died in combat are taken as heroes, then those 13 soldiers also were heroes. By dishonouring those soldiers the LTTE let our culture down. Later by killing our own politicians militants demoted themselves further. They cannot be celebrated as a group. I know of individuals who were genuine. They were very much in the minority. I pay my respects to them privately - Truth to Truth.”

The CM may celebrate and honour all combatants as heroes. But until we as a community repent the dishonour to the families and community of those 13 soldiers and the Tamil politicians who were disrespected by militants driven by external knowledge and external resources, we would not be blessed by Mother Kali.

 

Today we the global citizens celebrate the International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination/Harmony Day. Tamils who have emigrated beyond their birth areas, need to appreciate and celebrate such souls who gave up their bodies to protect Sovereignty as individuals and/or groups.

 

Tamils in Colombo became the victims of the emotions aroused by the return of the bodies of the 13 soldiers. In 2009, I happened to be in Colombo at the height of the war. Tamil Members of the Sri Lankan community here in Australia,  urged me to serve the needy in the camps.  Accordingly I sought the approval of the Department of Health towards this.

 

While waiting for this approval which took weeks to come – I prayed with deep faith, to Swami Sathya Sai Baba during poojah at the Barns place Centre in Colombo.  To my mind like in the case of Q&A from Mr Wigneswaran regarding the war-heroes came the question – ‘who is right’ and along with it came the thought from within me ‘those who sent the bodies of 13 soldiers’ .  Back then I did not know the reason. But as had been the case with others like Saint Yoga Swami -  I just accepted the message. Now, years later, I know the reasons why. The reason is that they were soldiers and therefore relatives of other soldiers.

 

Those driven by feelings would have relatives beyond their biological connections. They may kill to defeat such relatives in conflict – as Prince Arjunan killed his beloved family elder Beeshmar. But they would never dishonour relatives – be they physical and/or mental.

 

Emotions to be reliable and honourable, need to be limited to one’s Truth / Feelings. Emotions in excess of this have to be passed through Discriminative thinking on the basis of  measures/ principles  common to both sides or eliminated through self-discipline. That’s when we as a community would be reliable and contribute to harmony and not attack others’ earned right to mourn their dead with respect and honour. Those who die in the course of their duty are heroes. Honouring the rights of those heroes from outside our immediate circle of influence, makes them our opposition. Tamils who feel Tamil will honour all those who died in their duty – including politicians who were elected by them.

 

Let us therefore honour all such heroes who died doing their duty in the name of sovereignty of themselves as individuals and / or as part of a community and/or nation. Then we will have Mother Kali’s blessings to groom a Defence force and not one that attacks in the name of Defence.

Gajalakshmi Paramasivam

15 March 2018

                                                              

Tamil Dowried Daughters Foremost

&

Buddhism Foremost

 

We were advised by our lawyer that the High Court of Jaffna turned down our Appeal against the ruling of Mallakam District Court in the Testamentary case regarding my brother in law Late Subramaniam Yoganathan’s Estate. This confirms to me that like the Buddhism Foremost clause in the Sri Lankan Constitution, the Dowry entitlement in Thesawalai Law also needs to be farewelled respectfully. Daughters who had equal opportunity to education, need to do the right thing and reject dowry and insist on equal distribution of common wealth if they are to prevent ‘welfare-mentality’.

 

When the law is abusive, one needs to take refuge in Truth. It was so rewarding to learn the following news about this system of Truth:

 

Practising the law irrespective of  the possibility of losing, does eventually satisfy our conscience and strengthens our peace of mind. This morning’s news about the Sri Lankan Tamil Refugee Family being ‘saved from deportation’ confirmed this true investment:

 

 ‘A Sri Lankan asylum seeker family taken from a small Queensland town were pulled from a plane overnight, just minutes before they were due to be deported…..a last-minute legal intervention resulted in them being removed from the plane before it took off ……. Biloela residents held a vigil at 5.30pm on Wednesday, while a petition to return them to their home has reached almost 60,000 signatures’ – SBS News

 

This acceptance of the family as their own by the town of Biloela is what globalization through human values is all about. The family earned it through their harmonious family life and not by wanting to be ‘foremost’ or ‘special’.

 

I was happy because of my own thought-based contribution to prevent the deportation. The two outcomes – the failure by High Court of Jaffna to uphold the law of Thesawalamai – which carried the risk of ‘distress’ and the successful stay order due to the inclusiveness of fellow Common Australians – which carried the positive value of ‘eustress’ (good stress) - both came at the same time – to support my emotional balance. Both contributions were genuine on my part and hence the support of the system of Truth.

One of my readers in Norway wrote in response to my analysis of  Mr Gotabaya Rajapaksa in yesterday’s article headed ‘Australia Telling Sri Lanka?:

 

[Interesting writing....thank you...within this context how would one expect peace and reconciliation in Sri Lanka?

"Daily Mirror for example, reports that ‘Former defense secretary Gotabaya Rajapaksa said yesterday the main reason for most of the issues in the country was the result of following the advice of NGOs rather than seeking advice of the Maha Sanga.’ "

In today's Divaina Dilantha  he says "Sri Lankan state failed to create reconciliation as it followed international frameworks/sponsorships.....reconciliation should be created on the basis of Buddhism....."

I can't understand this guy...]

I also cannot understand the Jaffna Tamil Judiciary which upheld Rape Charges in respect to Tamils who caused deep suffering to Miss Vidya Sivaloganathan and her family and caused much anxiety to the community that the victims  were a part of,  upholding the judgment that denied the rights of  a woman (myself) whose lawful marriage rights were insulted and trodden on in the Mallakam District Court. The family member who induced such powers is now herself a widow – dependent on her children. The Appeal process was one pathway through which to prevent such abuses at family level and to quietly balance that karma for the Judiciary as a Common body.

The Jaffna Judiciary has upheld the claim of  daughters -  that they had equal rights as sons  to residual common wealth even after receiving dowry. My second marriage was used by lawyers who feared losing and desired winning by demoting the opposition.  I was effectively an orphan in Mallakam District Court and there was no strike by other lawyers against this injustice when I was reprimanded for alleged street-woman conduct by Magistrate Gajanithipalan. The Appeal process is a pathway through which this could have been rectified within Jaffna Jurisdiction. My needs based actions especially in terms of education and marriage within the Tamil community, led to me appreciating the ‘gender-balance’ that the system of dowry promoted in a family where education was denied on Equal footing to daughters who instead were groomed through  homemaking pathway to develop potential energy that supported those from their family who went out and worked. As per the system of Thesawalamai, the dowry indicated this potential energy to anyone who lacked belief in the family of the daughter and was therefore an ‘outsider’. Daughters who actively ‘claimed’ compensation for homemaking work made themselves outsiders to the family. It was this demotion that we set out to prevent and when we found that this was not possible refused to cooperate with at family level. But the Jaffna Judiciary upheld this and confirmed its own ‘outsider’ status to the law of Thesawalamai.

The failure to uphold the Thesawalamai law and/or the Truth,  confirms to me as to why Jaffna Tamils got brainwashed by armed groups that promised them self-determination which effectively was regime change from Politicians to Armed Militants decoratively packaged as ‘freedom-fighters’. These militants were brainwashed by Indian Politicians and in turn the militants brainwashed gullible Tamils who failed to protect their independence at family level.

The question that arises  within me is whether we have gotten so used to the ‘Dowry’ system that we are not able to let it go. Males who benefit from the dowry system also would not rule against it. It is the Tamil parallel of Buddhism foremost that Sinhalese Politicians have gotten used to.

Laws that facilitate upholding the Truth are positive laws. They would support their practitioners anytime anywhere. When such a person participates in a Court Process – the Court has the duty to become a ‘facility’ and not ‘judge’ or ‘tell’ the person. I have observed through my experiences here in Australia and more recently in Sri Lanka’s North, how the system of Natural Justice takes-over and reverses the judgment on such ‘tellers’. When victims of such ‘telling’,  pool their energies at the higher level – they have the higher experience and that is the ultimate win – as we know through Tamil National Alliance’s promotion as Equal Opposition in Parliament which happened because majority Tamils became victims of such telling not only by majority race but their own males who needed arms to uphold their superior status starting within their own minds and therefore killed and d

emoted politicians .

The Truth always empowers from within. At physical level, majority rule would uphold Truth only when it is a measure of ‘facts’ brought to the judge’s mind on Equal footing – meaning with zero invisible advantage. Buddhism foremost cannot be such a measure in a multi-religious forum. But Buddhism being Buddhism, would return the karma of abusers to such abusers. Mr Gotabaya Rajapaksa carries  that negative energy which would hurt anyone who votes to empower him – after knowing how disorderly his administration was. Every individual who exercises her/his rights gets the return as per her/his commitment or lack of it.  Mr Gotabaya Rajapaksa revealed his lack of positive energy to become ‘common’ by stating that he would give up his American citizenship to participate in Sri Lankan Presidential elections. One to whom Sri Lanka is equally or more precious than America would renounce first and know for himself what his priorities are. One who waits to know whether or not he would win is trading and is disqualifies himself  to make policy. Little wonder there was such disorder during the war against the LTTE.

Gajalakshmi Paramasivam

13 March 2018

                                                              

Australia Telling Sri Lanka?

 

As per Daily Mirror report - the Australian High Commissioner to Sri Lanka, Mr Bryce Hutchesson today said it was time to lift the ban imposed on social media in the country.

SBS News report brings us the parallel news under the heading ‘Sri Lankan asylum seeker family 'given 10 minutes' to leave in Border Force raid’:

[At 5am on the morning of Monday March 5, a contingent of police, Australian Border Force officers and Serco guards arrived at the central Queensland home of Nadesalingam and Priya, and ordered them and their two daughters, nine-month-old Dharuniga and two-year-old Kopiga- both born in Australia - to leave.

Their visa had expired by a single day and it's claimed the family were forcibly taken without warning to an immigration centre in Melbourne, more than 1500km away. 

The Tamil Refugee Council said the family was given just 10 minutes to gather belongings from their home in Biloela, Queensland. ]

The reliability of Mr Hutchesson’s feelings about Sri Lanka is highly questionable. I have been going  to Sri Lanka regularly since 2003 and I rely on my intuition as a Sri Lankan – be it in Colombo in West, Batticaloa in East, Kathirgamam in South or Jaffna in North, to remain protected. In a country  where law and order has become ‘foreign language’ to a good proportion of citizens, one has to rely on one’s own Truth. Sri Lanka is driven more by emotions and less by discriminative thinking. The recent riots between Muslims and Buddhists have confirmed this yet again. Militant groups both in North and South ‘catch’ gullible Sri Lankans when the citizens are in the one-way emotional path and do so before the gullible  reach the two-way path to see how the other side of their actions would be received.

As a person common to both nations, I interpret the High Commissioner’s statement to mean that Sri Lanka is ‘normal’ now. It may be normal to Mr Hutchesson living within his protected circle and it may be normal to many of us. But is it normal to those on the one way path of emotions? The call is on the Politicians to make that decision.

Deporting a young family at this time is cruel. As per SBS news report:

‘The federal government said the family's asylum status had been under investigation for "many years", and was ultimately found to "not to meet Australia's protection obligations".]

Asylum assessments are strongly  subjective in terms of the applicability of the law on the side of the assessor as well as ‘facts’ on the side of the applicant. Expressions by Government representatives therefore play an important role when assessments are made. To an independent observer, the recent riots would strongly indicate the risk of Sri Lanka returning to war unless there is continuous, stable and reliable government.

Daily Mirror for example, reports that ‘Former defense secretary Gotabaya Rajapaksa said yesterday the main reason for most of the issues in the country was the result of following the advice of NGOs rather than seeking advice of the Maha Sanga.’

That confirms the promotion of one-way emotional path. The report presents the following picture by the former regime:

[“The government has forgotten religious values, our culture and sovereignty and this has resulted in various issues within different sections of society, “he said and added that that during his time, they invited religious leaders to the defense ministry and sought their advice when the country faced serious issues like today.

Mr. Rajapaksa said it was pointless giving priority to Buddhism only in the Constitution.]

 One could conclude that the decisions made during the war against Tamils, were based on Buddhist leaders who carry the karma of one of their own killing a former Prime Minister of Sri Lanka.

Yesterday I received an article headed ‘Rahul Gandhi says he, his sister have ‘completely forgiven’ father’s killers’.

But until we as Independent thinkers know ‘why?’ we would not develop preventive measures to such killings, abusing the emotions of gullible citizens. Many of us know within ourselves that it was wrong of the LTTE to kill any unarmed  Leader, leave alone an Indian Political Leader. That is not different to the Buddhist monk killing the Sri Lankan Prime Minister. One who recommends that very leadership is promising another war.  Those who use religion  for their selfish reasons are making the religion their  servant. They would naturally need the letter of the law to ‘show’ their voters that they are committed to Buddhism.  

Mr Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s response to the question regarding Dual Citizenship is interesting:

[Ceylon Today -Q : However, you are a dual citizen and our law doesn't provide for such individuals to contest. Are you willing to give up your American citizenship?

Mr Rajapaksa - A: I have to give that up.]

If I were American I would strongly reject such a person. Likewise, if Mr Rajapaksa were Australian, I would mentally deport him to Sri Lanka where he has birth-rights. Instead, our officials are deporting members of a community who suffered untold suffering due to government forces headed by Rajapaksa family, wanting to ‘win’ against its own citizens and win by use of stronger armed power.  One side to the armed war is becoming restless and it would not take long for the other side to mobilize its own forces. This risk will remain so long as minorities – especially Tamils are also fooled by heroic talks of ‘freedom’.  Freedom at the cost of Independence of even one individual is ‘freedom lost’ to the Independent part of the group.

Gajalakshmi Paramasivam

12 March 2018

                                                              

Geneva or University of Jaffna?

 

As per the latest news report from Ceylon Today:

 

[President of the Tamil National People's Front (TNPF) Gajendrakumar Ponnambalam left for Geneva on Friday (9), to hand over a petition, bearing 200,000 signatures, urging the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) to engage in investigating war crimes allegations]

 

The authority of the TNPF is as per the political mandate confirmed at local government level. The parallel of that in the judicial hierarchy is the Magistrates/Local  Court. As per my direct experience,  Northern Province Local Judiciary at that level, is seriously lacking in judicial logic. Taken at the urban level, the University of Jaffna confirmed this through its abuse of Section 45 (2) (xii) of the Universities Act No. 16 of 1978  by dismissing an academic on the basis of the authority of this section which prohibits the delegation of power to the Vice Chancellor for such action in the case of Teachers and Officers.

 

As per the letter of Dismissal signed by the Vice Chancellor as Vice Chancellor, the decision was made by the Council. Following, as per my knowledge, is a list of Members of the Governing Council – University of Jaffna:

List of Members of the Governing Council – University of Jaffna

 

1.Prof. R.Vigneswaran,Vice Chancellor, University of Jaffna,

2.Mr. Mano Sekaram,Council Member (External), University of Jaffna; 99X Technology, No. 65, Walukarama Road, Colombo 03.

3. Prof. V.Tharmaratnam,Council Member (External), University of Jaffna.  Sampanthar Candy, Karainagar.

4. Prof. S. K. Sitrampalam; Council Member (External), University of Jaffna; Araly South, Araly Vaddukoddai.

5. Mr. D.K.P.U. Gunathilake; Council Member (External); University of Jaffna,

C/O The Vice Chancellor, University of Jaffna, Jaffna.

6. Dr.P.Lakshman; Council Member (External), University of Jaffna.

 Consultant Cardiologist, 375A Muthuthambi Lane Navalar Road Jaffna.

7. Dr. S. Sivasegaram; Council Member (External), University of Jaffna.

No.02, Rheinland Place Colombo 03.

8. Dr. N.Jeyakumaran; Council Member (External), University of Jaffna.

Consultant Oncologist, No28, 3/1, Madankawata Road, Colombo 06.

9. Prof. S.H. Hasbullah; Council Member (External), University of Jaffna.

Department of Geography, University of Peradeniya, Peradeniya.

10. Dr. Aru Thirumurugan; Council Member (External),University of Jaffna.

246, 4/A Temple Road, Nallur, Jaffna.

11. Mr. V. Kanagasabapathy; Council Member (External), University of Jaffna,

C/O The Vice Chancellor, University of Jaffna, Jaffna.

12. Mr. S. Rangarajah; Council Member (External), University of Jaffna.

No. 07, Muthalliyar lane, Chundikuli, Jaffna.

13. Dr. Devanesan  Nesiah,Council Member (External), University of Jaffna.

19/1, Col. T.G. Jeyawardena Mawatha, Colombo 03.

14. Mr. N. Vethanayahan,Council Member (External), University of Jaffna.

District Secretariat, Jaffna.

15. Mr. M. Kanapathippillai,Council Member (External), University of Jaffna.

24/3/1/1, Frankfort Place, Colombo 04.

16. Ms. S. Abimannasingham,Council Member (External), University of Jaffna,

C/O Bar Association of Jaffna; New Court Complex ; Jaffna.

17. Mr. V. Kandeepan,Registrar, university of Jaffna.

18. DR. T. Mangaleswaran,Rector, Vavuniya Campus, university of Jaffna, Vavuniya.

19. Prof. (Mrs.) T. Mikunthan,Dean, Faculty of Agriculture, university of Jaffna.

20. Dr. K. Suthakar,Dean, Faculty of Arts, university of Jaffna.

21. Dr. A. Atputharajah,Dean, Faculty of Engineering, University of Jaffna.

22. Prof. G. Mikunthan,Dean, Faculty of Graduate Studies, University of Jaffna.

23. Prof. T. Velnampy,Dean, Faculty of Management and Commerce, university of Jaffna.

24. Dr. S. Raviraj,Dean, Faculty of Medicine, university of Jaffna.

25. Prof. J.P. Jeyadevan,Dean, Faculty of Science, university of Jaffna.

26. Dr. A.Pushpanathan,Dean, Faculty of Business Studies - Vavuniya Campus,

University of Jaffna, Vavuniya.

 

One is entitled to conclude that each one of these members of the Council made the decision and therefore each member’s ‘logic’ could be worked out from the above decision. The decision made had no connection to the law. The name of the law therefore was abused for personal purposes.

 

Members of the Tamil Community, who escalate the war-issue to the UN must believe in the UN as a global body and/or know through logical understanding of the Global Law – that Tamils have been wronged. As insiders of the Tamil Community TNPF must satisfy themselves that :

(a)   The damage claimed, net of LTTE attacks – is strong enough to be escalated to the UN

(b)  If they win at the UN level – the Jaffna Tamil Community is capable of using it for the community as a whole and not for selfish reasons – such as position in institutions with significant status.

To the extent LTTE and other militant groups contributed to the damage through armed attacks, the inquiry needs to be local – towards which the TNPF now has strong opportunity, due to its wins at the local government level.

 

As indicated through the above decision by the University of Jaffna, it would take a very long time for Jaffna to catch up with Global standards of Justice. Hence I conclude that the list of 200,000 signatures is towards pulling the wool over the eyes of the Tamil public whose self-esteem is low. Below is an excerpt of a  lesson I recorded for the younger generation who inherit my values:

 

[Bringing the structure into me meant that I inherited the opportunity.  Delayed enjoyment makes the benefit an inheritance.  I appreciated this more and more through the testamentary matter in relation to my brother in law – Yoganathan.  Yoganathan‘s  sisters who to my mind were  pampered on the basis of Thesawalamai – the customary law of Northern Sri Lankans which included the allocation of dowry to daughters when they got married, sought to influence their brothers to sign over the brothers’ share of the estate of Yoganathan to the two sisters.  Initially I had no opinion on this but took the stand of an observer. But after Param said that Thesawalamai was applicable I decided to get involved. I believe that Param said this due to his past disappointments with his sisters whose children migrated to Australia due to Param and I, but were ungrateful due to their selfishness. Hence as per my experience with them I also  felt that they were wrong.

Ms Shantha Abimannasingham  a leading lawyer in Northern Sri Lanka, whom I consulted with - paying a fee – expressed the opinion that she did not think that  only the brothers were entitled, but said that the system recognized such entitlement, if the wealth was passed through the parents.  But the law of Thesawalamai was very clear – that the wealth of  a bachelor was inherited by males while unmarried daughters’ wealth was inherited by females.  Param’s assistance to his family fell within this Thesawalamai code. Hence his move to oppose the sisters when the matter came to court. I believe that by regulating it at family level – I added structure to Param’s sharing. Without the difficulties we faced in the process, and our acceptance of them,  it is highly likely that  estate would have been seriously lacking in heritage value, as per the users habits. Given that Yoganathan forewent simple pleasures that his siblings enjoyed , despite the wealth he had, his position in the family is of heritage value. The money is the lowest level confirmation of that respectable position. Given that Yoganathan,  despite the wealth he had,  forewent simple pleasures that his siblings enjoyed , his position in the family is of heritage value. The money is the lowest level confirmation of that respectable position.]

 

Would a win against the Sri Lankan Government, in terms of war-crimes, carry heritage value for all heirs of the TNPF? If no, these are distractions that dilute our development investments. I do not identify with, in the leadership of the TNPF -  the investment that the Hon GG Ponnambalam made, in intellectual pathway to Independence. This Grandfather of  Mr Gajendrakumar Ponnambalam was a National player of International standards. The heritage seems to have been lost to the family and party down the line.